Pop groups Big Bang and 2NE1 released their new albums in Japan on Wednesday. Big Bang’s latest album, “Alive,” includes “Feeling,” a collaborative effort among Big Bang’s G-Dragon, Top and world-famous German artist Boys Noize,“ that has been selected as the opening theme song for Japanese TV animation series ”Transformers:Prime.“ 2NE1’s first regular album in Japan, ”Collection,“ features 12 ...

Pop star Psy replaces Yoon Jong-shin on TV audition program Mnet’s “Superstar K4” will differentiate itself from the increasing number of audition programs here by discovering genuine musical talent and delivering touching stories from millions of applicants who dream of becoming a star, according one of the show’s judges. “The goal of the program is not only to introduce new talent to Korean a...

Actress’ stint as MC for new SBS talk show ‘not easy’ The overriding question overshadowing veteran actress Ko Hyeon-jeong’s new SBS talk show ― whose title “GO Show” takes its cue from her last name ― is whether or not this accomplished thespian has the verve, the wit and the quick-thinking ability to helm her own program. If the highlight reel that ran at the show’s press conference in Mokdon...

A crowd of some 200 Koreans and foreigners gathered outside in Insa-dong on Tuesday afternoon to watch a traditional Korean performance. The event, organized by the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation, featured a combination of the Bongsan Mask Dance Drama, a social satire performed by players in masks who dance and sing, and a traditional wedding ceremony. During the performance, the players ba...

25-year-old musical prodigy says he feels warmth, compassion in Beethoven’s 32 sonatas Pianist Kim Sun-wook, a leading young Korean musician, returns to his fans with a two-year-long project on Ludwig van Beethoven’s complete 32 piano sonatas, offering a performance that has become more mature and profound. The 25-year-old pianist will perform all of Beethoven’s 32 sonatas, considered some of t...

Film based on Park Bum-shin’s novel ‘Eungyo’ tells of 70-year-old poet who falls in love with teen It took nearly eight hours of putting on makeup every day, on top of learning the weary gait and gesture of a man in his 70s. Popular actor Park Hae-il, who swept best actor prizes last year for his role as the heroic archer in period drama “Arrow, the Ultimate Weapon,” is returning to the big scr...

Director Kim Tae-yong’s film “Late Autumn” made 25 million yuan (about $4 million) in ticket sales, a record for a Korean film in its first week of release, just three days after its Chinese release last week, according to the movie’s Korean distributor CJ Entertainment. Co-starring popular Korean actor Hyun Bin and Chinese actress Tang Wei, the film is a remake of Korean director Lee Man-hee’s ...

WARSAW, Poland (AP) ― Bark beetles and old age have damaged Leonardo da Vinci’s 15th-century painting “Lady with an Ermine,’’ but the masterpiece is still holding up well, according to a conservationist at the Polish museum where it is displayed. Recent tests show the chestnut board on which Leonardo painted his masterpiece has weakened after being nibbled at by beetles over the centuries, and t...

Korea’s First Lady Kim Yoon-ok on Monday hosted a dinner for 14 spouses of the global leaders attending the 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit. The spouses, who are accompanying state leaders and heads of international organizations attending the two-day global conference in Seoul, enjoyed a special banquet at the National Museum of Korea while their partners attended a separate summit business ...

Kim Kyung-shin knocks on Korea with accessories and dinnerware using hanji and lacquer The artist’s atelier is located in “hanok,” or traditional house, in Bukchon, central Seoul. Small signs reading Kyung Shin Kong Bang (Kyungshin Crafthouse) in Chinese letters hang at several corners of the area’s narrow alleys to guide the visitors. Kim Kyung-shin, a South Korean craft artist, lives, works ...

PARIS (AP) ― Yves Saint Laurent empowered women and the same could be said of his contemporary, iconic fashion photographer Helmut Newton, the subject of a retrospective at Paris’ Grand Palais that is not for the prudish. Several portraits of Saint Laurent, who gave women the male tuxedo, are included in the show, paying tribute to the designer whose empowering, masculine vision of women so infl...

The National Gugak Center will hold a two-day special concert as a part of several cultural events planned for foreign officials currently in Seoul to attend the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit. The Court Music Orchestra of the center will perform a complete version of “Yeongsanhoesang,” the most representative piece of pungnyu music or music appreciated by Joseon’s high society, today and tomorrow...

Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Deoksugung offer a glimpse into traditional side of Korea As the 2012 Seoul Nuclear Summit kicked off on Monday, Seoul’s ancient palaces opened special programs for the foreign guests to get a glimpse of Korea’s royal culture throughout the week. The participating palaces are Gyeongbokgung, the main and the largest palace in Seoul; Changdeokgung, a UNESCO world her...