Future trends on display at Herald Design Market

Leather laptop mats, skull candles, decorative foldable lampshades and even dachshund-shaped desk lights, the four-day Herald Design Market is a one-stop shop for inspiring avant-garde items stemming from the farthest reaches of the imagination. A selection of around 80 young, up-and-coming designers have been given the opportunity to showcase their products, which range from quirky to practical to inspirational. The market is currently being held in a three-story complex located next to the Blu

Arts & DesignOct. 9, 2013

Designers are solvers of problems: Card

A designer is a problem solver, British designer and illustrator Gary Card said at Wednesday’s Herald Design Talk in Seoul. Defining himself as a designer, one with a highly diverse portfolio that ranges from t-shirt prints and retail shops to fashion editorials and sculptures, Card said that designers are distinguished from artists by the fact that they are given problems to work out. “Designers are problem solvers. They are given a problem, and to solve that problem in the most vivid and excit

CultureOct. 9, 2013

National troupes to perform signature dances in October

Fall is rolling in fast in Seoul and Korea’s national dance troupes are presenting some of the most poignant love stories this month.The Korean National Ballet and the National Dance Company of Korea are presenting the romantic ballet “Giselle” and traditional Korean dance “Chum, Chunhyang” at the National Theater of Korea from Oct. 17 to 23.It is the first time that the two dances will be performed at the same venue on alternate days. This means the National Theater of Korea staff will be switc

PerformanceOct. 9, 2013

Internet giants targeted ahead of world’s biggest book fair

FRANKFURT (AFP) ― Organizers of the world’s biggest book fair warned Tuesday against the domination of Internet giants as the publishing world grapples to blend old and new forms of reading.American giants Amazon, Apple and Google ― whose entry into the world of online sales and digital books is threatening the traditional publishing industry ― are “logistics magicians but are not publishers,” said Juergen Boos, director of the Frankfurt Book Fair.“There’s no passion there,” he told reporters as

BooksOct. 9, 2013

Sungnyemun paint seen coming off five months after restoration

Some of the colorful paint on the newly restored Sungnyemun Gate in central Seoul has come off just five months after the gate’s opening to the public, allegedly due to poor execution of the traditional method of painting. According to the Cultural Heritage Administration on Tuesday, about 20 sections of dancheong painting on the gate are visibly damaged. Most of the damaged parts face the south and were extensively exposed to sunlight. The CHA opened the upper portion of the gate to the press o

CultureOct. 9, 2013

IU de-thrones Busker Busker with ‘Modern Times’

Twenty-year-old K-pop starlet IU has swept the charts with her latest studio album “Modern Times,” knocking off Busker Busker, which had been dominating the local real-time music charts since the release of its second album on Sept. 25. The single “The Red Shoes,” the lead track from IU’s third album, topped more than nine major online music charts including Melon, Naver, Mnet and Daum, upon its release on Tuesday. Similar to Busker Busker’s explosive follow-up album comeback, many other songs f

PerformanceOct. 9, 2013

2NE1 appointed as KBEE 2013 honorary ambassadors

The four K-pop divas of 2NE1 have officially been appointed the honorary ambassadors for this year’s “Korea Brand and Entertainment Expo” in London. The KBEE ― sponsored by the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy and the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism ― is an annual event held overseas with the purposes of creating the largest hallyu trade fair as well as promoting Korean culture and products while seeking international business opportunities in the creative industries. As one of t

PerformanceOct. 9, 2013

Psy and G-Dragon rumored to attend Bieber’s concert

Early last month, Canadian teen pop sensation Justin Bieber tweeted, “Excited to get to Korea to perform on October 10th. Maybe u will see my guys @psy_oppa and @IBGDRGN. Get the bbq ready.” The tweet sparked rumors online that his label-mate Psy and Big Bang leader G-Dragon could be joining the pop star on stage at his upcoming Seoul concert.Bieber and talent manager Scooter Braun arrived in Seoul on Tuesday and photos of Bieber together with Psy and G-Dragon were tweeted by manager Braun, caus

PerformanceOct. 9, 2013

Asian filmmakers revisit classic Westerns

BUSAN (AFP) ― Two major Asian adaptations of classic Westerns have hit screens at the Busan International Film Festival, in a revival of a genre that drew some of its early inspiration from the cinema of the East. Japanese-Korean director Lee Sang-il’s “Unforgiven” is a remake of the 1992 Clint Eastwood classic of the same name, starring the Oscar-nominated Ken Watanabe. “Once Upon a Time In Vietnam,” directed by Vietnamese-American director Dustin Nguyen takes its inspiration from Sergio Leone’

FilmOct. 9, 2013

Hall dedicated to fisherman who defended Dokdo

A memorial hall honoring a fisherman who defended Dokdo from Japanese fishermen during the Joseon era has been dedicated on Ulleungdo Island. The office of North Gyeongsang Province opened the doors of the Ahn Yong-bok memorial hall to the public on Tuesday. Located on the island nearest Dokdo, the easternmost Korean islets also claimed by Japan, the two-story building with a basement has an exhibition room, an auditorium, a screening room and other facilities. Outside the hall, there are a scul

PeopleOct. 9, 2013

Korean adventurer walks across North American desert

A Korean adventurer recently led a team successfully through North America’s western desert on foot. The three-man expedition group capped by Nam Young-ho, a member of the Kolon Sports Challenge Team of Korean explorers in diverse fields, arrived at Reno, Nevada, around 2 p.m. on Oct. 6, local time, 25 days after departing from Great Salt Lake Desert in Utah on Sept. 12, Kolon Sports said. They walked about 700 kilometers over the Great Basin Desert to complete the crossing. The Great Basin Dese

PeopleOct. 9, 2013

Tom Hanks reveals Type 2 diabetes

LOS ANGELES (AFP) ― Two-time Academy Award winner Tom Hanks has stunned fans by revealing on a U.S. late-night talk show that he’s living with Type 2 diabetes.Hanks, 57, was promoting his new movie “Captain Phillips” ― about the capture of a U.S. cargo ship by Somali pirates ― when he made the surprise disclosure on CBS television’s “Late Night with David Letterman” on Monday.“I went to the doctor and he said, ‘You know those high blood sugar numbers you’ve been dealing with since you were 36? W

PeopleOct. 9, 2013

Learning language, writing system can connect Korea to the world

Johan Hoffmann, a 38-year-old Berliner, didn’t really know about Korea until he came across Korean films in 1998. The dark but artistic world of directors such as Park Chan-wook and Kim Ki-duk cast a spell on him and Hoffmann, who had studied Japanese, chose to learn Korean. Hoffmann said learning to read and write Hangeul came easy and that influenced his decision. “You only need a couple of days to know how to read and write Korean with Hangeul though you may not know what it means,” Hoffman t

CultureOct. 8, 2013

Murakami seen leading Nobel literature race with no clear winner

STOCKHOLM (AFP) ― In a year with no clear favourites, Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami appears to be the front-runner to win the Nobel Prize for Literature this week.Murakami, known across the globe for works such as “Norwegian Wood” and “1Q84,” heads the list at bookmaker Ladbrokes with 5/2 odds.Also near the top of the Ladbrokes list is Canadian Alice Munro with odds of 4/1, and American Joyce Carol Oates with 8/1 odds.Murakami has impressed the critics and won a mass readership with his intr

BooksOct. 8, 2013

Herald Design Forum shares tips on success

Prominent designers and innovators in design shared their design philosophy and visions with Korean audience at the Herald Design Forum on Tuesday, a main lecture event held during the Herald Design Week 2013. The forum opened with the renowned Japanese architect Toyo Ito, the winner of the Pritzker Prize 2013, who introduced some of his major architectural works that demonstrate some of his key values in architecture - social responsibility. In a comprehensive, detailed lecture, Ito revealed ke

Arts & DesignOct. 8, 2013

Herald Design Market offers goods of all kinds

The Herald Design Market showcases design products of young up-and-coming Korean designers. (Kim Myung-sub/The Korea Herald)The biggest merit of living in the age of design, perhaps, is the accessibility and affordability of goods for everyone. About 80 talented young designers set up tables under their own brand names at the Herald Design Market, showcasing everyday items with sophisticated designs. The products were displayed in a colorful, three-storied container building, an open patio of th

Arts & DesignOct. 8, 2013