It seems there’s no stopping Garry Marshall’s terrifying cinematic rampage on our nation’s treasured holidays. Having ruined both “Valentine’s Day” and “New Year’s Eve” with his star-packed omnibus projects, the director has burned his way through the calendar, landing on “Mother’s Day” as his next victim.　This time around, Julia Roberts, Jennifer Aniston, Kate Hudson, Jason Sudeikis, Britt Robertson, Margo Martindale, Timothy Olyphant, Aasif Mandvi, Sarah Chalke and Shay Mitchell, among others,

Beyonce again proves to be center of pop universeBeyonce “Lemonade” (Parkwood, Columbia)Beyonce doesn’t simply release albums anymore, she unleashes events. And so it was this weekend, amid deep mourning for a lost icon, music’s queen dropped “Lemonade,” an arresting display of what technically qualifies as videos and singles, but is better described as a work of art that appeared deeply personal, yet is a bold social and political statement as well. 　It contains revenge anthems for scorned wive

Captain America: Civil War　(U.S.)　Opened April 27　Superhero, action. Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo　The Avengers superhero team is divided. Captain America (Chris Evans) believes they should defend humanity’s freedom from government interference, but Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) disagrees.   Brooklyn　(Ireland, Britain, Canada, U.S.)　Opened April 21　Drama, romance. Directed by John Crowley　A young Irish immigrant, Eilis Lacey (Saoirse Ronan) arrives in Brooklyn seeking a better future and fall

GWANGMYEONG, Gyeonggi Province (Yonhap) -- The fate of Gwangmyeong Cave has fluctuated with the various happenings in the wild Korean modern history.　During the Japanese colonial period (1910-1945), it was abused for precious metals like gold and copper for the Japanese. When the specter of exploitation had finally gone, it became a shelter for Korean refugees during the Korean War (1950-1953). In peacetime, the abandoned gold mine served as a storage for salted shrimp.　Now, the beautifully tran

 Springtime eateries on Jejudo Island　The following are two eateries on Jejudo Island featuring natural, seasonal dishes that travelers may want to visit during their spring outings.　Temple Stay Food in the southwestern district of Jejudo Island is a restaurant that specializes in temple food. The eatery serves healthy, fresh vegetable-based dishes that the Buddhist monks eat in their mountainside Buddhist temples. Key dishes include lotus leaf-wrapped rice and seaweed flower rice set. The resta

 Sheraton D Cube City presents Sheraton Wine Market　　Sheraton Seoul D Cube City is holding Sheraton Wine Market from noon to 9:30 p.m. on May 1-31.　During the promotion period, guests can enjoy wine with no corkage fee during the meal, and purchase a great selection of wines -- red, white, sparkling wines and champagne -- at special prices. More than 20 kinds of wines are available, including the sparkling wine Chandon, the chocolate, blackberry, and fresh black pepper scented Clos du Val, and t

Spring is in full swing! Gorgeous spring vegetables are everywhere. Among them is asparagus, which tastes best at this time of year. Another spring treasure is tender, thin green onion, called shilpa. It’s mild and sweet. I decided to put these two spring vegetables together with shrimp for these little rolls.  Saeu ganghoe　Ganghoe is a general term that refers to a dish that is made by tying ingredients with a thin green onion. It’s a spring favorite. Nakji (octopus) ganghoe and ojingeo (squid)

There is something deeply satisfying about a cookie, especially when it is fat and plump, cake-like on the inside but crackly crisp and caramelized around the edges -- like the ones at Hayley’s Cafe in Sinsa-dong, Seoul.　The bakery-cafe chain, which opened its third outlet near Apgujeong Station last November, serves five kinds of cookies, including an oatmeal raisin and a cranberry variation, but it is the dark chocolate chip that is the most popular at the Sinsa shop, says owner Cho Jae-kun. 

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Sunday he will create an extra budget to address the economic damage caused by deadly earthquakes in Kumamoto earlier this month.Abe wants to pass the budget before the current parliamentary session ends on June 1, which comes ahead of an upper house election in July. The earthquakes, which killed 48 people, have dealt a blow to policy makers struggling to gather momentum for an economic recovery.Abe “can’t politically afford to take time to wait for” a reb

President Barack Obama leaned in further on his warning to the British electorate against embracing a so-called Brexit from the European Union, saying it could take as long as 10 years before the U.K. and the U.S. negotiated a new trade agreement.“The U.K. would not be able to negotiate something with the United States faster than the EU,” Obama told the BBC in an interview broadcast on Saturday. “We wouldn’t abandon our efforts to negotiate a trade deal with our largest trading partner, the Eur

Nabak kimchi is a type of water kimchi that’s made with thinly sliced radish squares and other vegetables. It’s easy to make, yet deliciously refreshing.　Nabak kimchi is commonly enjoyed in the springtime when the kimchi made in the fall gets old. It’s also a traditional holiday kimchi. Growing up, we always had nabak kimchi with tteokguk (rice cake soup). They are delicious together. Nabak kimchi (water kimchi) (Korean Bapsang)　It’s a mild, clean tasting kimchi, so nabak kimchi doesn’t call for

PARIS (AP) – Sean Penn’s “The Last Face” about aid workers in Africa will compete at the Cannes Film Festival this year -- along with movies about interracial marriage in 1950s America, illness and poverty in working class Britain and cannibal fashion models in Los Angeles.　The festival’s high glamour yet socially conscious lineup, announced Thursday by organizers, features 49 films harking from 28 countries, including Iran, Brazil, Egypt, Israel and South Korea. Twenty of the entries will be ru

South Korean actor Park Hae-jin won “Male Actor of the Year” at a Chinese award ceremony in Beijing on Wednesday, his management company said Friday. 　Park achieved the feat for his lead role in the Chinese TV series “Far Away Love.” It is his second win at the awards, organized by Chinese technology and online video company Leshi Internet Information & Technology, known as LeEco, or Letv. He last won the “Asia’s Star” award in 2012 for his role in the Chinese show roughly translated as “Chen Du

The final episode of “Descendants of the Sun” had a record viewership of 38.8 percent, an all-time high for the KBS hit drama, according to Nielsen Korea. In Seoul alone, it scored higher rating of 44.2 percent, according to the data agency. The drama had a happy ending, living up to expectations of many viewers. Dr. Kang Mo-yeon (Song Hye-kyo) reunites with Army Capt. Yoo Si-jin (Song Joong-ki), who went missing for a year during a mission overseas. Master Sergeant Seo Dae-young (Jin Goo), who

Samjung Hanu Pub CEO Han Deok-woo takes his beef very seriously, doing everything from sourcing it straight from the auction house to grilling it tableside for hungry customers. “Since I bring in the beef myself, I can check, taste and look at all the cuts, and decide which ones are optimal for eating that day,” said Han, 34, on how sourcing the beef directly enables him to keep track of his beef, from the minute it arrives at the restaurant to how it is aged or served up uber-fresh.  Samjung Ha

HAVANA (AP) – In the garage of his home in a rough-and-tumble Havana neighborhood, Rolando Alfonso is fixing up a 1960 Oldsmobile he hopes will be a ticket to a more profitable future: Driving tourists around Cuba. After President Barack Obama's visit to the city last week, he's more optimistic than ever that his vision might become reality. ``The horizon of prosperity is much closer,'' said Alfonso, 46, a married father of two. ``Before it was a sliver of light in the distance. Now the light is

WASHINGTON (AFP) – President Barack Obama scathingly dismissed White House hopeful Donald Trump's foreign policy proposals on Friday and warned that the world was watching the upcoming US election.At the end of a summit on nuclear security that Obama hosted in Washington, he was asked about Trump's suggestion that Japan and South Korea develop their own nuclear weapons."The statements you mentioned, what do they tell us?" Obama demanded, rhetorically."They tell us the person who made the stateme

(Yonhap) – South Korea's ICT ministry said Saturday that North Korea has sent signals to jam GlobalPositioning Systems (GPS) in South Korea for the third consecutive day despite Seoul's warning, but no serious damage has been reported.The government strongly warned North Korea on Friday to immediately end its GSP-disrupting provocations as such actions defy international norms. South Korean vessels reported they experienced problems with their GPS navigation system as North Korea has been sendin

BRUSSELS (AP) – Struck by suicide bombers 10 days ago, the airport known as ``the heart of Europe'' has stopped beating temporarily, causing headaches for thousands of business and vacation travelers, and painful financial losses for Belgium's capital and tourism industry.It's still unclear when Brussels Airport will reopen. But a key hurdle appeared to have been cleared Friday evening when police unions, which had threatened a strike, reached a preliminary deal with government negotiators on ho

(Yonhap) – North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspected the firing of a surface-to-air guided missile in his first military-related public activity in about eight days, state media said Saturday.Kim was last seen visiting a military unit on March 25 to inspect a long-range artillery exercise. He has since been making field tours in the economic sector apparently to show that he cares about the livelihoods of ordinary people and the country's moribund economy.Kim "guided the test of a new-type anti-