While idol-centered K-pop has been heavily covered by the media, the Korean indie scene has received relatively little attention. This is the sixth installment of a series of interviews shedding light on the scene. ― Ed. Indie band Nunco Band has been active in the Hongdae scene for almost a decade. To the public, the band is best known as the act where Chang Ki-ha played the drums until early 2...

Hallyu star girl group KARA has been appointed as PR ambassador for 2011 K-pop Cover Dance Festival, which begins its second round competition on Sept. 3. The festival celebrates the “cover dance” videos that K-pop fans around the globe are currently submitting online through www.coverdance.org for the preliminary round of the competition. The cover dance refers to emulating of the original chor...

Barenboim’s peace concert aims to make inter-Korean dialogue easier Argentine-Israeli conductor Daniel Barenboim said the purpose of the upcoming “2011 Peace Concert” in Imjingak near the demilitarized zone on Aug. 15 is to make inter-Korean dialogue a little easier. “It was one of the main reasons why I agreed to come to the Far East. A lot of conflicts have happened in the world and that betw...

Nomination jury opened up to include critics, curators The National Museum of Contemporary Art announced Monday that its annual “Artist of the Year” exhibition is to have a more open selection process and offer more substantial support to the winner. MOCA started the “Artist of the Year” program in 1995 to reward South Korean artists who are active in their field. Each year, selected artists ge...

RICHMOND, Virginia (AP) ― Ornately jeweled Easter eggs designed by Karl Faberge for the Russian royal family are among hundreds of Faberge objects on display at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. “Faberge Revealed” includes imperial Easter eggs and other pieces from VMFA’s own collection, along with sculptures and other works loaned from three private collections, making the exhibit the largest p...

Korean boy band 2AM will hit record stores in Japan by releasing their first album in the Asia’s biggest music industry next year, according to reports. Following in the footsteps of 2PM -- the other group created along with 2AM when the boy band One Day split up -- the four-member group will present their Japanese debut song early next year, Japanese entertainment newspaper Sankei Sports report...

For the past six years, Korean and American university students have gathered at Ewha Womens University to participate in the Harvard Summer School in Seoul program. This summer, the program offered for the first time “Cinema Seoul: Documenting Korea Through Film,” a course that presented students with the opportunity to view Korean history and culture from a different perspective ― behind camer...

Whoever turns out to be the winner, the 2011 Hermes Foundation Missulsang will be presented to an artist or team who enjoys creating new media such as videos, photos or spacious installations. Kim Sang-don, Che One-joon and Part-time Suite, three finalists of this year’s art compeition, are currently showcasing their experimental artworks that explore different genres ― but all with video in com...

Cultural and political legacy of Joseon’s bureaucrats and other skilled workers showcased in Seoul Together they watched the moon, composed poems, and practiced political activities surrounded by the beautiful nature of Inwangsan in Seoul. The “Jungin” of the Joseon Dynasty, who belonged to the “middle” class Utdaebetween the aristocrats and the commoners, experienced both caste privileges and ...

A Seoul court has ordered a TV drama production company to give unpaid appearance fees to Korean singer and actor Rain, court officials said on Monday. The Seoul Central District Court ruled in favor of JYP Entertainment, Rain’s management agency, in a lawsuit against the local drama production firm identified only by the initial “D,” the officials said. The production company was ordered to pa...

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) ― There were no buyers Sunday at the auction of a 1940s stag film that an events promoter claims shows a young Marilyn Monroe having sex before she became a movie star. The auction was a flop. Nobody came forward willing to pay Mikel Barsa’s starting price of 2 million Argentine pesos, about $480,000. Barsa said it didn’t help matters that a spokeswoman for Monroe’s...

A Seoul court has ordered a TV drama production company to give unpaid appearance fees to Korean singer and actor Rain, court officials said on Monday. The Seoul Central District Court ruled in favor of JYP Entertainment, Rain's management agency, in a lawsuit against the local drama production firm identified only by the initial "D," the officials said. The production company was ordered to pa...

Exhibition looks back on Jung Kwang’s works 10 years after his death If he were not a monk, one might have easily mistaken him for a madman. Or perhaps it was because he was a monk that his behavior was considered even more idiosyncratic. The late Jung Kwang, better remembered as the “mad monk,” was definitely not a typical monk. Instead of finding peace in remote temples, he spent his time cre...

NEW YORK (AFP) ― Nostalgia for a lost world and the nightmarish aspects of that world come to life in an exhibit in New York of art from Eastern Europe and the ex-Soviet Union. The exhibit at the New Museum is called “Ostalgia,” referring to the term “ostalgie” that emerged in the post-Soviet 1990s in eastern Germany to describe the sense of loss that mixed with relief at the fall of communism i...