Most Popular
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Court refuses injunction on medical school expansion
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Why Korean crime stories typically feature nameless, faceless perpetrators
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Debate on 'no-seniors zones' heats up
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S. Korea, Cambodia forge strategic partnership
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Rare mid-May heavy snow warning issued over mountainous areas of Gangwon
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Is NewJeans headed for a long 'break'?
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[KH Explains] Hyundai-backed Motional’s struggles deepen as Tesla eyes August robotaxi debut
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Police raid popera singer Kim Ho-joong's house over hit-and-run suspicions
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Trump may like to 'solve' N. Korean nuclear problem if reelected: ex-official
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New Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office chief vows full-fledged probe into first lady
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Top S. Korean entertainment companies join big biz federation
South Korea's two largest entertainment companies, whose performers include Big Bang, Girls' Generation and Psy, have become members of the country's main lobby group for big businesses, an official press announcement said Tuesday.The Federation of Korean Industries said the group's 21-member executive body approved the membership of SM Entertainment and YG Entertainment along with applications made by 52 other companies. The other companies are leaders in the country's service and tech venture
Feb. 11, 2014
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Making opera accessible
Seasoned classical singers, musicians and theatrical professionals have teamed up onstage to make a Mozart opera an enjoyable mix of music and laugh-out-loud comedy. “A mission has brought us all here,” said Chang Jae-young, president of Royal Art & Music Korea, as his team rehearsed for the upcoming production of “Cosi fan Tutte” on Sunday afternoon. “That is to make opera more accessible.” And it is no easy undertaking. “Cosi fan Tutte” is the final piece in an opera trilogy written by Mozart
Feb. 10, 2014
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Memories of a childhood home
For installation artist Koo Hyun-mo, art is a record of memories and scenes that linger in his mind, rather than a portrayal of the present.He recasts his childhood memories and presents slices of them as installations. In his latest exhibition in Seoul, he showcases wooden installation pieces that were created to preserve memories of his childhood home in the old area of Sajik-dong, northern Seoul. Always attached to space, the artist focuses on certain features of his childhood home, such as t
Feb. 10, 2014
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Broadway sensation ‘Once’ making first non-English production in Korea
“His music needed one thing. Her.” The concise, yet powerful phrase poetically summarizes the core essence of the on-screen musical production-turned-live Broadway show “Once.” The 2006 independent Irish musical film ― with a next-to-nothing budget and starring professional musicians Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova as the leads, despite the fact they had no professional acting background ― was, to say the least, a surprising international success story. Considering the unexpected success of “On
Feb. 10, 2014
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New York Philharmonic delivers energetic Seoul concerts
For New York Philharmonic music director Alan Gilbert, silence in the audience is not always the same. “There is a difference between a silence that is focused and a silence that is merely dutiful,” Gilbert said in a press conference hours before a concert Thursday in Seoul. “With the Korean audience, I have always sensed an energetic concentration.” And that seemed to be the most accurate description of the mood last week inside the Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall, where the American conductor l
Feb. 9, 2014
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Grammy winner John Mayer to put on first concert in Korea
The internationally popular America pop/folk singer John Mayer will be making his way to Seoul on May 6 to put on his first concert performance in Korea since he made his musical debut more than 10 years ago. The upcoming concert event is the 14th installment of the Hyundai Card Culture Project series, which in the past brought acts such as The Killers, Keane, John Legend, Ke$ha, Jason Mraz, Kraftwerk, Mika and Damien Rice.After an appearance at the annual South by Southwest showcase in Austin,
Feb. 9, 2014
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Beatlemania: A moment in time never to be repeated
LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Musical moments that capture the attention of a national audience ― and beyond ― never seem to be in short supply. Last week, Bruno Mars set a ratings record with 115 million people watching his Super Bowl performance. A few months ago, the talk was about Beyonce’s surprise album. And there’s still discussion of That Miley Moment at the MTV Video Music Awards. But moments that spark a musical revolution? A dramatic altering of the pop culture landscape? A true moment for histo
Feb. 9, 2014
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Mystery surrounds theft of Stradivarius violin
MILWAUKEE (AP) ― Violin virtuoso Frank Almond was walking to his car after an evening performance at the Wisconsin Lutheran College when someone jumped out of a van, shocked him with a stun gun and seized the rare and extremely valuable Stradivarius on loan to him. The robber got back into the waiting vehicle, which sped off. Almond, who had been knocked to the ground, wasn’t seriously hurt. But he was devastated by the loss of the violin, which was crafted in 1715 and has been appraised for ins
Feb. 6, 2014
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Giacometti exhibit in Rome explores power of human body
ROME (AFP) ― Striking, skeletal forms of Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti are juxtaposed with corpulent neo-classical and baroque Italian masterpieces in a new exhibition in Rome exploring the evocative power of the human body. Forty Giacometti gems, including his famous spindly “Walking Man” in bronze, have been scattered around the permanent collection at the Villa Borghese Gallery in the Italian capital, dotted in among classics such as Bernini’s “David” or Canova’s “Pauline Borghese.” The c
Feb. 6, 2014
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YB to debut in U.S., U.K. with ‘Cigarette Girl’
Korea’s chief rock band YB is set to debut in the United Kingdom and the United States with its signature single “Cigarette Girl,” according to the band’s management company on Tuesday.YB, which recently signed with the former manager of American hard rock legend Guns N’ Roses Doug Goldstein, will unveil the English version of “Cigarette Girl” on Feb. 18, marking the band’s first official international appearance under a foreign management agency.“Cigarette Girl” was originally sung by veteran K
Feb. 6, 2014
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‘American Idol’ star Aiken launches Congress bid
WASHINGTON (AFP) ― “American Idol” runner-up Clay Aiken declared Wednesday he is running for Congress, putting his singing career on hold as he aims to unseat a Republican from her North Carolina district.Aiken said he would run as a Democrat against two-term congresswoman Renee Ellmers because he believes she is voting against her constituents’ interests in the House of Representatives.“This is what’s wrong with Washington,” Aiken said in a nearly five-minute video, where he highlighted his upb
Feb. 6, 2014
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At 30, Lim seeks change, balance
Lim Dong-hyek was called a “prodigy pianist” in his teen years, an “idol star in classical music” and a “Chopin specialist” in his 20s. He wouldn’t have chosen any of these labels, if he’d had a choice. Now turning 30, Lim wants to show his true colors as a pianist, nothing more and nothing less. “People tend to think of me as a poser who boasts flamboyant techniques and transcription skills, but I am not,” he said in a telephone interview Tuesday from New York. “I like to play pieces that are e
Feb. 5, 2014
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Houston gets U.S. premiere of Holocaust opera
HOUSTON (AP) ― It’s the darkest of operas, a powerful and unrelentingly grim work that dares to grapple with the horrors of the Holocaust through a musical descent into the hell that was Auschwitz. The opera is “The Passenger,” and its composer was Mieczyslaw Weinberg, a Polish Jew who as a young man fled to the Soviet Union to escape the Nazis ― the only member of his family to survive. He completed the opera in 1968 and considered it his most important work. Yet for political reasons it had ne
Feb. 5, 2014
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Pharrell to perform on Oscar’s telecast
LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Pharrell Williams will perform at the Academy Awards. Oscar producers said Tuesday the producer-performer will sing his nominated song “Happy.” There was no word on whether his Grammy Award-stealing hat would make an appearance. Williams wrote “Happy” for “Despicable Me 2.” It’s nominated for original song along with U2’s “Ordinary Love” from “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom,” “Let It Go” by Idina Menzel from “Frozen” and Karen O’s “The Moon Song” from “Her.” The 40-year-old Wil
Feb. 5, 2014
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U2 freebie rakes in $3m to fight AIDS
LOS ANGELES (AFP) ― Rock group U2’s new single “Invisible” raised more than $3 million for the fight against AIDS during the 36 hours it was available for free on iTunes, it was revealed Tuesday.It scored more than 1 million downloads in the hour after it premiered in a Bank of America commercial during Sunday’s Super Bowl, then picked up 2 million more until the free offer ended Monday midnight.With the second-biggest bank in the United States pledging one dollar for every download, “Invisible”
Feb. 5, 2014
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Kim Jang-hoon, Crayon Pop team up for Korea Firefighters Project
Ballad rock singer and big-time philanthropist Kim Jang-hoon, who has been dubbed the nation’s “Donation Angel,” has finally unveiled his latest charity project after more than a decade in the making. “Back in 2002 I had hurt my shoulder and while I was at the hospital getting treatment there was a man sitting next to me; the man was a firefighter,” said Kim at a press conference held at the Press Center in Seoul on Wednesday. “He told me that despite the difficult situations they face, they are
Feb. 5, 2014
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SM group to release sophomore album ‘Breath’ next week
SM Entertainment’s ballad project group SM The Ballad will release its sophomore album “Breath” next week, the nation’s top entertainment agency said Tuesday.Prior to the album’s formal release next Thursday, three songs, including the title track, will be unveiled one by one, starting on Monday, the company said. “Breath” will feature the collaborative efforts of eight singers from SM boy and girl groups: Jonghyun from SHINee, Max Changmin from TVXQ, Krystal from f(x), Zhoumi from Super Junior-
Feb. 5, 2014
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In NYC, Pussy Riot slams conditions in Russia
NEW YORK (AP) ― Americans who will be at the Winter Olympics should look beyond the facilities created for the games and take a hard look at the host country itself, two members of the Russian protest punk band Pussy Riot said Tuesday. Maria Alekhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova made their first public appearance in the United States, arriving to take part in Amnesty International’s “Bringing Human Rights Home” concert on Wednesday in Brooklyn, where they will be introduced by Madonna. The women w
Feb. 5, 2014
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Muti to stay at Chicago Symphony Orchestra until 2020
CHICAGO (AFP) ― Italian conductor Riccardo Muti said Monday he will extend his tenure as the musical director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra through 2020.The famous maestro from Naples has thrilled audiences in Chicago since his arrival in 2010.“Chicago is my home away from home, and I am very glad it will continue to be so,” Muti said in a statement. “The people here are very special, and their support of this fine orchestra is essential to its future.”Muti, 72, praised the orchestra’s “extr
Feb. 4, 2014
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Scottish rockers Mogwai to light up Seoul this month
With nearly two decades in the rock music scene, the members of the Glasgow-based post-rock band Mogwai have made a return with their first album in three years and will be performing live in Seoul. The band recently released its eighth studio album, “Rave Tapes,” last month and in its first week, the 10-track album landed at No. 10 on the U.K. Album Charts and No. 2 on the Scottish Album Charts. To follow up their latest release, Mogwai has embarked on a worldwide tour that will bring them to K
Feb. 4, 2014