Tourism hit hard by ferry accident

Local festivals, school trips and ferry tours have been canceled or delayed after the deadly ferry sinking off the southern coast last week, bringing the tourism industry to a grinding halt. Provincial governments are now scrapping plans to start spring festivals in May. Jeolla Province announced it has canceled the popular Hampyeong Butterfly Festival, scheduled to kick off on May 2. Other major spring festivals such as the Icheon Ceramics Festival, originally scheduled to start on Friday, and

TravelApril 23, 2014

[Uniquely Korean] Street food evolves

Kim Hee-sook and her husband came up with a recipe for a crispy sweet pancake, a variation of hotteok, a traditional Korean pancake stuffed with sugar, 18 years ago. They set up a food stall on a street in Insa-dong. Their hotteok made with corn starch and glutinous rice became an instant hit. It is now one of the must-taste street snacks in the popular tourist spot. “Others started imitating us,” she said, constantly flipping the round, flat hotteok. Her hotteok is filled with a mix of up to 13

FoodApril 23, 2014

Reality beyond statistics

We live in a world of statistics. Statistics expressed in the form of percentages, graphs and pie charts are everywhere. Their stated aim is to paint an accurate picture of reality with numbers. But European avant-garde theater group Rimini Protokoll challenges this notion and aims to show what the dry statistics fail to show. With its series of “100% city” shows, it has been giving faces to the numbers, by putting 100 people of a city on stage to answer questions that go beyond regular statisti

PerformanceApril 23, 2014

Neil Patrick Harris crushes it in ‘Hedwig’

NEW YORK (AP) ― It’s obvious from the first moments of “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” that star Neil Patrick Harris is doing something special. And it’s not just trying on a new role. He is lowered to the stage in a jumpsuit and ferociously feathered blond wig and immediately begins the show’s first rock-punk song, getting down on all fours, grinding into the microphone stand or licking the guitarist’s strings. The crowd inside of the Belasco Theatre, where the show opened Tuesday, loses its mind,

PerformanceApril 23, 2014

Amsterdam chief conductor Mariss Jansons to step down

THE HAGUE (AFP) ― The chief conductor of Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Mariss Jansons, is to step down at the end of the season after leading the world-famous ensemble for a decade, the RCO announced on Tuesday.“Today ... chief conductor Mariss Jansons informed the musicians and staff members of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra that Maestro Jansons will resign his position after the 2014-2015 season,” the RCO said in a statement.Health concerns were believed to be the reason for hi

PerformanceApril 23, 2014

Bon Jovi helps open, fund low-income housing in Philly

PHILADELPHIA (AP) ― Jon Bon Jovi’s hit tune “Who Says You Can’t Go Home?” took on new meaning Tuesday as the rock star cut the ribbon on a namesake housing development for low-income residents and the formerly homeless in Philadelphia. The 55-unit JBJ Soul Homes opened in the Francisville neighborhood after about 18 months of construction. Bon Jovi’s Soul Foundation provided the lead gift for the $16.6 million complex, which he hopes will offer tenants the support they need to get back on their

PeopleApril 23, 2014

A Polish take on ‘Macbeth’

Murder, betrayal, sex and vengeance ― no story shows the savage behavior that some humans succumb to in order to fulfill their ordained prophecies or the unrelenting grasp that evil can have on one’s soul like the power-hungry tale of William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth.”“Let not light see my black and deep desires,” Shakespeare wrote in the depiction of Macbeth’s inner turmoil as he longed to murder the king and overtake his throne. Considered one of Shakespeare’s most diabolical and compelling trag

PerformanceApril 23, 2014

Composer Yoon Il-sang writes requiem for Sewol victims

As the death toll from the ferry accident continues to rise day by day, veteran composer Yoon Il-sang has written a requiem for the victims.“I dedicate this song to the Sewol victims who have passed away ... I pray that they will be happy in the afterlife,” Yoon Il-sang wrote on his Twitter page on Wednesday after unveiling the elegy on his SoundCloud account.“Take Care,” a calm and doleful piano composition, was written, arranged and played by the composer himself.“It was difficult to work on b

April 23, 2014

Dress codes: What should schools limit?

EVANSTON, Illinois (AP) ― They’re called leggings ― popular fashion items that are tight-fitting pants to some, and glorified tights to others. Younger girls often wear them as pants with little fuss. But as those same girls approach middle school, leggings have become a clothing accessory that’s increasingly controversial ― and seemingly, the favorite new target of the school dress code. Some schools have banned leggings outright. Others have set limits. Haven Middle School in Evanston, just no

Arts & DesignApril 23, 2014

London looks to give voice to muted buskers

LONDON (AFP) ― Concerned that London’s seasoned street musicians are being silenced by excessive regulation, mayor Boris Johnson is leading calls for the buskers’ voices, and guitars, to be heard again.Camden Town in north London, with its punks and a main street bristling with “alternative” shops, has long been a favored destination for young visitors. But several months ago, buskers were ordered to silence their instruments by 9 p.m.Some fear that in bowing to the residents’ complaints about n

CultureApril 23, 2014

Magnifying glasses become necklaces, handkerchiefs

As a child, jewelry designer Yoon Hye-rim loved playing with her magnifying glass. “I’ve always been an observer,” she said. “I would use it to observe flowers, insects and other things in nature.”The up-and-coming designer recently launched a brand named “Efluvi,” which offers magnifying glasses in different forms, including necklaces, handkerchiefs, and even paperweights. She is one of the artists-in-residence at Seoul Art Space Sindang, an artist residency program funded by the government at

Arts & DesignApril 23, 2014

CLASH concert to help Justice for N. Korea

Regular expat-Korean charity concert CLASH will run again Saturday, with a show in aid of Justice for North Korea. This is the second CLASH in aid of Justice for North Korea, a non-partisan volunteer organization that helps North Korean refugees escape from China into South Korea and supports them here. JFNK also works with international organizations to push for better human rights conditions in North Korea and raise more awareness of the situation through street campaigns. The opening musical

Expat LivingApril 22, 2014

Lex-i-con to honor ‘self-confessed geek’ killed in road accident

Two events will be held in Itaewon on Saturday in honor of longtime expat Lex Boutilier, who died in a road accident on April 4.An indoor event with a Comic Con feel will be held in the afternoon, followed by a screening of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” and live music in the evening.The Lex-i-con events are being organized by a group of Boutilier’s friends, led by Jacco Zwetsloot, who worked with him at Hongik University.Zwetsloot said he got to know Boutilier through a shared interest in scie

Expat LivingApril 22, 2014

Seoul Global Center opens coworking space

As a one-stop support organization for international residents in Seoul, the Seoul Global Center has been providing a range of services including counseling on daily living, business consultation and cultural and educational programs. There are 400,000 foreign nationals living in Seoul and an increasing number want to start their own business or are seeking opportunities with local companies.Catering to the needs of foreign entrepreneurs, its Biz Lounge recently opened on the sixth floor of the

Expat LivingApril 22, 2014

Domestic operas to highlight festival

Two Korean operas and classic Italian, French and German operas will highlight this year’s Korea Opera Festival set for May 2-June 1. In its fifth year, the monthlong festival will present five stage productions which organizers say will help deepen, broaden and diversify the local opera scene. Two free outdoor concerts, including a closing gala, are planned as part of the festival’s efforts to entice new opera fans. The five works to be presented are Richard Strauss’ “Salome” by Korea Opera Gro

CultureApril 22, 2014

KOFA rediscovers classic Korean film

The Korean Film Archive has rediscovered the original reel of a popular film from the 1960s based on a real-life diary kept by a child from an impoverished household. The film, titled “Sorrow Even Up in Heaven,” enjoyed enormous popularity when it was released in theaters in 1965, drawing 285,000 viewers in Seoul alone. It is the highest-grossing black-and-white Korean film of all time, according to KOFA.Despite its box-office success, the film went missing along with many others produced before

FilmApril 22, 2014

Top stars to hold slew of intimate spring concerts

As the weather begins to brighten and the promise of greener pastures is just around the corner, a handful of popular artists have organized a series of concerts, moving away from the typical overcrowded, flashy K-pop stage settings. Shin Seung-hoon, IU, Lena Park and other stars will be performing a series of intimate concerts on small stages across the city to usher in the spring. Veteran singer Shin, oftentimes dubbed the “King of Ballads” in Korea, has announced that he will be holding a str

April 22, 2014

Actress Han Ga-in pregnant with first child

Actress Han Ga-in, 32, and her husband, actor Yeon Jung-hoon, 36, are expecting their first child after 9 years of marriage.“Han Ga-in is currently pregnant. Yeon is very happy, because it’s their first child after years of marriage,” Han’s agency BH Entertainment said in a statment on Monday. “However, as the nation is in grief over the ferry disaster, the couple notified only their families and relatives of the pregnancy.”According to the agency, “Han will be focusing on prenatal care for the

April 22, 2014