At the end of “Eat Pray Love,” Elizabeth Gilbert found herself, against all odds, in love again. This time, though, she was determined not to marry. It was the difficult collapse of her first marriage, after all, that sent her on the yearlong odyssey that resulted in that book (and, later, the blockbuster movie).But visa problems forced her hand. After 9/11, her Brazilian lover, “Felipe” (his real

We human beings heavily rely on words. To communicate and interact, to defend and protect, and to love and care. Yet director Kim Tae-yong’s newly released film, “Late Autumn,” tells a love story of two strangers who do not use a lot of words to share their innermost feelings.Co-starring Korean actor Hyun Bin and Chinese actress Tang Wei, “Late Autumn” is a remake of Korean director Lee Man-hee’s

Preserving intangible heritage is one of the most important ways of safeguarding the common culture of humanity, International Council of Museums executives said in Seoul on Tuesday.Hans-Martin Hinz, the president of the council, and Amareswar Galla, the vice president, visited Korea to attend the sixth annual editorial meeting for Korea’s international academic journal, International Journal of I

Choe Kwang-shik, the current director-general of the National Museum of Korea, has been designated as the new administrator of the Cultural Heritage Administration, replacing Yi Kun-moo, who was removed from the position Tuesday. Choe Kwang-shik, new administrator of the Cultural Heritage Administration. (Yonhap News)Choe, who holds a Ph.D. in history from Korea University, had served as the presi

Back in the 1970s, a music salon called C’est si bon, located in Mugyo-dong, Seoul, attracted many youngsters with its special charm.All you needed to bring was the money for your cup of coffee. Once the drink was served, you could stay as long as you wanted, enjoying the live music performed by some of the most talented young musicians of the generation.The C’est si bon musicians, now reaching ag

Love is a many hindered thing.It’s thwarted at every turn, imperiled every second, and the fact that it works out for anybody anywhere for any length of time whatsoever is an absolute miracle ― yet here we all are, fools for love, chasing the emotion as if it were a runaway puppy heading for the highway at rush hour.While it can produce pain and frustration, love also produces something else: grea

Sassy and streetwise, this 25-year-old knows what she wants in a film.Film student and director Yang Hyo-joo, whose short film “Broken Night” has been officially invited to Berlin International Film Festival’s (Berlinale) competition section this year, could not hide her obvious talent and artistic nature.“Broken Night” is the third film Yang has ever made. And it was initially a graduation projec

Seoul offers a variety of events for the Lunar New Year holidaySeollal, the first day of the lunar calendar, is one of the most celebrated holidays in Korea. It has been traditionally considered a family-oriented occasion where people gather with their loved ones at home. But this year, more Seollal events are being held in Seoul for those who want to celebrate the holiday spirit and traditional c

In a Vietnamese jungle on Sept. 4, 1969, the stubby bullet of a Russian-made AK-47 ripped into the skull of Army Spc. Leonard Rugh, then 24. It didn’t stop until it had torn through his brain’s right frontal lobe, powered its way through the right parietal lobe and lodged itself in the dome of his helmet.Leonard Rugh is photographed with his wife, Luanna, at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, Ca

SAO PAULO (AFP) ― Brazilian transsexual model Lea T. stole the show Sunday at Sao Paulo Fashion Week as critics applauded her presentation and paparazzi mobbed her entourage.The model, previously known as Leandro Cerezo and the son of famed Brazilian footballer Toninho Cerezo, received roaring applause as she took to the catwalk modeling a new collection by Alexandre Herchcovitch.She wore pale mak

Actor, singer and tween idol Carlos Pena Jr., 21, has bought a Mediterranean-style home in the San Fernando Valley for close to its $1.5 million asking price.The 560-square-meter villa is set back from the road on a gated lot. The paver-stone courtyard is punctuated by a fountain, and the custom front door, with leaded and beveled glass and side lights, opens to a two-story foyer with limestone fl

NEW YORK (AP) ― When American sculptor and printmaker Elizabeth Catlett was a graduate student studying with Grant Wood in Iowa, the painter of the iconic “American Gothic” told his young student to make art about what she knew best.Catlett, who was born into a middle-class family in Washington, D.C., in 1915 and raised by her mother and grandmother, took Wood’s advice to heart and began making im

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Chris Brown has completed a domestic violence counseling program required as part of the singer’s guilty plea to assaulting then-girlfriend Rihanna nearly two years ago.On Friday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg congratulated the 21-year-old R&B performer for finishing the yearlong program.As a result of completing the required counseling, Brown will no longer

PARK CITY, Utah (AFP) ― “Family Portrait in Black and White” has brought the story of a woman raising 16 black orphans in Ukraine, an overwhelmingly white and often racist society, to the Sundance film festival.The searing film by Julia Ivanova, a Russian filmmaker based in Canada, is up for the documentary grand prize at the independent film festival here in the western U.S. mountains of Utah, which closes on Sunday.Set in Sumy, a town of 300,000 inhabitants in northeast Ukraine, the film follo

Bill Pryor is living proof that a career in film (as it used to be called) can flourish far away from the coasts.For almost 50 years, Pryor, 68, has specialized in “industrials,” promotional and training films made for corporate clients. The Texas native was studying journalism at the University of Oklahoma when he began to dabble in film.He worked for a few years in St. Louis before joining Kansa

JAN. 21 ― JAN. 231. GloveOpened Jan. 20Directed by Kang Woo-seokStarring Jeong Jae-young2. Megamind Opened Jan. 13Directed by Tom McGrathStarring Will Ferrell, Brad Pitt3. Hello GhostOpened Dec. 22Directed by Kim Yeong-takStarring Cha Tae-hyeon, Kang Ye-won 4. Love and Other DrugsOpened Jan. 13Directed by Edward ZwickStarring Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway5. Season of the WitchOpened Jan. 13Direct

It sounded like a dream job: plop down on a couch, throw some popcorn in the microwave and spend your days watching movies.That’s what Christine Davila thought, anyway. The 32-year-old Los Angeles resident had spent years toiling as an assistant to a number of Hollywood producers before she finally got a shot at her ideal gig ― working as a programming associate for the Sundance Film Festival, the

The unknown wartime celebrationImperial Japan at its ZenithBy Kenneth J. Ruoff(Cornell University Press, $39.95)In spite of its war with China along with deteriorating relationship with the U.S., Japan was more than excited to commemorate the year 1940. It was the 2,600th anniversary of the founding of the Empire of Japan. There were new public monuments, visual culture, and carefully choreographe

Love, life and deathBetween Heaven and EarthBy Yun Dae-nyeong(Jimoondang, 5,000 won)The winner of the Yi Sang Literature Prize in 1996, Yun Dae-nyeong’s “Between Heaven and Earth” delves into themes of life and death through a story of two strangers. The protagonist, who is on his way to attend his aunt’s funeral, runs into a young woman. Somehow feeling the “shadow of death” on her face, he decid

Trent Reedy was an American soldier providing security for the reconstruction of Afghanistan when he saw her. The girl was 13, her cleft lip so deformed that her teeth stuck out straight from her mouth. Her upper lip was split in two. Her nose was distorted.Shock was Reedy’s reaction when he first saw the girl he came to know as Zulaikha ― a girl who became the inspiration for, and centerpiece of,