Rock band aims to keep making indie music, plans Japan tour in fall While idol-centered K-pop has been heavily covered by the media, the Korean indie scene has received relatively little attention. Seeking diversity of Korean music, The Korea Herald is running a series of interviews shedding light on the Korean scene. This is the third installment of the series. ― Ed. Chang Kiha & the Faces, a ...

Music director-TV celeb to show her acting talent for first time in 20 years with musical ‘Next to Normal’ It was difficult to recall charismatic conductor Kolleen Park seeing her on a musical stage ― looking somewhat frail and vulnerable, her voice even trembled slightly as she led the song “You don’t know” in front of the press on Monday at Doosan Art Center in Yeonji-dong, central Seoul. Par...

Whatever happened to singer-turned-actor Eric (a.k.a. Mun Chong-hyuk)? After the boy band rapper wrapped up a lackluster TV drama in 2008, he dutifully split the celebrity scene to join the military. Last October, he became a free man, ready to jump back into the fray, but his next move was a long time coming. First he signed on for a titanic ocean blockbuster aptly-titled “Poseidon.” Delays in...

Pop star Lady Gaga appeared on Japanese talk show “Room of Tetsuko” wearing yet another unique outfit called “costume onion,” according a report from Oricon.co.jp. The singer shocked the Japanese interviewer Tetsuko with a round black dress resembling an onion and a “reverse vortex” hairstyle measuring 50 centimeters high. She also sported her iconic 40 centimeter high-heeled shoes. Gaga offer...

The new chairman of the Korea Copyright Commission said on Monday that he will enhance copyright protection of Korean content overseas, especially as Korean pop music, TV dramas and animation are quickly spreading in cyberspace. Yu Byong-han, who took office on Friday, said he will expand its overseas offices from the current three in Beijing, Shanghai and Bangkok to other destinations including...

Yoon Young-dal, CEO of Crown-Haitai Confectionary, received the 20th Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award on Monday at the Shilla Hotel’s Dynasty Hall in central Seoul. The foundation recognized Yoon’s contributions to developing and promoting the Korean traditional music “gugak” worldwide and his efforts to discover and foster young gugak musicians. “Since sometime ago, we have tended ...

Five significant copies among 297 returned Uigwe shown to media The National Museum of Korea on Monday revealed five significant copies of the total of 297 retrieved ancient royal books, known as “Uigwe,” to the media for the first time since their return from France earlier this year. Korea retrieved the royal documents ― which contain both text and hand-drawn illustrations of significant roya...

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ ``Transformers'' robots have lost some of their money-making power but delivered the biggest opening weekend domestically so far this year. Distributor Paramount Pictures said Sunday that ``Transformers: Dark of the Moon'' took in $97.4 million domestically in its first weekend. That beat the $90.2 million debut of Disney's ``Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.'' But...

Israeli conductor Daniel Barenboim will lead his youth orchestra, consisting of artists from the Middle East including Israelis and Palestinians, to perform at Imjingak near the demilitarized zone to promote peace on the Korean peninsula. The concert will be held on Aug. 15, Liberation Day in Korea, the organizer said. Barenboim and the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, which the conductor formed i...

EMERYVILLE, California (AFP) ― Pixar, a pioneer of computer animation that has made a dozen profitable feature films and become one of the most successful studios on the planet, is celebrating its 25th birthday. Born in the early 1980s as George Lucas’s computer graphics division, the company took off after it was purchased by Apple founder Steve Jobs in 1986 and christened “Pixar.” That year, ...