The Korea Herald

Web cartoon series to be based on actor Park Hae-jin

Actor Park Hae-jin will become the object of an autobiographical web cartoon series set to launch next month, his talent agency said Wednesday.The series, whose title roughly translates to “The Private Life of a Major Actor You Don't Know about,” will be created by up-and-coming cartoonist Hyesso, Mountain Movement Entertainment said. (Mountain Movement Entertainment)Only the founding members of Park’s official fan club CLUB Jin’s will gain access to the exclusive series.A teaser will be release

June 8, 2016

Web cartoon series to be based on actor Park Hae-jin

Live streaming of Park Hae-jin’s Chinese show prep hits 1m views

More than a million people watched the behind-the-scenes footage of Korean actor Park Hae-jin’s appearance on a Chinese entertainment show, his publicist said Thursday.Park’s every word and gesture was broadcast live on the Chinese social media website Weibo in the run-up to the pre-recorded session of “Jing’s Talk Show” last Friday, HNS HQ said.The video racked up 1.34 million views as of Tuesday, with the episode to air on Chongqing TV on June 16. Park Hae-jin appears on Chinese entertainment

June 2, 2016

Live streaming of Park Hae-jin’s Chinese show prep hits 1m views

Bolshoi dancer jailed for acid attack released

MOSCOW (AFP) - The Bolshoi ballet dancer who masterminded an acid attack on the troupe’s artistic director has been released on parole, his lawyer told Russian media on Tuesday. Bolshoi soloist Pavel Dmitrichenko, who was sentenced to six years in prison in 2013 for orchestrating an acid attack on artistic director Sergei Filin, has been granted parole and is already “back at home in Moscow,” his lawyer Sergei Kadyrov told TASS news agency. Kadyrov did not specify when his client, who had been s

June 1, 2016

[EYE] Pictures speak louder than words

Sometimes words just can’t express how you feel when you “speak” to someone on a mobile messenger app. Instantly, you go through different emoticons offered by the messenger service and choose what fits your state of mind, sending them without saying a word. 　Emoticons have become a crucial part of modern communication. They facilitate the new form of mobile communication in which senders and recipients communicate anytime and anywhere, but often face difficulties guessing what the person on th

May 27, 2016

Korean street dancer snatches ticket to 'World of Dance' competition

Korean singer and contemporary dancer Nam Hyun-joon, better known by his stage name Poppin' Hyun Joon, has secured a ticket to a global dancing competition in the United States, his agency said on Tuesday.The 37-year-old dancer, famous for his popping techniques, and his teammates won second place in the preliminary competition in Korea on Saturday, according to his management company Happy Face Entertainment.In Korea, Nam is considered to be one of the first-generation K-pop street dancers, alo

May 24, 2016

Yoon Mi-rae, Tiger JK, and Bizzy named ambassadors for Social Welfare Society

The Social Welfare Society appointed rapper Tiger JK, singer and rapper Yoon Mi-rae and rapper Bizzy as its honorary ambassadors on Tuesday.　The married couple Tiger JK and Yoon, who have supported SWS for several years, will help raise awareness of the welfare society with Bizzy. From left, rapper Bizzy, Social Welfare Society president Rhie Yong-heung, singer and rapper Yoon Mi-rae and rapper Tiger JK pose at the ceremony which saw the appointment of the project group MFBTY as honorary ambass

May 18, 2016

Yoon Mi-rae, Tiger JK, and Bizzy named ambassadors for Social Welfare Society

Weather anchor's dress sparks social-media firestorm

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- It's become so common for some female TV weather reporters to dress like they are on the way to a cocktail party that their dresses should have long ago ceased to raise any eyebrows among viewers. 　But there was eyebrow-raising aplenty across the Internet this week after KTLA-TV weather anchor Liberte Chan’s cohost handed her a dull-looking, gray sweater and she pulled it on over her black, sparkly, spaghetti-strap evening dress while delivering her report Saturday. A screen

May 17, 2016

Weather anchor's dress sparks social-media firestorm

Despite damage, Palmyra retains authenticity: UNESCO

PARIS (AFP) -- The U.N. cultural agency said Wednesday that the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra had suffered significant damage at the hands of Islamic State fighters, but that the archaeological site retains much of its authenticity.　UNESCO sent experts to the world heritage site to study damage caused by the Islamic State group which held the city for nearly a year before it was retaken by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces last month.　Escorted by U.N. security, the mission inspected both the P

April 28, 2016

Despite damage, Palmyra retains authenticity: UNESCO

What to do with billions of useless humans?

It is no news that machines have come to largely replace physical labor and computers surpass human beings in processing data. But in the future, the development of artificial intelligence may render humans obsolete even in the realm of emotional intelligence, according to Yuval Harari.　“It is true that in one sense, AI doesn’t even come close to human emotion since it has no consciousness or mind and doesn’t feel anything,” said Harari at Tuesday’s opening ceremony of the 2030 Eco Forum, organi

April 28, 2016

What to do with billions of useless humans?

[Herald Interview] ‘English-language media is like face of Korea to world’

The first thing Paul Shin, a veteran English-language journalist, asked during an interview in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, Monday was, “What desk do you work at?” 　“The culture desk did not take up a big part of English-language newspapers back in my day,” he said upon hearing the response. “International audiences were more interested in the authoritarian regime,” said Shin, 76, referring to the period of the Park Chung-hee administration in the 1960s and ’70s. 　Now, stories on Korean culture, ranging

April 27, 2016

[Herald Interview] ‘English-language media is like face of Korea to world’

Chilean poet Neruda reburied at his coastal home

ISLA NEGRA, Chile (AP) -- The remains of Nobel Prize-winning poet Pablo Neruda were reburied on Tuesday at his favorite home in a Chilean town overlooking the Pacific Ocean, despite lingering questions surrounding his mysterious death.　The writer died in the chaos following Chile’s 1973 right-wing military coup, and some have speculated he was poisoned. His body was exhumed in 2013 to determine the cause of his death. Forensic tests showed no toxic agents in his bones. But Chile’s government sai

April 27, 2016

YouTuber Heopop wants to break rules in your stead

Just a year ago, Heo Jae-wo -- better known by his YouTube alias "Heopop" -- was a typical Millennial, moving from one job to another without purpose."I never lasted longer than a year in one job," he told Yonhap News Agency in an interview at KCON, the world's largest K-pop festival that took place in Japan over the weekend. He is now making some 10 grand a month, according one estimate by the entertainment giant CJ E&M, by uploading videos of wacky experiments involving slime, ostrich eggs and

April 14, 2016

Korean novelist Han Kang shortlisted for 2016 Man Booker Int'l Prize

South Korean fiction writer Han Kang has been shortlisted for the 2016 Man Booker International Prize.Han's "The Vegetarian," translated by Deborah Smith, is among the six books contending for the 2016 prize, the organizer announced on its website Thursday. "The story of a Korean woman who awakens from uneasy dreams to find herself transformed into an enigma without a key. Evocative and suggestive, 'The Vegetarian' startles for the depth of its strangeness," the organizer said. Critically acclai

April 14, 2016

[Photo News] Sweet desserts

SWEET DESSERTS -- President Park Geun-hye (right) and actor Song Joong-ki -- Korea‘s tourism ambassador -- make a traditional Korean dessert during the opening ceremony of the K-Style Hub, located at Korea Tourism Organization’s headquarters in central Seoul on Monday. (Yonhap)

April 11, 2016

Wild tiger population on rise

After years of concerted efforts by the international community, the number of wild tigers has increased to 3,890 last year from the 2010 estimate of 3,200, World Wildlife Fund said Monday.The figure compiled by International Union for Conservation of Nature can be attributed to multiple factors including an increase in tiger population in India, Russia, Nepal and Bhutan, and enhanced protection of the endangered animal in countries. (Wild Tiger, India © Joseph Vattakaven / WWF)“For the first ti

April 11, 2016

Starbucks Korea receives award for equal opportunity employment

Lee Seock-koo, head of Starbucks Korea, has received a presidential medal for the coffee chain’s efforts to provide equal workplace opportunities for people with disabilities, the company said Wednesday.The CEO was given the award at an annual convention to promote employment of the disabled. It was organized by the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the state-run Korea Employment Agency for the Disabled.Starbucks Korea CEO Lee Seock-koo (right) receives a presidential medal from Labor Ministe

April 6, 2016

Starbucks Korea receives award for equal opportunity employment

ACRC briefs foreign firms on anticorruption policies

The state-run anticorruption body on Wednesday held a policy briefing in which it introduced various anticorruption plans to foreign businesses in Korea.The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission also invited them to share problems and complaints about doing business here, during the annual briefing that was held at Hotel President in Jung-gu, Seoul. The ACRC has held the event since 2008.The focal point of the ACRC’s presentation was the Act on the Prevention of Illegal Solicitation, which

March 31, 2016

Actor Park Hae-jin to hold fan meeting in Taiwan

Park Hae-jin, star of the popular Korean TV series “Cheese in the Trap,” will have a fan meeting in Taiwan in June, the event's publicist said Thursday.　The event will take place at the Taipei International Convention Center in Taipei on June 9, HNS HQ said.　The 32-year-old actor rose to stardom in the wider China region after SBS’s “My Love from the Star” became a huge sensation in Asia in 2014. He played the stoic college senior Yoo Jung on “Cheese in the Trap,” which aired on Korean cable TV

March 31, 2016

Big Bang and CL nominated for ‘Time 100’

K-pop boy band Big Bang and CL of girl group 2NE1 are included in Time magazine’s online reader poll for this year’s 100 most influential people, Time announced Wednesday.　Big Bang and CL are the only Koreans among 127 candidates in the online poll that features U.S. President Barack Obama, Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. K-pop boy band Big Bang (YG Entertainment)　World-famous musicians including Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Adele and Ariana Grande

March 25, 2016

Big Bang and CL nominated for ‘Time 100’

[Hallyu power] Pony, trendsetter of K-beauty

Pony -- real name Park Hye-min -- is one of the most popular Korean makeup gurus, with 981,144 subscribers to her YouTube channel. Her makeup tutorials -- in which she demonstrates themed makeup styles, ranging from looks of K-pop female idols and Christmas holiday makeup to everyday makeup for school or work -- have some 700,000-plus views each.　While her makeup videos are mainly based on Korean styles and Korean cosmetics, they are enjoying growing popularity overseas along with the global asc

March 22, 2016

[Hallyu power] Pony, trendsetter of K-beauty