Juong Young-sin’s photo essay captures Korea’s traditional markets over a quarter of a centuryPhotographer and author Juong Young-sin has been taking photographs of Korea’s regional traditional markets for 25 years.“I just wanted to meet people, and the local market is where you go when you want to do that,” she tells The Korea Herald. “Markets also tell you stories of the real people.”Though she has now published her collection of essays, Juong was only an aspiring writer in 1986. She was deep

The Korean-language translation of French writer Marquis de Sade’s 1785 novel, “The 120 Days of Sodom,” has been officially banned in Korea, for its “extremely violent” and “disturbing” sexual content. It is the second time that the book, dealing with orgies and torture, has been banned by the government. The book was published here on Aug. 15 by local publishing house Dongsuh Press. Korea Publication Ethics Commission, a state review board, started investigating the book on Aug. 16, after a man

A total of four teams were selected as finalists at the semifinal of Herald Corporation’s English-language presentation competition Wednesday.The design-themed contest welcomed a diverse array of opinions that delved into the broad spectrum of design-related topics ― including music, shoes, newspapers and even Korea’s traditional pottery. A total of 10 semifinalists competed in the hope of making it to the finals. “This is the second edition (of the event) and I see it is just getting better and

Ten semifinalists of Herald Corporation’s English-language design-themed presentation competition will show off their skills Wednesday in the hope of making the finals.Under the theme “Design Changes the World,” the competition welcomes a diverse array of ideas, as well as creative ways to delve into the broad spectrum of design-related topics ― including literature, philosophy, music, visual art, media, management and even IT. The presentation competition is a major side event of Herald Design

Irish actor says he likes ‘Oldboy’ and ‘The Chaser’ during his visit to KoreaActor Liam Neeson, famous for his role as the vengeful father in Luc Besson’s 2008 high-grossing film “Taken,” said the thriller has made him an “action figure” in Hollywood, during his first visit to Seoul on Monday. The Irish actor arrived in Korea on Saturday to promote the 2008 movie’s sequel, “Taken 2.”“I seem to be have been re-envisioned as an action figure ever since the first ‘Taken’ came out,” the actor told r

Korea’s traditional dance troupe re-stages its 1984 original repertoire ‘Madam Domi’There have been a lot of efforts by local ballet troupes to create and promote original performances, mostly based on Korea’s traditional folktales. The Korean National Ballet’s “The Love of Chunhyang” and Universal Ballet Company’s “Shimchung” are some of the successful examples, blending ballet movements and Korea’s traditional sentiments.Outside the ballet scene, however, developing original repertoire has bee

Susan Sarandon has always made it look so easy.Generations of actresses launch careers and then flame out. Sarandon, 65, “transitioned” ― from ingenue to leading lady to strong female lead to “cougar” to stellar turns as moms. As others come and go, Sarandon reinvents herself and endures.“It’s just managing to get the part you need when you need it,” she says. “I just survived. I don’t understand how I’ve stuck around, and I have no idea what to say when people ask me how. I’ve made plenty of mi

ROTC Kills: PoemsBy John Koethe (Harper Perennial)In his new collection, John Koethe opens by contemplating “the impossible world from which I’m absent” with a “sudden stab of fear,” aware that the “never-ending sentences” he creates will one day actually end.At 66, Koethe has earned his moments of dread, as well as his right to look back in anger, disappointment and bitterness. “ROTC Kills” takes its provocative title from a Harvard student strike poster of 1969, whose countercultural idealism

Last fall, Chris Fischbach suggested to Hans Weyandt that his blog might make a good book. Weyandt only laughed.Fischbach was on his way to Germany to attend the Frankfurt Book Fair, and Weyandt joked, “If you bring me back some gummy bears, we’ll call it a deal.”A week or two later, Fischbach showed up again, jet-lagged, perhaps, but persistent, and holding a sticky bag of gummy bears.That is the short version of how Weyandt’s blog, “Mr. Micawber Enters the Internets,” turned into “Read This! H

Psy’s viral hit “Gangnam Style” made it into the U.S. iTunes top 10 chart, just about a week after the singer announced his contract deal with major American record label Island Def Jam Recordings.“It really is a big triumph that a Korean song has broken into the iTunes top 10 chart, which controls 80 percent of the online music market share in the U.S.,” said Psy’s local agency YG Entertainment.“It’s going to be difficult for any Korean artist to break Psy’s record (on iTunes’ chart).”The 34-ye

The 4th Korean International Documentary Film Festival to showcase 115 nonfiction films from 36 countriesThe annual Korean International Documentary Film Festival (DMZ Docs) kicks off this month, featuring a total of 115 nonfiction films from 36 countries.Celebrating the themes of peace, life and communication, the festival always takes place in Paju, a South Korean border city in Gyeonggi Province. The city is located near the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating North and South Korea, a line re

Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka says writers should defend human freedoms with languageGYEONGJU, North Gyeongsang Province ― Nobel laureates and writers on Monday stressed the importance of freedom of speech and their members who are currently imprisoned, at the opening of the 78th International PEN Congress in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province.One PEN International member in Beijing, Jiao Guobiao, has been prevented by the Chinese government from attending the literary event in Gyeongju, said PEN

Literary forum discusses issues concerning media and human rights with Nobel laureates GYEONGJU, North Gyeongsang Province ― The 78th International PEN Congress opened on Monday in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, kicking off a seven-day event focusing on issues of media, literature and human rights. A London-based international association of writers, PEN International has been hosting the congress, which consists of networking and literary events and lectures, in different cities around th

Kim Ki-duk, who became the first Korean auteur to win the top prize at Venice with his gruesome morality tale “Pieta,” has long been considered an “outsider” in the local film industry.From the very beginning, he was nothing like any of the other filmmakers in the scene. He never went to film school, and never worked as an assistant for established filmmakers ― which was considered the “right way” of breaking into the industry. His life story, filled with drama and struggles, however, is nothing

Theater“Hedwig”: The Korean adaptation of John Cameron Mitchell’s rock musical “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” is being staged for its seventh run. The musical, which tells the story of an East German transgender singer, has been performed in Korea a total of 1,256 times since its opening run in April 2005. For the current run, actor Oh Man-seok, who was cast in the leading role in the 2005 run, is once again starring as the singer. Actor Park Gun-hyung, who recently made his TV appearance in MBC dr

There are two questions on the table during a recent interview regarding “The Words.” The first, to Bradley Cooper, is: What role did you play in helping the small independent movie with the big stars and bigger ideas get made?The second, to the writing-directing team, is: What’s the real scoop?“Why would you think I wouldn’t tell you the real answer?” asks a playful Cooper, who, at 37, is at a career point where just dropping his name could make or break a project. Then he laughs at the explana

Picture a film shoot somewhere in Canada. On one side of a swimming pool, the gear, the crew and most of the cast; on the other side, Molly Ringwald. They’re shooting the rest of the scene before her part, so she sits on a box to wait. She begins tapping on her phone, and as the hours pass, that’s all she does: Sit on the box, tapping. By the time the camera turns her way, she has finished the first draft of “When It Happens to You,” the impassioned, clever title story of her first book of ficti

When Miroslav Penkov moved to the United States from Bulgaria just short of his 19th birthday, he was so insecure about his accented English that he’d often rehearse conversations in his head. In line at the grocery store, before ordering a Coke on the airplane, even when talking to peers, Penkov turned over the phrase dozens of times.That experience of being an outsider in a foreign country would define him as a writer ― and make Penkov, 29, a rising literary star.His collection of short storie

Lives of loan shark victims explicitly captured on ‘Pieta’After “Arirang,” the self-reflective documentary about his personal failings and struggles, director Kim Ki-duk returned to the movie scene with a gruesome revenge tale ― about a cruel debt collector running into a woman who claims to be his mother. “Pieta,” which is one of 18 films vying for this year’s Golden Lion prize in Venice, is Kim’s 18th feature-length film. The movie has almost every element that would make an audience uncomfort

Director of the National Trust Wales talks about running the conservation charity, essence of travelingJustin Albert knows how to tell stories, and how to travel.The director of the National Trust Wales, a U.K. conservation charity, holds two passports: one British, one American. He grew up in film studios, watching his mother making movies. When he was 14, his mother took him to Japan for the first time. His first visit to Japan was like “reading a fantasy novel,” he remembers. “I wish I had a