Big Day South to show off creative talent in Daegu

Two expat magazines and an expat record label are getting together for a creative festival on April 26 to show off creative talent in the southeast of Korea. Daegu’s (b)racket Magazine and I Like Many Records and Ulsan’s Angle Magazine are bringing together artists, musicians and other creative people for the Big Day South festival.“With the Big Day South festival, we want to showcase the creativity, talent and beauty outside of Seoul, to challenge the notion that in Korea, if something cannot b

Expat LivingApril 15, 2014

International marriage in Korea, part II: divorce

Here we continue our discussion of international marriage and divorce, focusing on divorce in time for Black Day.Only one thing could possibly be better than admitting that your relationship is irreparable, or going through the pleasure of dividing substantial assets with someone who no longer likes you while fighting over some tiny or not-so-tiny living things you made together. That is having all of this take place, at moderate to great expense, in a courtroom of unsympathetic onlookers.It’s t

Expat LivingApril 15, 2014

Dami Im to perform at ANZA Korea Ball

The Australia and New Zealand Association will be running its annual gala ball on May 3, with the theme of “A Night at the Opera House,” featuring a performance from last year’s “X-Factor Australia” winner, Dami Im.“We are thrilled to have secured Dami Im for the 2014 ANZA Korea Ball. She has captured the hearts of Australian audiences and there is no doubt she will do the same for our ball guests. She is truly amazing,” said Jana Kovar, president of ANZA Korea. Of South Korean descent, Im Dami

Expat LivingApril 15, 2014

3-D film reconstructs 18th-century Joseon fest

It took Crown Prince Sado (1735-1762) eight days to die of starvation after his father King Yeongjo ordered him to be confined in a cramped wooden rice chest. Sado’s son, who later became King Jeongjo, was only 10 when his father was killed by his grandfather. Exactly 33 years after Sado’s death, Jeongjo threw a grandiose festival in 1795, which lasted for eight days ― the same number of days his father spent alone locked in the wooden box.KBS Media’s latest 3-D documentary, “Uigwe, the 8-Day Fe

FilmApril 15, 2014

Sumi Jo sings Bach on new album, tour

Sumi Jo, one of the most beloved classical singers in Korea, has just released a new album with Deutsche Grammophon, “Only Bach.” The Grammy-winning soprano sings cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach and nothing else on her latest album, including well-known pieces like “Jesus bleibet meine Freude (Jesus, Joy of Man’s Desiring)” and “Ave Maria.”Bach cantatas are usually sung with a small orchestra, but Jo sings accompanied by only a guitar and a violin, adding a fresh appeal to the beloved songs. I

CultureApril 15, 2014

Matisse’s colorful cutouts go on show in London

LONDON (AP) ― A huge new Henri Matisse show in London is many things ― bold, colorful, exuberant. It’s also a great advertisement for the creativity of old age. The 130 works displayed at Tate Modern were created largely in the last decade of the French artist’s long life, when Matisse ― in a wheelchair, recovering from cancer and unable to paint as he once had ― used scissors and paper to create a series of big, bold and ambitious cutouts. The work of a man in his late 70s and 80s, they burst w

PerformanceApril 15, 2014

G.NA to release comeback single next week

K-pop singer G.NA is set to release a new single next week, according to her agency Cube Entertainment on Monday.The singer’s new digital single “Pretty Lingerie” will drop at noon on April 21.According to Cube, “Pretty Lingerie” features a fresh melody and lyrics that any woman who has been in love can empathize with. “G.NA, who has typically sung about confident women, seeks to portray women’s pure and candid attitudes this time through her new song,” the agency said.G.NA also released an eye-

April 15, 2014

Lady Gaga, YG Family to hold joint festival

Global superstar Lady Gaga will join some of YG Entertainment’s biggest acts including Psy, Big Bang, 2NE1 and the agency’s newest boy band Winner on the stage for a two-day joint music festival slated for Aug. 15 and 16 in Seoul. The “AIA Real Life: NOW Festival 2014” will mark Lady Gaga’s second performance in Korea after she electrified more than 45,000 fans two years ago with her 18-and-over show. It was the largest crowd at Jamsil Sports Complex Stadium since the legendary King of Pop Mich

April 15, 2014

[Herald Interview] Putting Korean culture in global limelight

This summer, a series of Korean concerts, plays and performances will be held in London, competing for the limelight at the city’s major arts festival ― the City of London Festival. Five or six other Korean performance groups will take the much-coveted stage at the famous Edinburgh Festival next year, continuing what Angella Kwon hopes to be “the Korean culture bash” at high-profile international arts festivals. “Hallyu, or the popularity of Korean culture overseas, is still a very tiny, tiny mo

CultureApril 14, 2014

ArtShow Busan to open Friday

ArtShow Busan, the port city’s largest art fair, will kick off on Friday at Bexco, showcasing more than 4,000 works of art by international artists represented by prestigious galleries.The art fair, in its third year, is attempting to cement its status as a notable art market in Asia by presenting the works of high-profile artists including Nam June Paik, Lee U-fan, Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst and Julian Opie. Last year, 35,000 people visited the fair and sales reached 5.1 billion won ($4.9 millio

PerformanceApril 14, 2014

With $41.4 million, ‘Captain America’ holds off ‘Rio 2’

NEW YORK (AP) ― “Captain America” continued to flex its Marvel muscle at the global box office, as “The Winter Soldier” took in $41.4 million domestically and $60.6 million overseas. The strong second-week performance for the Walt Disney release in North America was enough to narrowly edge 20th Century Fox’s “Rio 2” in a springtime battle of sequels. The animated Amazon jungle tale “Rio 2” debuted with $39 million, according to studio estimates Sunday, almost exactly the opening weekend total of

FilmApril 14, 2014

Bernard Park wins ‘K-pop Star,’ signs with JYP

Korean-American Bernard Park has been crowned the winner of popular singing competition program “Survival Audition K-pop Star 3.”The soulful ballad singer sealed the deal with his performance of Yoo Jae-ha’s 1980s ballad hit “Because I Loved You” and R. Kelly’s “I Believe I can Fly” in the season finale on Sunday. He beat out fellow Korean-American competitor Sam Kim, who performed a self-rendition of Big Bang’s “Liar” and Sting’s “Englishman in New York.” Along with a cash prize of 300 million

April 14, 2014

2000 Won makes debut with EP

2000 Won, a male duo who competed on “K-pop Star 2,” has formally debuted in the local music scene with its first EP “2000 Won 1st Mini Album,” featuring strong vocals and rapping.The up-and-coming Kim Hyo-bin and Kim Il-do kicked off their first live performance with the lead single “Don’t Like Seoul Anymore” in a showcase at KT Olleh Square in Seoul on Friday.The song is a sentimental track that portrays the overwhelming sense of emptiness felt after a breakup. 2,000 won passionately sings abo

April 14, 2014

Loen Entertainment rolls out virtual signing event on 1theK facebook

Loen Entertainment has launched a creative signing event for K-pop stars on its 1theK Facebook account, the agency said Monday.Upon clicking “like” for the “Wonderful Fan Signing Event” at www.facebook.com/1theK, each user can choose between a video clip of K-pop singer IU or boy band B.A.P. In each video clip, the K-pop artists hold up the user’s Facebook profile picture and have a “mini concert.” At the end, the singers sign autographs with the user’s name and profile picture automatically pri

April 14, 2014

[Herald Interview] Composer with crossover appeal sees future in gugak

The music of composer Ryu Hyeong-sun has an appeal that crosses strikingly different genres and attracts a diverse range of fans. To young or expecting moms, he is best known for a series of pregnancy music, lullabies and children’s songs. Christians know him as a gospel musician. Among fans of gugak or traditional Korean classical music, he is regarded as one of the country’s most promising gugak composers. Characterizing Ryu or his music by genre makes little difference to him, though. Music m

PerformanceApril 13, 2014

Director Raoul Peck shoots new quake film in Haiti

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) ― Haiti’s most respected filmmaker began production on a new film in Haiti this week, making perhaps the first feature to dramatize how people faced the topsy-turvy days and weeks after the 2010 earthquake. France-based Raoul Peck’s latest film, “Murder in Pacot,” uses a traditional stranger-comes-to-town plot line to examine how the quake upended Haiti’s strongly divided class system. The movie focuses on a well-to-do family whose house is almost completely destroyed.

FilmApril 13, 2014

[Band Uprising] Cold Cherry combines frigid and sweet lyrics with acoustic sounds

As the Korean music market begins to receive more international recognition, the local band scene is looking to rise up and represent the next generation of Korean music. This is the seventh installment in a series of interviews with Korean rock, acoustic and alternative bands. ― Ed.The mild and melancholic acoustic pop trio Cold Cherry, comprised of Kim Bbal-gang, Yu Hyun-jin and Lee Yu-han, got its start in the Hongdae music scene playing at any venue that was willing to have them. With so man

April 13, 2014

Outkast reunite, headline Coachella music festival

Outkast reunited onstage after a near decade-long hiatus with a jam-packed set at the Coachella music festival, their first of many performances planned this year. The rap duo headlined the first night of the music festival Friday in Indio, California, performing well-known hits such as “Hey Ya!” “Ms. Jackson,” “The Way You Move,” “Elevators (Me & You)” and “So Fresh, So Clean.” The Grammy winners performed two dozen tracks ― seen via its livestream on YouTube ― as they celebrated 20 years in mu

PerformanceApril 13, 2014