Most Popular
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Yoon apologizes for first lady Dior bag scandal, calls push for special probe ‘political’
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Korea forecast to overtake Taiwan in chip production by 2032: report
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Girl hanging on bridge, police trying to rescue her both fall off; rescued immediately
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[K-pop’s dilemma] Can K-pop break free from ‘fandom’ model?
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YouTuber fatally stabbed on livestream by another YouTuber in Busan
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No plan to let doctors with foreign licenses practice here anytime soon: PM
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Yoon rebuffs opposition's call for special probe into wife
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Stray Kids hit with racism in Met Gala photo line
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[News Analysis] Yoon's first 2 years marked by intense confrontations, lack of leadership
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Yoon apologizes for wife's 'unwise conduct'
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‘Staying unique, independent from fads’
U.S. indie-rock band Beirut to hit the stage in SeoulBeirut started out as a bedroom recording project of Santa Fe songwriter Zach Condon, later developing into a six-member band that combines indie, rock and folk elements into flowing ballads and harmonious instrumental interludes.While taking more upbeat, accessible turns in the years after the band’s 2006 debut, Condon’s songs have held on to their languorousness, which the band leader describes as part of the “uniqueness” he considers key to
Dec. 27, 2011
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Report: Schwarzenegger and Shriver may get back together
Los Angeles (dpa) - Maria Shriver is considering putting herdivorce from former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger onhold, celebrity website TMZ.com reported Monday. Shriver, who is a scion of the Kennedy political clan, filed fordivorce from the action movie star-turned-Republican polit
Dec. 27, 2011
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A blast from the past with Astro Boy
Goyang Aram Nuri showcases cartoons by Tezuka Osamu, controversial worksThe little but brave Astro Boy used to fascinate children back in the 1970s, shooting up toward the sky clenching his tiny fists, wearing his impressive pair of red boots.Better known as Atom here, he was one of the first and most popular animation characters in the black-and-white TV days. He not only showered kids with hopes and dreams about science and outer space, but also pondered serious issues of the time such as the
Dec. 26, 2011
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U.S. soul legend Etta James in hospital
LOS ANGELES (AFP) ― Grammy-winning blues and soul legend Etta James, famous for her hit “At Last,” was taken to a California hospital on Friday for complications related to leukemia, her publicist told AFP.“Etta James was taken to the hospital night before last (December 21). She was having trouble breathing so they intubated her. Her condition remains the same,” said her publicist Lupe De Leon.Last week, De Leon said that James, 73, was in the end stage of her cancer and would not undergo furth
Dec. 26, 2011
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Spielberg seeks ‘old-fashioned’ spectacle
LOS ANGELES (AFP) ― Steven Spielberg’s new film “War Horse” is almost deliberately old-fashioned, pitting noble beast against the horrors of war, with sweeping, emotional set pieces ― and dividing critics as Hollywood’s awards season looms.The movie, which got a Golden Globe nomination this month ahead of its Christmas Day release in the United States, is even made on good old celluloid in a snub to the digital revolution.“I think that movies like that don’t get made much any more, you know the
Dec. 26, 2011
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Director explores childhood betrayal
‘Lovable’ director Park Chul-soon traces his creative rootsThis is the eighth in a series on up-and-coming Korean filmmakers. ― Ed. For anyone who has seen Park Chul-soon’s feature debut “Lovable,” a moving portrait of a young girl with Savant syndrome, it wouldn’t be surprising to discover the director full of playfulness.The 28-year-old’s debut, which won the best screenplay prize at Persons with Disabilities Film Festival this year, is filled with childhood desires and imaginative adventures.
Dec. 26, 2011
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‘One Night, Two Days’ team wins unexpected grand prize
KBS’ popular weekend reality TV show “One Night, Two Days” team won the grand prize at the KBS Entertainment Awards over the weekend. It was the first time for a whole team, instead of an individual entertainer, to receive the top prize at the annual awards. Five members of the team ― singers Lee Seung-ki, Kim Jong-min and Eun Ji-won, comedian Lee Su-keun, and actor Eom Tae-woong ― went on stage together, saying they were both “surprised and thrilled” with the result. “I really thought that the
Dec. 25, 2011
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George Michael thanks hospital for saving life
LONDON (AP) ― Fighting back tears, singer George Michael appeared outside his London home Friday to acknowledge that he had nearly died during his month-long battle with pneumonia.He said it had been “touch and go” while he was in the intensive care unit of a Vienna hospital battling an extremely dangerous form of pneumonia but that his representatives had “played it down” to avoid alarming his fans.“They spent three weeks keeping me alive basically,” said the singer, who appeared to have lost w
Dec. 25, 2011
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Bullock coaxed into return by ‘Extremely Loud’
NEW YORK (AP) ― Sandra Bullock wasn’t looking to return to acting when Stephen Daldry called about “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.”Bullock’s last film, 2009’s “The Blind Side,” was the kind of career apogee of which most actresses dream, winning her a best actress Academy Award in what essentially amounted to a coronation of Bullock as America’s most beloved female movie star.But the accomplishment ― which would normally be followed by a wave of projects to capitalize on the momentum ― was s
Dec. 25, 2011
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Big bashes ring in the New Year
Where, how to hail the Year of DragonEvery year has witnessed a progressive growth in the scale and breadth of Seoul’s countdown parties. Single and double star events gave way to multiple act showdowns, then, last year, two game-changers busted out the big guns. Countdown Seoul 2011 transformed the massive Yeongdeungpo shopping complex, Times Square, into a multi-floor over 15-act music bonanza featuring former Daft Punk manager-and-Ed Banger Records’ head Pedro Winter a.k.a. Busy P, the late D
Dec. 23, 2011
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Calendars
Classical Music“Vienna Strauss Festival Orchestra New Year’s Concert”: Vienna Strauss Festival Orchestra, founded in 1978 by artistic producer Peter Guth, will perform with soprano Im Sun-hae and hold its fourth performance in Korea on Jan. 18. The orchestra performed here as recently as January this year. The orchestra has been touring throughout Europe, Asia and America with a wide repertoire. In the upcoming concert, the orchestra will be performing pieces by composers Johann Strauss, Joseph
Dec. 23, 2011
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Box Office
My Way (Korea)Opened Dec. 21Drama. Directed by Kang Je-gyu. It’s 1938 in Japanese-colonized Gyeongseong, what is now Seoul, and young Joon-sik (later played by Jang Dong-gun) works for a farm owned by a Japanese family. His dream is to participate in the Tokyo Olympics as a marathon runner. He soon learns that Tatsuo (later played by Joe Odagiri), the grandson of the farm owner, dreams of doing the same thing, making them rivals. As World War II breaks out, however, their lives and destinies are
Dec. 23, 2011
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Little-known Rooney Mara about to get famous
“Rooney who?” is not a question people will be asking much longer.On Tuesday at 7 p.m., David Fincher’s adaptation of “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” ― the first installment in the U.S. version of Stieg Larsson’s mega-selling “Millennium Trilogy” ― opens in theaters. And there Rooney Mara will be, pale, pierced, and punked-out, hacking into encrypted databases, sleeping with Daniel Craig (and with a woman she picks up at a bar), taking vengeance on a sicko state-appointed guardian ... if you’v
Dec. 23, 2011
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Lee explores theme of utopia
Your Paradise, By Yi Ch’ongjun (Lee Cheong-jun)Translated by Jennifer Lee, Timothy Tangherlini (Green Integer)Well-known for “Snowy Road,” his poignant short story about motherly love, the late author Lee Cheong-jun is considered one of the most prominent 20th-century Korean novelists. Lee’s 1976 novel “Your Paradise” is a moving allegory about utopia which takes place on Korea’s real-life leper colony island Sorok-do. Located near Goheung, South Jeolla Province, the island has been home to peop
Dec. 23, 2011
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Sarajevans moved by Angelina Jolie war film
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Hercegovina (AFP) ― Sarajevans among the first filmgoers to see Angelina Jolie’s directorial debut, a Bosnian wartime love story, came away deeply moved from a special screening in their city Thursday.“The movie is very realistic, moving and hard to watch for someone who was here during the war. I am very emotional,” Sabira Sokolovic told AFP.A story of love between a Muslim woman and a Serb man against the background of Bosnia’s 1992-95 inter-ethnic war, the movie sparked contr
Dec. 23, 2011
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Limited, ultra, deluxe: The box set goes beyond
Musical box sets, encapsulating a portion or all of an artist’s catalog, are hardly a new trend. They’ve been around for decades.But as labels begin to search for more sources of income, they’re increasingly using yesterday’s hits to help today’s bottom line, from multi-disc deluxe editions of your favorite old album to over-the-top collections of obscurities complete with cool little tchotchkes.And they’re also reaching new heights in pricing. Love U2 beyond measure? There’s the new “Achtung Ba
Dec. 22, 2011
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China’s purple sand tea pots on show
Yixing Purple Sand Pottery Arts Factory leads tea-making culture and art investment in ChinaA small tea pot made headlines around the world in 2010 when it was sold for 12.32 million RMB ($1.94 million) at China Guardian’s auction in Beijing. It was not made of diamonds or gold, but of purple sand by renowned Chinese potter Gu Jingzhou. Acclaimed artist Wu Fan did the tea pot’s engravings.Though unfamiliar to many, purple sand has been considered a top-quality material for making tea utensils s
Dec. 22, 2011
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Hollywood still struggling to focus 3-D technology
LOS ANGELES (AFP) ― Two years after breakthrough 3-D megahit “Avatar,” Hollywood is still struggling to decide how best to use the new technology, as filmgoers tire of the novelty and say no to annoying glasses.While 2011 ends with a couple of well-received 3-D movies ― including Steven Spielberg’s holiday smash “Tintin” and Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo” ― filmmakers need to focus on what works in three dimensions and what doesn’t, say experts.Following a series of 3-D flops over the last 12 months,
Dec. 22, 2011
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Cannes fest head Jacob wins new term
PARIS (AFP) ― Gilles Jacob, the 81-year-old president of the Cannes film festival, has secured a new term at the helm of the international movie showcase, along with its director Thierry Fremaux.Jacob has received the world’s top filmmakers in the Riviera city for the past 30 years, first as Cannes festival director then from 2001 as president, with a mandate that was due to expire after its 65th edition on May 16-27, 2012.Meeting on Tuesday, however, the Cannes board of administrators voted to
Dec. 22, 2011
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Three films, three cities
Special project offers films shot in Bucheon, Pohang and GwangjuIt’s been to Seoul, Busan, Jeju, Chuncheon, Daegu, Incheon, Yeosu and Gangleung.English language network Arirang TV’s annual film project featuring Korean cities is back with its third edition, this time offering three movies shot in Bucheon, Pohang and Gwangju. The upcoming films are not about the cities (no road movies to the cities!) but rather use them only as their background. The three featured directors ― Kim In-sik, Lee San
Dec. 22, 2011