Most Popular
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40 flights canceled on Jeju Island due to bad weather
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Pandemic left Korea more depressed than before: report
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Korean labor force to shrink by 10 million by 2044: report
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[AtoZ Korean Mind] Does your job define who you are? Should it?
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N. Korea slams US, other countries for seeking alternative to UN sanctions monitoring panel
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Gov't appears to shelve punitive measures against mass walkout by doctors
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Allegations surrounding BTS resurface, enraged fans demand apology
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Students with history of violence will be barred from becoming teachers
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Govt. asks hospitals to mitigate impact of medical professors' absence
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Samsung mocks Apple over iPhone alarm glitch
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Restoring Wagner’s legacy
Korea has been rather unfamiliar with German composer Wilhelm Richard Wagner (1813-1883) except for a few excerpts from works such as the “Wedding March” from “Tannhauser.” Some of his operas have never been staged here and his works have been cherished by only a rather small group of fans who proudly call themselves Wagnerian. In celebration of the 200th anniversary of Wagner’s birth, an international movement focusing on and promoting Wagner has landed in Korea. From looking inside the persona
June 2, 2013
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TV host’s black war posters focus of U.S. exhibit
PHILADELPHIA (AP) ― A new exhibit created by a University of Pennsylvania professor and host of a popular public television show examines how wartime propaganda has been used to motivate oppressed populations to risk their lives for homelands that considered them second-class citizens.“Black Bodies in Propaganda: The Art of the War Poster,” opens Sunday and continues until March 2 at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Lectures, film screenings and other progra
June 2, 2013
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Art owned by T.S. Eliot’s widow on sale
LONDON (AP) ― It’s the collection that “Cats” built.A multimillion-dollar trove of works by artists including J.M.W. Turner, Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud and Winston Churchill that were owned by poet T.S. Eliot’s widow will be sold in London later this year, Christie’s auction house announced Friday.Valerie Eliot, who died in November aged 86, bought the artworks with royalties from the hit Andrew Lloyd Webber musical “Cats,” which was based on her husband’s volume of light verse “Old Possum’s Bo
June 2, 2013
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Theater“La Dame au Violoncelle”: TV actress Lee Jae-eun, who started her career as a child actress, is making a comeback with a play written by French playwright Guy Foissy. Titled “La Dame au Violoncelle (The Lady of the Cello),” the drama tells the story of an unhappy, depressed woman who is accused of murdering her husband. It is said to be a story of “the quest for happiness.” The play runs from June 5-30 at You-Theater in Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul. Tickets range from 20,000 won to 30,0
May 31, 2013
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‘World’s oldest’ Torah scroll found in Italian archive
ROME (AFP) ― The world’s oldest complete Torah scroll has been found in a university archive in Bologna, according to an Italian professor who said the text could be from the 12th century.The precious lambskin scroll had been classified by the university library as being from the 17th century and was named simply “Scroll Number Two.”But Hebrew Studies professor Mauro Perani told AFP on Wednesday he noticed that the text did not conform to key changes in Torah writing brought about starting from
May 30, 2013
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Torrent file-sharing services threaten content industry
Just when the Wild Wild West of online world seemed to have been somewhat tamed with the regulation of Webhard and peer-to-peer services, yet another type of file-sharing service has emerged as a major headache for the content industry. Armed with anonymity and state-of-the-art technologies, the mushrooming torrent file-sharing service is dealing a huge blow to the local content industry, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Thursday. According to a team of special investigators with
May 30, 2013
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Pianist Paik goes local
Pianist Paik Kun-woo should be credited for breaking the prejudice that classical music is the domain of Western musicians.Long before Kim Sun-wook, Son Yeol-eum, Cho Seong-jin and others swept international competitions and recorded internationally acclaimed albums, Paik proved that Asians, could be just as capable of delivering the universal sentiment of Beethoven, Liszt and others. Moreover, he paved the way for fellow Koreans to perform at top-notch concert halls by selling out concerts. Hav
May 28, 2013
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Popularity of evening admissions to palace causes headache
More people visited Gyeongbokgung Palace during the five-day night viewing period last week than in any previous year since the event was launched in 2010. But its popularity is a mixed blessing. It not only caused much inconvenience to visitors, but raised some serious public safety issues as well as concerns about how to preserve the cultural heritage site while still keeping it open to large crowds. On Sunday evening during the final hours of the Gyeongbokgung Palace night viewing, a large cr
May 27, 2013
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KF music festival to encompass world music
From Irish ethnic tunes to Jamaican ska, world music will fill the air of the Hanbit Park outdoor stage in central Seoul June 1-2 as part of “KF Festival 2013 ― The Music of the World.” The festival, hosted by the Korea Foundation, aims to bridge Korea and the world and will focus on showcasing all kinds of music and performances on the stage. The Banana Choir, composed of children from an Indian slum, will open the event on Saturday evening. Their performance is part of a fund-raising project t
May 27, 2013
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Fragments of biblical treasure are up for sale
JERUSALEM (AP) ― Parts of the Dead Sea Scrolls are up for sale ― in tiny pieces. Nearly 70 years after the discovery of the world’s oldest biblical manuscripts, the Palestinian family who originally sold them to scholars and institutions is now quietly marketing the leftovers ― fragments the family says it has kept in a Swiss safe deposit box all these years.Most of these scraps are barely postage-stamp-sized, and some are blank. But in the last few years, evangelical Christian collectors and in
May 26, 2013
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Eight Korean traditional dance masters to perform together
Dance fans will have a rare opportunity to see masters of eight different forms of Korean traditional dance performing on the same nights at the same venue this week. “Palmujeon,” organized by the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation, will feature eight female dance masters, each with her own unique style specializing in different genres of traditional dance. The 2011 dance event hosted by the foundation, “Nammuyeoljeon,” featured only male dancers. During the two-hour event slated for May 30-31,
May 26, 2013
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Home is where the art is
The Gamcheon area of Busan used to be somewhere people would usually avoid. Seen as a ghetto, the place held little charm. But in 2009 things started to change. Artists and activists gathered at this little-known place, painted the walls and installed art here, there and everywhere. Annual projects such as “MiroMiro Alley” and “Sanbok Road Renaissance” turned the rough grey walls pink, blue, yellow and other pastel shades, while stairways and outdated facilities were given a facelift. At street
May 24, 2013
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Theater“A Tale of Two Cities”: “A Tale of Two Cities,” a musical based on the novel of the same title by Charles Dickens, is being restaged in Seoul after its first Seoul run last year. The piece is set against the conflicts between the rebels and aristocracy during the French revolution and its parallel world in 18th Century London. It tells the story of Sydney Carton, a shrewd young English lawyer who develops a strong, unrequited love for Lucie Manette, a young loving French woman who grew up
May 24, 2013
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La Scala scales back on productions
MILAN (AP) ― La Scala has reduced the number of operas it will stage during the 2013-14 season due to Italy’s economic crisis, the theater’s general manager said Thursday. The program for next season announced by Stephane Lissner comprises 10 operas instead of the usual 13, and there will be just eight new productions among the 16 ballets and operas. Lissner said the choices reflect “problems due both to the economic crisis and the constant decrease in public funding.” Italy’s unemployment rate
May 24, 2013
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Istanbul-Gyeongju expo to fuel hallyu in Turkey
A comprehensive cultural event highlighting Korean pop, cuisine, fashion, martial arts and more will kick off in Istanbul in August. Aimed at forging closer ties between Korea and Turkey, the Istanbul-Gyeongju World Culture Expo 2013, which will be held Aug. 31-Sept. 22 at various spots in Istanbul, is designed to help open up a 21st-century “cultural Silk Road.”A total of 50 countries including 15 European and 18 Asian ones will participate in the promotion of their cultures. “We wanted the wor
May 23, 2013
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Multiculturalism is real: filmmaker
Korean people should not approach multiculturalism as an ideology or theoretically, but accept it naturally as society has already become multicultural, according to Yook Sang-hyo, director of the 2010 movie “Banga Banga,” which comically depicts life for foreign migrant workers and social discrimination in Korea. “We should not be distracted by some cultural and social logic of multiculturalism. It’s real. Korean society has become multicultural. It’s time to accept it naturally,” said Yook dur
May 22, 2013
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Media image of foreigners a mixed bag
As Korean society becomes culturally diversified, multiculturalism has emerged as a popular topic in the mass media. Starting with 2007’s SBS TV drama “Golden Bride,” which featured a Vietnamese woman married to a Korean man, more TV dramas, movies and entertainment shows followed featuring different facets of multiculturalism in Korea. Multiculturalism was a major theme in recent box-office hits such as “Wandeuki” (English title “Punch”) in 2011 and “Banga Banga” (“He’s on Duty”) in 2010, as we
May 22, 2013
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Opera to bring 1,100-year-old tale to life in today’s Apgujeong
According to hyangga, or folk songs from the Silla Kingdom (B.C. 57-A.D. 935), Cheo Yong was a man who came from nowhere and married a Silla woman. One day, when he returned home at night, he found “four legs” in his bed, obvious proof of his wife’s infidelity. But instead of becoming infuriated, he sang a song and stepped back. The wife’s lover, described as the god of misfortune, later apologized and promised never to return, praising Cheo Yong’s generosity. In 1987, dramatist Kim Eui-kyoung a
May 22, 2013
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Villagers discover ancient ball-game statue in Mexico
MEXICO CITY (AFP) ― Villagers installing a water pipe in southwestern Mexico stumbled onto an ancient granite statue depicting a player from a pre-Hispanic ball game, the national anthropology institute said Monday.The stone had been sliced at the neck, like a decapitation, and buried in a ritual that was common at the time, the National Anthropology and History Institute said in a statement.There are indications that the 1.65-meter-tall statue, which depicts a bow-legged ballplayer with his arm
May 21, 2013
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Bach to be celebrated at DITTO Festival in June
It is always good to see young artists pouring out their passion on stage. If they are extremely talented, the pleasure doubles. The fifth “DITTO Festival,” featuring young and talented musicians performing the most intimate form of classical music, chamber music, will be held June 9-30 at the Seoul Arts Center and LG Arts Center. This year, the legendary German composer J.S. Bach will be highlighted at the hands of the main members of the Ditto Ensemble ― violist Richard Yongjae O’Neill, violin
May 21, 2013