Rain on Sunday finished his last nation-wide concert tour ahead of entering military service on Oct. 11. The last set of concerts, titled “Rain the Best Show,” was held at the Gymnastics Stadium in Olympic Park, Seoul on Saturday and Sunday, each attracting more than 10,000 fans. Prior to the Seoul concerts, the hallyu star announced on Friday that he will be placed at a military unit in Uijeon...

Exhibitions “Teenager, Teenager”: Chinese art duo Sun Yuan and Peng Yu present “Teenager, Teenager,” a work composed of six freakishly-human-resembling, stone-headed wax figures. Mirroring the artists’ wish to break the boundary between art and reality, the work is only one of the duo’s many bizarre performance-accompanied artworks. Freedom is another keyword to understanding the duo’s art, as i...

Amos gets classically inspired Tori Amos “Night of Hunters” (Deutsche Grammophon) Tori Amos has established herself as an unmistakable musical presence with a distinctive voice, her powerful piano playing and a penchant for lyrics that can be a bit, well, confounding. “Night of Hunters” is packed with those piercing Amos vocals, her dominating piano and a fair share of head-scratching lyrics,...

Ordinary Days (Korea) Opening Sept. 29 Drama. Directed by Lee Nan. Han-cheol (Song Sae-byeok), who hates his job as an insurance salesman, is sick of his mundane and uneventful life. He even tries to commit suicide several times but those attempts fail. He decides to continue living his boring life until he receives an unexpected call from a woman he barely remembers from his past. Meanwhile, ...

Brad Pitt knows the parallels are obvious: baseball and the movie biz ― two industries where the complex algorithms of stats and star power, home runs and box-office hits, are endlessly worked on and worried over. Old ways of doing business, based on gut instinct and high-priced players, give way to leaner, meaner, formula-driven concepts ― on the playing field, and on the screen. “Especially in...

Coloratura soprano Sumi Jo said her concert on Saturday evening at the Olympic Park’s outdoor stage will be a “luxury gift set” because audiences will be able to see world-renowned artists in different musical fields perform together in harmony. The “Hyundai Capital Invitational Park Concert” will be at the Olympic Park’s 88 Jandi Madang at 7 p.m. Jo joins the stage with conductor Seven Mercurio...

NEW YORK (AP) ― Conga, merengue, salsa, cumbia. And also pop. Rock. Folk. As a singer, Gloria Estefan has offered a whole palette of flavors and colors to her fans, both in English and in Spanish. But with her new English album, “Miss Little Havana,” the Cuban star reveals a side she had yet not explored with the tone of her voice ― one of great sensuality. She attributes her newest producer Pha...

MANILA (AP) ― How did Seoul become Asia’s capital of cool? Even here in the Philippines, once an undisputed bastion of American pop and Hollywood movies, South Korean pop music, soap operas and fashion are now all the rage. “I want the same brown, but slightly blonde color, as Sandara’s hair,” says 22-year-old hotel worker Kins Wu, referring to girl band singer Sandara Park as she sifts through...

Actress E Ji-ah, who took a break from her entertainment career in the aftermath of news reports of her secret marriage, divorce and legal fight with musician Seo Tai-ji, will come back to the small screen for MBC drama “Me Too, Flower!” the broadcaster and her agency said. She will play the role of police officer Cha Bong-sun who falls in love with a tycoon Seo Jae-hee who secretly moonlights a...

Over 5,000 artworks showing at Korea International Art Fair this week at COEX To the delight of many art aficionados in South Korea, the nation’s biggest art fair will kick off on Thursday at COEX in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul. The 10th Korea International Art Fair is bigger than ever. It will offer a wide array of over 5,000 artworks ranging from paintings, sculptures, installations, media ...

LOS ANGELES (AFP) ― Disney and filmmaker James Cameron announced plans Tuesday to bring the world of the Oscar-winning movie “Avatar” to the entertainment giant’s theme parks. The first “Avatar” land will open at the Walt Disney World in Florida, with construction due to begin by 2013, said Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Worldwide, Cameron and Fox Filmed Entertainment. “James Cameron is a ground...

Indie bands Chang Kiha & the Faces, Romantic Punch and Eastern Side Kick will be given the first Olleh Music Indie Awards by KT Music on Sunday. The operator of online music portal Olleh Music said it conducted an online poll from Sept. 1-18 asking which bands should be awarded Best Album of the Month, Best Artist of the Month and Best Rookie of the Month. KT Music said the poll results and opi...

With entertainment companies’ shares rising on the popularity of K-pop, the value of securities held by entertainers is soaring to new highs, data showed Wednesday. According to Chaebul.com, the value of SM Entertainment shares held by its chairman Lee Soo-man came in at 165.7 billion won ($144.6 million) at Tuesday’s close, setting a new record in terms of securities assets held by entertainers...