Most Popular
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[Exclusive] Korean military set to ban iPhones over 'security' concerns
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Korean, Romanian leaders discuss defense tech, nuclear energy
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[Graphic News] 77% of young Koreans still financially dependent
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S. Korea calls on Japan to confront history amid Yasukuni Shrine visit
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Yoon’s jailed mother-in-law excluded from latest parole list
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Hybe and Min Hee-jin, CEO of Hybe sublabel Ador, lock horns
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[Pressure points] Leggings in public: Fashion statement or social faux pas?
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Yoo Jae-suk, Yoo Yeon-seok team up in 'Whenever Possible'
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Aging population to drive down Korea's housing prices from 2040: experts
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North Korea holds drills simulating nuclear counterattack against enemy
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[Graphic News] K-pop fans around the world
The number of K-pop fans around the world surpassed 9 million last year, according to a recent report by the Korea Foundation. The number stood at 9.28 million, up 2.58 million from 2012. Fan clubs came in at 987, up 204 from a year ago. By region, the Asia-Pacific had the greatest number of K-pop-loving fans at 6.8 million, while Africa and the Middle East together reported the most significant surge. The combined number of fans in Africa and the Middle East tripled to 60,000, with countries li
Jan. 12, 2014
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Exhibition shows men’s bags’ evolution from practical carryalls to style items
Men’s bags have become more than a practical means of carrying belongings. They are now much more like accessories, fashion statements or reflections of a man’s identity. In step with changing perceptions about the nature of men’s bags, the Simone Handbag Museum on the trendy Garosu-gil in Seoul recently opened a small exhibition to examine the relationships between men and bags. “Bags have become a style accessory, no longer a practical carrier. I think bags are one of the fashion items with wh
Arts & DesignJan. 12, 2014
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Cologne Phil to present rarely performed ‘Alpine Symphony’
Richard Strauss’ “Alpine Symphony” is rarely performed because of the demands it makes on an orchestra ― for starters, it requires 125 players. So far, no foreign orchestra has played the grandiose 50-minute piece here. That is why so many Korean music fans are thrilled about the upcoming concert by the Cologne Philharmonic Orchestra.The Germany-based orchestra will hold its first concert in Korea on Feb. 15 at Seoul Arts Center, with the program consisting of the “Alpine Symphony” and Mozart’s
CultureJan. 12, 2014
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Kick Kennedy calls her stage debut ‘magical’
NEW YORK (AP) ― The storied Kennedy family has produced a president, ambassadors, an attorney general, senators and plenty of congressmen. But not a professional actor. Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy hopes to change that. The 25-year-old granddaughter of Robert F. Kennedy is making her professional stage debut off-Broadway this month in, of all things, a Greek tragedy. Kennedy plays the title role in “Antigone,” the Sophocles play about a young woman willing to die in order to defend her family’s honor
PerformanceJan. 12, 2014
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Diane Von Furstenberg celebrates wrap dress’ 40th
LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Diane Von Furstenberg thought that, after 40 years, her wrap dress deserved a party. The 67-year-old designer and dozens of her famous friends celebrated the opening Friday of “Journey of a Dress,” an exhibit honoring the timeless style she introduced in the early 1970s: A flattering, easy-to-wear dress that fastens with a simple tie at the waist. “This is the first time that I ever honored the wrap dress, and she did so much for me,” said an ebullient Von Furstenberg, wearing
PerformanceJan. 12, 2014
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Spike Lee’s ‘Oldboy’ gets Korean release this week
The American remake of famed Korean auteur Park Chan-wook’s iconic 2003 film “Oldboy” is finally arriving in Korean theaters, after suffering a box office disappointment in the U.S.Directed by Spike Lee, whose works include “Do the Right Thing” (1989) and “You’re Nobody Till Somebody Kills You” (2011), the film stars Josh Brolin as Joe Doucett, the American version of Park’s Oh Dae-soo (played by Choi Min-sik back in 2003), who becomes imprisoned in a hotel room for 20 years without even knowing
FilmJan. 12, 2014
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Timberlake, Thicke have top-selling album, song
NEW YORK (AP) ― Justin Timberlake and Robin Thicke owned 2013 in music. Nielsen Entertainment announced last week that Timberlake’s “The 20/20 Experience” was the top-selling album with 2.4 million units sold. Thicke’s ubiquitous “Blurred Lines” was the best-selling song with 6.4 million tracks sold. Albums sales were down. Only 289.4 million albums were sold in 2013, compared with 316 million a year before. Single tracks also saw a decrease, by 6 percent. Streaming, however, was up 32 percent w
PerformanceJan. 12, 2014
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Chili Peppers to join Bruno Mars at Super Bowl
NEW YORK (AP) ― Bruno Mars will have help from the Red Hot Chili Peppers when he performs at the Super Bowl next month.Mars announced Saturday that the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers will join him as part of his halftime show at the National Football League championship game. Super Bowl halftime performers often have collaborators. Last year, Beyonce had Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams from her Destiny’s Child days join her onstage, and two years ago Nicki Minaj and M.I.A. joined Madonna for h
PerformanceJan. 12, 2014
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AMC announces premiere for ‘Better Call Saul’
ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (AP) ― AMC announced this week that the “Breaking Bad” spinoff, “Better Call Saul,” will premiere in November 2014, but no specific date has been released.The series will follow sleazy Albuquerque attorney Saul Goodman, played by Bob Odenkirk, as he defends drug lords, criminals and those allegedly injured in minor traffic accidents.The network has already created a website for the fictional lawyer, with Saul Goodman’s signature videos boasting how he can get anyone out o
TelevisionJan. 12, 2014
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Somerset Palace Seoul to celebrate Orthodox New Year with cultural event
The Somerset Palace Seoul is hosting a special “Orthodox Christians New Year’s Event” for those looking to spend the New Year in Slavic tradition. Orthodox Christians traditionally celebrated the New Year holiday following the Julian Calendar ― which corresponds to Jan. 14 of the Gregorian calendar this year ― participating in festive ceremonies and wishing each other good health and prosperity throughout the year. This tradition continues to be celebrated in many Eastern European nations includ
PeopleJan. 12, 2014
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Announcer Jung In-young flaunts her curves in men’s magazine
The January edition of men’s magazine Maxim, featuring announcer Jung In-young on the cover, was sold out as of Friday, according to news reports. “Most of the January edition is out of stock both online and in-stores. This is only the second time this has happened,” an official from Maxim was quoted as saying. The magazine sold out in May 2012 for the first time, when the editor herself modeled for the cover. Jung posed for Maxim in a tight dress, flaunting her curves. She is currently hosting
TelevisionJan. 12, 2014
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Calendar
Exhibitions“Re-Atta, Part 1: On-Air Project”: Photographer Atta Kim, whose innovative, striking photographs have received much attention in the global art community, returns with a solo exhibition in Seoul. Kim presents new images to wrap up the “On-Air” project that won him worldwide attention, as well as his previous works such as city images taken with long exposure and introduce another ambitious, philosophical project that overlaps 10,000 snapshots of a city into one. The extensive survey o
CultureJan. 10, 2014
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Box office: Miss Granny, Blue is the Warmest Color, Finding Mr. Right
Miss Granny (Korea)Opening Jan. 22Comedy. Drama. Directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk. Oh Mal-soon (Na Moon-hee), a 70-something grandmother, lives with her son and his family. She is controlling and shameless, and has a difficult relationship with her depressed daughter-in-law. She is proud of her son, who is a university professor, and that she managed to raise him by herself against all odds. One day, Mal-soon’s daughter-in-law gets hospitalized after suddenly collapsing, and doctors strongly advise
FilmJan. 10, 2014
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Eyelike: TVXQ marks 10th anniversary with ‘Tense’
TVXQ marks 10th anniversary with ‘Tense’TVXQ “Tense” (KT Music)K-pop legend TVXQ has returned to the music scene, celebrating the 10th anniversary of its debut with its new album, “Tense.” Although the duo has managed to produce an album that explores a wide range of musical genres, it has yet to overcome the void left behind by the three original members who left and formed a separate group, JYJ, in 2010.The album begins with “10 Years,” which notably fuses lyrics from former hits by TVXQ incl
PerformanceJan. 10, 2014
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Leo is charismatically loathsome as ‘Wolf of Wall Street’
Leonardo DiCaprio’s most charismatic performance ever anchors Martin Scorsese’s robust and raunchy low lifes-of-high-finance comedy “The Wolf of Wall Street.” This is their greatest teaming, a veritable “Citizen Kane” of the post-“greed is good” era ― three hours of cocaine and orgies and high-living by the sorts of gauche gamblers who brought that age, and the world economy, to its knees.It is Scorsese’s “La Dolce Vita,” a manic, coke-fueled stock market “Goodfellas” following the rise and epic
FilmJan. 10, 2014
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NYC Marriott claims tallest hotel in North America
NEW YORK (AP) ― A new Marriott in New York City is claiming to be the tallest single-use hotel building in North America. The Courtyard-Residence Inn Central Park is 228.6 meters high, according to Marriott spokeswoman Nina Herrera-Davila. The hotel opened Dec. 29 at 1717 Broadway at 54th Street. It’s 68 stories tall, with 378 rooms in the Courtyard hotel and 261 suites in the Residence Inn. The term single use means there are no private residences or offices in the building. Nightly rack rates
TravelJan. 10, 2014
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Agoda.com recommends hot travel spots in Milan
Agoda.com, the hotel booking site of Priceline Group, announced a list of hot travel spots in Milan, as well as hotel suggestions for those planning a winter vacation there. Milan, the second-largest city in Italy next to Rome, is known as a cultural city and industrial and financial hub of the country. The country also is a desirable winter destination with cool winter weather, not terribly cold, for skiing. Some of the attractions for sightseeing include the UNESCO World Heritage Site Santa Ma
TravelJan. 10, 2014
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South Koreans trek to China to see their sacred mountain
CHANGBAI, China (AFP) ― The spiritual birthplace of the Korean people is a volcano steeped in myth and legend. But with the peninsula divided for decades, South Koreans longing to see it must first travel to China.The peak ― known as Changbai in Chinese and Baekdu in Korean ― and its spectacular crater lake straddle the China-North Korea border.Small tour buses screech around hairpin curves before unloading South Korean tourists for a short walk to the rim to catch sight of the forbidden North ―
TravelJan. 10, 2014
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Hana Tour donates $1 per tour package booking
Hana Tour is donating $1 per tourist to help the Philippines rebuild the region devastated by Typhoon Haiyan. The donation campaign saves $1 per tourist visiting the Philippines and expects to deliver the amount to the typhoon-struck region at the end of February. The tour agency also collects used clothes and daily necessities from customers and plans to send them to residents affected by the natural disaster. Those who wish to participate can send items to Hana Tour offices in Korea or deliver
TravelJan. 10, 2014
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Air travel confusion with World Cup 5 months away
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) ― Five months out from the World Cup, Brazilian authorities seem unsure about how to handle the crunch of international visitors, many of whom are expected to rely on air travel for the month-long tournament.The chief of staff for Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said this week that a presidential decree was being considered to open more air routes to foreign carriers, partly aimed at keeping down soaring prices. The state-run tourism agency Embratur, which expects about 50
TravelJan. 10, 2014