‘The Thieves’ actress talks about her new movie, her love for peopleAmong the many living actresses in Korea, Kim Hye-soo is an icon like no other. She is the type of actress who is remembered for her image first, film roles second. Many are well aware of and charmed by her risqué and daring fashion choices on red carpets, her gift of gab on TV talk shows, and her dominating, charismatic presence off screen. Her position in the film scene is therefore unique; she is one of the very few, or perha

More than 10,000 were enrolled at King Sejong Institutes ― Korea’s state-run Korean language institutes operating overseas ― last year, double the number of students registered when the language school was established in 2009, according to the Culture Ministry.The institute was founded in 2009 with 4,301 students enrolled at 17 branches in six countries in 2009. According to Ahn Mi-jung of the Korean Language Policy Division of the Culture Ministry, the language schools, also known as Sejong Hak

Applications are open for the annual K-pop competition in New York, organizer Korean Cultural Service New York announced on Sunday.The 2012 NY K-pop Festival, which celebrates its second edition this year, is sponsored by three major entertainment agencies: S.M., YG and JYP. There are three categories this year: singing, dancing, and singing and dancing.Those interested in participating must pick a song by SHINee, Big Bang or the Wonder Girls, make a demo video of their performance, and upload i

26-year-old recently promoted to principal ballerina shines in second actOne of the most anticipated ballet performances of the year was unveiled last week, featuring Korean-born American Ballet Theatre dancer Seo Hee as the timeless romantic heroine Giselle.The renowned American troupe’s Seoul run created a lot of buzz even before the opening, for its notoriously expensive ticket prices (400,000 won for a VIP seat), as well as Seo’s sudden promotion to principal dancer just weeks before the com

24-hour theaters, special summer showings fun and cheap ways to stay coolThe summer is here and the mercury is rising.While many go overseas or to the countryside for their vacation, there’s another place close by to escape the heat ― the movie theater. From 24-hour theaters to old horror movies, it’s easy to cool down without spending a lot of money.24-hour movie theatersFor Seoulites staying in the city for the summer, the option of watching a movie is available 24 hours a day. Targeting late-

Two Doors (Korea)Opened June 21Documentary. Directed by Kim Il-ran and Hong Ji-you. On Jan. 20, 2009, residents of a redevelopment area in Yongsan, Seoul, had been occupying the top floor of a four-story building named “Namildang” since the previous day to protest the city project. A police SWAT team was sent in to arrest the protesters. A fire erupted during the violent pre-dawn raid, killing five protesters and one policeman. The Seoul Central District Court held the leaders of the protest res

From a distance, Christopher Nolan’s Gotham City sure doesn’t look like much. The “skyline” begins to emerge over the horizon in the rolling green farmlands about 50 miles north of London, but there are no gothic spires or granite citadels, just the slanted, pocked roofs of two boxy metal buildings.But nearing the complex on a winding two-lane road, the immensity of the make-believe metropolis comes into focus: The structures that looked squat from afar are actually 15 stories tall ― and as long

When Chris Colfer was just 20, he‘d already been named one of GQ magazine’s men of the year, having sung and acted his way into the hearts of America as Kurt, the high-pitched, openly gay brunet who is unabashedly himself on the hit TV show “Glee.” Colfer‘s star had risen so fast in the year he’d starred on the Fox comedy that a literary agent asked him to pen his autobiography -- an endeavor Colfer had the good sense to decline because it was so premature.Instead, Colfer offered “The Land of St

There’s a photograph of President John F. Kennedy sailing on his beloved Victura on the wall of U.S. Rep. John Lewis’ 19th-floor office that bares this quote: “One man can make a difference and every man should try.” It is one of many pearls of wisdom scattered about the elder statesman’s Atlanta office, but it is this single sentiment that beats throughout “Across That Bridge: Life Lessons and a Vision for Change” (Hyperion, $22.99), Lewis’ latest book on his life and the civil rights movement

A Korea-Japan joint production film started shooting in Japan last month, according to its local producer and distributor Lotte Entertainment.Titled “Mumyeongin,” literally translated as a “nameless person,” the movie is a film adaptation of Japanese writer Tsukasaki Siro’s novel “Genome Hazard.” The mystery thriller tells the story of a Japanese man who one day realizes all of his memories aren’t his own but someone else’s; they were injected into his brain by some unknown forces.  Hidetoshi Ni

 “Two Doors” attracts 40,000 viewers just three weeks after its releaseOn Jan. 20, 2009, residents of a redevelopment area in Yongsan, Seoul, had been occupying the top floor of a four-story building named “Namildang” since the previous day to protest the city project. A police SWAT team was sent in to arrest the protesters. A fire erupted during the violent pre-dawn raid, killing five protesters and one policeman. The Seoul Central District Court held the leaders of the protest responsible for

Han Ah-reum, writer of musical ‘Hero,’ returns with period drama about Yun Dong-ju“May I look up into the heaven until the day I die ― without a bit of shame,” poet Yun Dong-ju (1917-1945) famously wrote in his poem “Prologue” in 1941, at the age of 25. The poet, who lived through the turbulent years of Japanese rule, often wrote about the sense of shame in his lyrical and sometimes politically-resistant poems. He was ashamed that his poems were being written “too easily” while many were sufferi

PiFan to also hold genre-fiction book fair, camping opportunities and movie-themed partiesFor horror, fantasy, mystery and animated film fans, Bucheon is the place to be this month.The annual Puchon (Bucheon) International Fantastic Film Festival (PiFan), which is considered the largest genre film fest in Asia, is opening this Thursday ― featuring a total of 230 films from 47 countries. This year’s edition opens with Korean horror film “Horror Stories,” a joint project by six local directors: Je

A Millionaire on the Run (Korea)Opening July 19 Comedy. Directed by Kim Ik-Ro. A promising salary man and a lobbyist, Choi Young-in (Park Jin-young) is attacked by a stranger while on a delivery mission to carry $5 million. He realizes that his boss Han Sang-moo (Cho Sung-ha), whom Young-in considered as his own brother, has betrayed him and made a scheme to kill him and take the money. While running away, Young-in encounters Miri (Min Hyo-rin) who robbed Pil-soo (Oh Jung-se) and runs away with

Here’s one thing the movies get wrong pretty consistently ― the reaction of seemingly rational people upon seeing the supernatural, the impossible, the miraculous.“Red Lights,” the new film from the director of the nervy minimalist thriller “Buried” (Ryan Reynolds in a box), has great actors reacting exactly the way their characters would respond to things that fall under “This CANNOT be happening.”There’s Sigourney Weaver as Margaret, the jaded, not-quite smug academic and veteran debunker of t

GoldBy Chris Cleave (Simon & Schuster)TV producers who create those biographical segments on Olympic athletes could only wish that Chris Cleave wrote their scripts.In “Gold,” Cleave fashions a life-and-death story of two female cyclists, long entwined athletically and personally, competing for a single spot on Great Britain’s Olympic team.Cleave’s earlier novels include the bestseller “Little Bee.”“Gold” feels like a marriage of “Wide World of Sports” with Lifetime television; that’s meant as a

Margaret Atwood has always been one step ahead. The recent to-do over the use of the word “vagina” on the Michigan state House floor, for instance, would fit right in with the world she imagined in “The Handmaid’s Tale,” which was published back in 1985.So maybe other adult novelists should take note of Atwood’s latest move: She’s jumped into the frenetic teen writing site Wattpad (www.wattpad.com). “I look forward to exploring the ways Wattpad connects people to reading and writing, and may hel

The public intellectual has become a rare creature in America, but Kurt Andersen has helped keep it from going extinct. He co-founded Spy magazine, was editor of New York magazine and now writes pieces like Time’s 2011 person of the year story, the Protester. These days, though, he mostly splits his time between hosting “Studio 360,” broadcast weekly to 160 NPR stations, and writing the occasional bestselling novel. His newest book, “True Believers” (Random House: 447 pages, $27), came out Tuesd

UBC dancer Ahn Ji-eun theatrically impressive in MacMillan’s interpretation of Shakespearean tragedyWhile considered one of the greatest love stories of all time, Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” is also a coming-of-age story.The piece is filled with adolescent rebellion; it deals with first love, loss of innocence, and the characters’ first efforts to separate themselves from their parents. The young lovers’ tragedy largely stems from having patriarchal, controlling parents, who ignore their na

Irish scholar shares his view on the leading philosopher of late Joseon Love your people, and serve their interest -- not yours.The message of Dasan (1762-1836), one of the greatest thinkers in the late Joseon period, transcends time and cultural boundaries. It certainly was the case for Irish scholar Kevin N. Cawley when he read one of Dasan’s texts a number of years ago. Cawley, who grew up Catholic, saw striking similarities between teachings of Catholicism and the Joseon scholar’s writing.“W