The pay-what-you-like policy at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art will be spelled out more clearly under a settlement of a class-action lawsuit that challenged the museum’s $25 “recommended” admission.Under the settlement reached Friday, the $25 ticket price will be “suggested” instead of “recommended.” In addition, signs will advise visitors that, “The amount you pay is up to you.”Andrew Celli Jr., a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said Saturday that the new signage “really opens up the museum t

SHINee’s youngest member Taemin is coming back to the stage in his own right with his first studio-length album “Press It.” The 10-track album includes two songs with self-written lyrics, as well as collaboration tracks with top hit-makers including Bruno Mars, Teddy Riley, LDN Noise and The Stereotypes.The record shows Taemin’s growth as a solo performer, with tracks like “Drip Drop” and the lead track “Press Your Number” built to showcase his stage performance skills with heavy beats, and R&B

Star producer Na Young-seok describes the four young men he whisked away to Namibia for his tvN show “Youth Over Flowers -- Africa” as being “just kids these days.”In a way, that was what he had intended when he recruited Ryu Jun-yeol, Park Bo-gum, Ahn Jae-hong and Go Kyung-pyo, all castmates on the tvN drama “Reply 1988,” for the third installment of the “Youth Over Flowers” series. Speaking to press at the Imperial Palace Hotel in Seoul on Thursday, Na said he made his decision to take the qua

　Rainbow“Prism”(Loen Entertainment)　Rainbow is one of those girl groups that everyone seems to like, but just can’t seem to get a break. On their fourth album “Prism,” titled with the hope of each member’s personality (“color”) shining through, the group demonstrates that its slow takeoff was certainly not for want of talent.The first track establishes the members’ vocal skills, with each singer giving a solid performance on a classic K-pop ballad reminiscent of songs from the 2000s. Even withou

　SS301"Eternal 5"(Interpark)The three members of SS501 who returned as the unit group SS301 -- Heo Young-saeng, Kim Kyu-jong and Kim Hyung-jun -- may have been away from the scene for seven years, but on their EP “Eternal 5” they showed that they have not lost their touch. Catchy and dramatic, the five tracks follow the latest trends in K-pop, creating structures that highlight their vocal talents.The record starts off smooth with a R&B-infused vibe in “Dirty Love,” then gets big, loud and catch

It's a big weekend at the box office. For those who are overwhelmed by all the choices, The Korea Herald offers a guide to the top movies playing on the big screen.DONGJU; The Portrait of a Poet (Korea)Drama. Directed by Lee Joon-ikOpened Feb. 17　Dong-ju (Kang Ha-neul) and Mong-gyu (Park Jung-min) are close friends and cousins who grew up together during the chaotic Japanese colonial era. After the two young men head to Japan to study, their relationship takes on some strain as Dong-ju becomes a

TEHRAN -- The first train to connect China and Iran arrived in Tehran on Monday loaded with Chinese goods, reviving the ancient Silk Road, the Iranian railway company said.The train, carrying 32 containers of commercial products from eastern Zhejiang province, took 14 days to make the 9,500-kilometre (5,900-mile) journey through Kazakstan and Turkmenistan."The arrival of this train in less than 14 days is unprecedented," said the head of the Iranian railway company, Mohsen Pourseyed Aqayi."The r

South Korea's national anti-doping body said Monday it will oversee drug testing for all major professional sports starting this year, taking over the reins from the respective leagues.The Korea Anti-Doping Agency (KADA) said it will strive for "transparent testing procedures and reasonable degree of punishments."Until now, governing bodies for professional baseball, football, golf, volleyball and basketball came up with their own doping test protocols and imposed penalties on violators through

North Korean workers at the Gaeseong Industrial Complex were struggling to make ends meet with most of their wages taken away by the government, a defector from the country claimed Monday.The comments by Kim Tae-san, former official at Pyongyang's Ministry of Light Industry, came less than a week after South Korea shut down the joint industrial park in response to North Korea's recent nuclear test and long-range rocket launch. The North, in turn, expelled South Korean workers and froze South Kor

Amid risks over deteriorating market prospects, South Korean conglomerates and state-run firms have decided to expand the scale of new recruits this year.According to industry sources, Hyundai Motor Group plans to hire more than 10,000 employees including interns and experienced managers, who will be given full-time, regular jobs later on.  (Herald file photo)If the nation’s largest carmaker fulfills its pledge of offering regular positions to new hires who are partly contract-based workers, it

The National Assembly is set to convene parliamentary sessions this week as part of its last-ditch efforts to pass pending bills before the lawmakers set aside the legislative affairs to accelerate their campaigns for the April general elections.  Kicking off Monday with the rival parties’ floor leaders addressing the Assembly, a monthlong extraordinary session will include an interpellation upon state affairs on Feb. 17-18 and a plenary session, scheduled on Feb. 19 and 23, where the pending bi

SEOUL/SEJONG -- South Korea is unlikely to get back 3 trillion won (US$2.5 billion) in outstanding loans and interest payments it provided North Korea in the past with the freezing up of relations following Pyongyang's recent nuke test and long-range missile launch, observers said Saturday.According to data provided by the finance ministry and Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank), the country provided 2.5 trillion won worth of direct funds and indirect assistance to its northern neighbor

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un promoted 35 general officers ahead of his late father's birthday, a major holiday in the North, the country's official media outlet said Saturday.  The move takes place just three days before the isolationist country celebrates Kwangmyongsong Day, the birthday of former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il who died in December 2011. The late leader's birthday is also referred to as the Day of the Shining Star.It also comes after South Korea's intelligence service claim

The ruling and opposition parties locked horns on Saturday over the government's decision to close down the Gaeseong Industrial Complex in North Korea.The ruling Saenuri Party said the Minjoo Party of Korea and other opposition parties are turning the shutdown into a tool to win votes in the upcoming general elections."The move was necessary to safeguard national security in the face of mounting provocations by the North," Rep. Shin Yee-jin, the party's spokeswoman said. She pointed out that unl

The United States temporarily deployed an additional Patriot missile battery in South Korea in response to North Korea's nuclear test and a long-range rocket launch, ahead of talks next week to set up an even more sophisticated U.S. missile defense in a move that has worried China and Russia.The new tough stance follows South Korea's decision to shut down an inter-Korean factory park that had been the rival Koreas' last major symbol of cooperation, but that Seoul said had been used by North Kore

MEXICO CITY -- Catholic faithful flocked to the streets of Mexico City to greet Pope Francis on Friday after the pontiff held a historic meeting with the head of the Russian Orthodox Church.President Enrique Pena Nieto welcomed Francis at the airport while crowds lined the streets, preparing to hold up their phones to light the way for the popemobile across the mega-capital of the world's second largest Catholic country. Pope Francis (center) waves next to Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto (r

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. House of Representatives gave final approval to a package of stringent sanctions on North Korea on Friday, taking swift action to punish the communist regime for its nuclear and missile tests.The House approved the North Korea Sanctions Enforcement Act of2016 in a 408-2 vote, just two days after the Senate unanimously passed the legislation in a demonstration of bipartisan support for a tough response to Pyongyang.The legislation will take effect as soon as President Barac

LONDON (AFP) -- The script of a new Harry Potter play is to be published following its world premiere in London in July, publishers announced Wednesday.“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” will officially open in the West End on July 30, while the script will come out on the following day.The play tells the story of Harry Potter 19 years after the last book, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.” He is now married with three children and works at the Ministry of Magic. “While Harry grapples with

The three major broadcast networks in Korea launched pilot programs over the Lunar New Year holiday, testing the waters for potential new regular programs. Each network’s top show chose a different strategy to pull in viewers, with SBS’ music competition show and MBC’s hidden camera comedy clearly appealing to viewers more than KBS’ show featuring girl group members battling against one another.The pilot programs that received top ratings on each network were “God’s Voice” on SBS (10.4 percent a

After spending countless hours in the kitchen or in front of the TV, most families want to spend a day outside having fun together. The most accessible source of entertainment is the movie theater, where you can catch a film that everyone in the family can enjoy. The Korea Herald offers a short guide to the best movies for a family outing.Commanding nearly 70 percent of ticket bookings as of Thursday, Lee Il-hyung’s crime comedy “A Violent Prosecutor” looks set to be the top film during this hol