Four design gurus will speak about expanding the horizons of design through collaboration at the Herald Design Premium Talk. At the exclusive event, set to take place at the Grand Hyatt Seoul Regency Room on Nov. 8 at 6 p.m., attendees will be able to gather inspiration from the experts’ experiences and network with one another. 　 The featured speakers for the first session are Alberto Alessi, the CEO of Italian houseware company Alessi, and Ko Tae-yong, a fashion designer and CEO of Beyond Clos

When director David Kinsella first set foot in North Korea in 2014, what struck him most was not its expected desolation, the small army of government officials that met him at every turn, or how he was led to a hotel built exclusively for foreign visitors on an isolated island. Rather, it was how obsessed with its “image” the hermit nation seemed -- how it strived to stage everything to perfection for the Irishman. One of the first sites Kinsella was taken to was the giant mausoleum where the “

The Culture Ministry on Saturday refuted allegations that Choi Soon-sil, President Park Geun-hye’s confidante accused of influence peddling, had masterminded some of the ministry’s major projects.In a press statement, the ministry denied knowledge of the documents reported to have been in Choi’s possession. It also rebuffed suggestions that Cha Eun-taek, an ad film director and close acquaintance of Choi, had led many of the ministry’s key initiatives.Last Thursday, local daily Chosun Ilbo and c

Leonard Cohen“You Want It Darker” (Columbia Records)Leonard Cohen’s late, late career resurgence reaches new heights on “You Want It Darker,” an elegant treatise with deep-felt layers of wisdom and a sense of finality. Produced mostly by son Adam, Cohen’s third studio album in five years puts his most effective musical forms through a filter of restraint. Nothing distracts from the 82-year-old’s haunting lyrics, and his vocals remain both otherworldly and down-to-earth.A physical, naked bass lin

Pop Music“2016 Shinwa Live -- Unchanging”: Shinhwa, a K-pop boy band that has been active since 1998, is holding a concert at the Korea International Exhibition & Convention Center in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province, on Dec. 17 and 18 at 4 p.m. Prior to the show, Shinhwa will be releasing its 13th studio album “Unchanging” on Nov. 29. A track on the album titled “She Said” was released on Oct. 22. The six-member veteran boy band has a number of hits under its belt, including “This Love,” “Wild Eyes,” “

Doctor Strange(US)Opened Oct. 26Superhero, Fantasy. Directed by Scott DerricksonDoctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is a genius surgeon who has fallen deep into despair after an unfortunate accident. His last thread of hope leads him to the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton), who bestows on him unconquerable superpowers that will save the world. Kubo and the Two Strings(US)Opened Oct. 26Animation, Adventure. Directed by Travis KnightKubo (Art Parkinson) is a young boy living on the edge of a cliff wi

While it doesn’t tear up the envelope of the action genre or stray far from the familiar template of mysteries, “Jack Reacher: Never Go Back” is agreeable middle-of-the-road entertainment.Following up on the successful 2012 original, Tom Cruise returns as the ex-Army officer turned hitchhiking-nomadic-vigilante, inflicting pain and injuries on wrongdoers, henchmen and anybody who gives him too much lip. It’s a change of pace from Cruise’s work as intellectual superspy Ethan Hawk in the “Mission

Actor Song Joong-ki made viewers swoon as a dashing army lieutenant in “Descendants of the Sun” earlier this year, but the latter half of 2016 has seen actor Park Bo-gum stir the hearts of many as Prince Lee Young in “Love in the Moonlight.”The historical romance series, which began in August and wrapped up last week on KBS, surpassed the 20 percent viewership mark after just three episodes. Park’s portrayal of an impish Joseon era prince, his gradual transformation into a thoughtful ruler, and

Interactive participation via mobile platforms, social media, Facebook LiveWill take place on Tuesday, Nov. 8Tickets can be reserved until Tuesday, Nov. 1Featuring design experts from around the world, Herald Design Forum 2016 will take place at Grand Hyatt Seoul on Tuesday, Nov. 8. A must-attend forum for industry insiders, Herald Design Forum, now in its sixth edition, offers exciting new features■ More speakersThe scope of our speakers has broadened. From Kickstarter co-founder Yancey Strickl

When it comes to fashion, designer Choi Eu-don’s philosophy is one that emphasizes both creativity and practicality.While he believes that his pieces should “contain a different idea, something unique that differentiates them from ready-to-wear collections,” Choi places equal emphasis on how “wearable” an outfit is.“After all, fashion design is for clothes, and clothes become significant when someone wears them,” he said in an interview with The Korea Herald. Choi will be delivering a talk title

Electro-dance music group Far East Movement dropped its fifth album “Identity” on global music streaming sites Friday, featuring a handful of K-pop stars. The title track “Fighter” features rapper-singer Yoon Mi-rae. Filmed in Los Angeles and Seoul, the song’s music video is a tribute to Korean immigrants who went to America amid war and hardships in their home country, according to Far East Movement’s management Transparent Agency.Rapper Jay Park participated in the retro hip-hop track “SXWME,”

K-pop group EXO’s main dancer Lay, a Chinese national, is set to debut as a solo artist in China, the boy band’s management agency S.M. Entertainment announced Friday. Lay’s album “Lose Control” will be released on Oct. 28 on Xiami Music, a subsidiary of Ali Music Group, the music arm of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, and on major Korean music streaming sites, S.M. said.The album consists of six songs in Chinese, all written, composed and arranged by Lay.EXO’s member Lay poses for a promotion

“Michael Moore in TrumpLand” is not only the title of the new film by the cinematic provocateur but it is also an accurate description of what it provides.Not an investigative documentary on the order of the writer-director’s previous films like “Fahrenheit 9/ll,” “Bowling for Columbine” or “Sicko,” “TrumpLand” is rather a rambling, mildly entertaining performance film recording a stand-up appearance Moore recently made in the heart of Trump country.That would be the city of Wilmington, Ohio, th

Queen of Walking(Korea)Opened Oct. 20Drama. Directed by Baek Seung-hwa Sprightly high school student Manbok (Shim Eun-kyung), suffering from chronic motion sickness and unable to stand any type of transportation, walks for four hours every day to school. Inferno(US)Opened Oct. 19Mystery, thriller. Directed by Ron HowardA madman biologist (Ben Foster) plans to annihilate half of the world’s population by unleashing a virus; famous symbologist Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) follows a trail of clues to

A scene from artist Yang Kyung-soo’s webtoon series depicts a senior executive and several junior employees engaged in seemingly amicable conversation. The executive cheerily tells his department members, “They say there’s a crazy person in every team, but there isn’t in ours!” The employees, smiling politely, think to themselves, “It’s you.”　Such single-frame webtoons, uploaded regularly on Yang’s Instagram handle “yangchikii,” have gained a popular following among Korean office workers. Each p

A video being used by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to promote the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games is the subject of heated criticism over what viewers are calling subpar content. Responding to the adverse public reaction, the ministry said Tuesday that the clip is not the official promotional video for the sporting event.The nearly four-minute video depicts K-pop singers and comedians who, infected with the “Can’t Stop Moving” virus, dance uncontrollably to an

In “Drinking Solo,” newbie lecturer Park Han-na struggles to capture students’ attention in the cutthroat world of Korean private education while pursuing a slippery romance with her co-worker. Kim Dong-young, one of her pupils, crams every day to pass the exhausting state exam that will reward him with a stable job as public servant, all the while working part time so as not to burden his lower-middle class family. Recently, television shows like the tvN production have been nabbing audiences b

Alberto Alessi represents the third generation of his family to helm Italian houseware brand Alessi Spa, which is renowned for its elegantly inventive designs that spin a whimsical take on everyday utensils. But he did not always pursue the creative path, said the 70-year-old managing director in an interview with The Korea Herald.　His father Carlo, the former leader of the now-global brand and an industrial designer, had been against his son’s artistic pursuits, said Alessi, who will speak at t

Herald Corp. invites you to a special dinner with four design experts on the evening of Nov. 8, where guests will be able to participate in discussions about design innovation and its impact on businesses. The dinner event, titled “Herald Design Premium Talk,” will take place after the 2016 Herald Design Forum sessions on Nov. 8.Design has become the driving force behind growth, breaking boundaries in all businesses today. In the future, products and creative works will no longer be confined to

Korean comedy film “Luck-Key,” starring Yoo Hae-jin as a killer, drew more than 2 million viewers during its premiere weekend to hit No. 1 at the box office, data showed on Monday.The movie sold 1,642,824 tickets, which is 68.2 percent of all ticket sales, over the Oct. 14-16 weekend, keeping the Hollywood fantasy film “Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children” in a distant second, according to the real-time box office tally from the Korean Film Council.　Released on Thursday, “Luck-Key” surpa