Buddhist sect to seek religious independenceThe Jogye Order, Korea’s largest Buddhist sect, announced on Tuesday that it would “normalize” its relationship with the ruling Grand National Party after a six-month standoff over the government’s cut of state aid for temple stay programs.Ven. Jaseung, president of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, released an official statement at the Center for Kore

Director says film inspired by a true case from 1990 adds new genre to Korean cinemaBack in 1990, a private named Yoon Seok-yang, who had been serving in the Defense Security Command of Korea’s Armed Forces, ran away from his camp with a floppy disk. The disk had a list of the country’s big figures, including former presidents, religious leaders, politicians, and social activists that the DSC had

Seoul’s major river parks offer ideal routes for cyclistsThe weather is warming up, and many Seoulites are heading for the water. The Han River, in particular, offers plenty of ways to stay cool while having fun. From inline skating to fishing to water skiing, there are countless ways to enjoy the river and its surroundings. Yet for those who are environmentally-minded and want to stay active, bik

White: The Melody of the Curse (Korea)Opening June 9Horror. Directed by Kim Gok and Kim Sun. Pink Dolls, an unpopular girl group, gets a sudden taste of stardom after releasing their new single, “White.” The piece is a version of a song that has never been released by any singer before. As the group becomes even more popular, each member tries to be selected as lead vocalist. Meanwhile, Eun-joo (H

Marcelo Ramirez watches over a stall piled with pirated movies and music outside a busy Metro stop flanking the capital’s elegant Reforma Avenue. For him, buying and selling pirated goods is a way of life.“There are no good jobs,” he said while customers browse the discs, each with a makeshift cover slipped inside a cellophane envelope. “If people could make a good living there wouldn’t be piracy.

IndignationBy Philip RothTranslated by Jeong Young-mok(Munhakdongne Publishing Corp, 11,000 won)Nobody really “gets” adolescence. Not the kids themselves, not the parents and teachers who have left it behind. Not even us as we look back years later. It implies mystique. An alluring mix of whimsy and danger, when everything seemed more important than it was, but also more possible. How do we lose t

Years ago when Megan McDonald, the now-52-year-old author of the popular children’s series “Judy Moody,” was writing picture books for the 2- to 4-year-old set, a grandmother came through her signing line at an event in Florida.Clutched to the elderly woman’s chest was a waterlogged, tattered copy of McDonald’s debut, “Is This a House for Hermit Crab?” The woman proceeded to tell McDonald that bec

Roy Blount Jr. is a man who loves to talk. And one of his favorite places to talk about ― and in ― is New Orleans.“People there are loose and unpretentious and tend to enjoy talking,” says Blount of the Big Easy, which he calculates he has visited 42 times in his 63 years. “I love to be around people who like to talk picturesquely, without getting too forced about it.”Blount (pronounced “Blunt”) i

The National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage on Wednesday signed an MOU with two major British museums for its future research on Korea’s cultural heritage currently housed in the U.K.The two museums ― the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum ― are known to hold the highest numbers of Korean relics in Britain.It is reported that the British Museum currently holds about 1,600 K

Defector makes first movie based on his early life in N. KoreaWhen he was growing up, death was not shocking but ordinary. He saw dead bodies in the street, people being executed in public, and people dying of hunger.North Korean defector Kim Gyoo-min, who has been living in South Korea since 2001, is debuting as a film director with “Winter Butterfly.”Based on a true tragic incident that Kim had

Actor Lee Chun-hee and child actress Kim Sae-ron have been appointed as promotional ambassadors for the 13th Seoul International Youth Film Festival, which begins July 7.The festival has been a venue for youngsters to share their culture through films and media education since 1999. This year, a total of 143 films from 37 countries, featuring stories of youth, children and growing up will be scree

The 7th annual Meeting of the Networking of East Asian Cultural Heritage is opening Wednesday at the COEX ASEM Hall in southern Seoul. About 30 government figures of 13 countries ― Korea, China, Japan, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam ― and an official from UNESCO are attending the event. Representatives of intangible cultural heritage centers

The Korea Foundation Cultural Center, located on the first floor of the JoongAng Ilbo building in Sunhwa-dong-dong, will reopen at a new location in Suha-dong, Seoul, in early July. In June, only the seminar room of the center will be open at a temporary location on the eighth floor of the JoongAng Ilbo building for about four weeks.The organization has been offering a variety of cultural programs

Mama (Korea)Opening June 1Drama. Directed by Choi Ik-hwan. Featuring the stories of three different mothers and their children, director Choi Ik-hwan’s “Mama” tells what mothers mean to the traditional and contemporary Korean mentality. Hyung-seok, a 5-year-old boy who suffers from a fatal heart disease, lives with his mom Dong-sook (Uhm Jung-hwa) alone. Being a single mother, Dong-sook works as a

Barring the end of the world (it didn’t happen Saturday, did it?), or the even less likely scenario in which no one bothers to go out next weekend to see three guys wake up completely blotto, there will be a “Hangover: Part III.”“Obviously, it will depend on the success of the second one,” says Bradley Cooper, whose participation in the inaugural “Hangover” had more than a little to do with his ro

Life of NYC’s most tribal borough The Devil She KnowsBy Bill Loehfelm(Farrar, Straus and Giroux)Maureen Coughlin, a 29-year-old cocktail waitress at a seedy Staten Island bar, has dropped out of college and is lying to her mother about it. She tells herself she’s saving money so she can go back to school, but she knows that is also a lie.She pictures herself flirting for tips from drunks until she

In the picture, I am probably 10 years old. I’m wearing blue jeans and a bright red sweater, and I’m perched on the stump of a redwood tree, surrounded by a forest of the same. On my lap, I hold an open book. My head is bowed, long blond hair studiously tucked behind my ears. I wish I could remember the book I was reading, but I can’t.What I do remember is that I knew my mother was taking the pict

For some, a book club means Chardonnay, gossip and some bookish conversation. For Oprah Winfrey, it’s meant making bestsellers and, as she said last week, “the biggest controversy in our 25 years.”As her broadcast television show comes to a close, Winfrey welcomed the reason for that controversy ― the not-truthful memoirist James Frey ― onto two full shows of her final 10, putting her once-vital B

Chinese-born Nobel Prize winner says modern literature must break away from 20th-century ideologies Gao Xingjian, the Chinese-born recipient of the 2000 Nobel Prize in Literature, said all forms of literature must be free from outside control, including ideologies, politics, and the free market.He was speaking at a press conference Tuesday at Kyobo Bookstore in downtown Seoul, on the first day of

The Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea (CHA) is to hold 30 cultural events to celebrate its 50th anniversary.First opened on Oct. 2, 1961, the administration has been serving as an agency of the Korean government, preserving and promoting the country’s national cultural treasures.CHA administrator Choe Kwang-shik said that while the organization has been doing well in preserving Korea’s cul