Few would be able to tell that actor Park Seo-joon, who has been in the spotlight recently for his portrayal of a playful boyfriend, used to be an intensely shy teenager. In the recent hit drama series “Fight! My Way,” Park plays the spirited Dong-man, a boy-next-door type character who remains boisterous despite numerous setbacks in life. 　Next month, Park will make his movie debut in the police-buddy flick “Midnight Runners” as the energetic cop trainee Ki-joon who leaps to action before think

Actor Kim Woo-bin has completed his first round of chemotherapy, the actor’s management agency Sidus HQ announced Sunday.　“He has recuperated to the point that he is now able to exercise,” a company official said. 　In May, Sidus HQ revealed that Kim had been diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer and was undergoing treatment. 　With the recent announcement, Sidus HQ said that they are cautious but optimistic about a second round of chemotherapy and new test results scheduled for August. 　Kim Woo-bi

K-pop group Apink and rapper-producer Heize, whose songs have been topping local music charts, were featured on Park Jin-young’s talk show, during which they discussed stardom and past loves.　The musicians appeared on the second episode of “Party People,” producer-singer JYP’s first foray into hosting a late-night talk show.Apink performed its hit songs “No No No” and “Mr. Chu,” and discussed the pressures of the K-pop scene.　“There was a point when I didn’t know if the public and our fans would

South Korea's top diplomat on Saturday called for a swift adoption of a strong U.N. Security Council sanctions resolution to punish North Korea for its latest missile provocation in an emergency meeting with her staff.The North launched what it claimed to be a second and improved intercontinental ballistic missile late Friday night, which flew more than 1,000 kilometers at the maximum altitude of around 3,700 km before landing in the waters between Korea and Japan. "We should talk with friendly

South Korea and the United States have agreed to open negotiations to revise a bilateral ballistic missile guideline to allow the former to develop a more powerful missile amid North Korea's continued provocations, Seoul's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Saturday.President Moon Jae-in instructed his government to begin bilateral consultations to rewrite the guideline that bans Seoul from developing ballistic missiles with a range of over 800 kilometers and a payload exceeding 500 kilogram

South Korea and the United States conducted another round of combined ballistic missile drills Saturday in a show of firepower against North Korea, their armed forces said.The live-fire exercise held along the east coast involved the South's Hyunmoo-2 and the US Eight Army's Army Tactical Missile System. Two missiles were fired from the Hyunmoo-2 launcher, along with two others from the ATACMS. "The munitions impacted in the sea east of the Korean Peninsula," where the North lobbed what it claim

The top diplomats of South Korea, the United States and Japan "strongly condemned" North Korea's launch of an intercontinental-range ballistic missile in emergency phone conversations Saturday, the foreign ministry said.Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha had separate phone calls with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida earlier in the day to discuss their response to what appeared to be the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) shortly before midnight

BEIJING (Yonhap) -- China joined South Korea and the United States on Saturday in condemning North Korea's latest launch of an intercontinental-range ballistic missile, urging the North to stop provocative acts."China is closely watching the development of the latest situation. ... United Nations Security Council resolutions have clear regulations on North Korea's ballistic missile technology development activities," China's foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said in a response to the midnig

South Korea made public a more powerful ballistic missile with improved precision-strike capability Saturday, warning North Korea against miscalculating its firepower.Shortly after the North's announcement of another successful long-range missile launch, the Ministry of National Defense released a brief video clip of a test of the new weapon system in development led by the state-run Agency for Defense Development. (Yonhap)It shows two missiles being fired back-to-back from a launcher.The first

This marinade is all you need for Korean barbecue this summer! It takes less than an hour to put this large batch together. You don’t need to assemble a marinade or run to a store to buy a jar of pre-made marinade every time. All the flavor enhancing ingredients are boiled together, so the marinade is very flavorful and the shelf life is naturally long. To make this all-purpose marinade, the ingredients are boiled with umami-boosting vegetables such as dried shiitake mushrooms and dashima. Korea

The Battleship Island(Korea)Opened July 26Drama, action. Directed by Ryoo Seung-wanDeep in the dark, damp underground tunnels of Hashima Island, hundreds of Korean laborers are forced to mine for coal in deadly conditions by the Japanese. A motley crew of Koreans find themselves on the island -- including band leader Kang-ok (Hwang Jung-min) and his daughter So-hee (Kim Soo-ahn), gang leader Chil-sung (So Ji-sub) and Malnyeon (Lee Jung-hyun), who has been sold as a sex slave. Elite agent Park Mo

Much-talked about war flick “The Battleship Island” drew in a record number of viewers on opening day, but has also been accused of monopolizing screens throughout theaters here.　According to Korean Film Council figures, 970,516 tickets were sold for screenings on Wednesday of “The Battleship Island,“ the largest figure achieved by a movie on its first day in Korean cinemas.The previous record was held by “The Mummy,” starring Tom Cruise, which opened in June. The film amassed 872,965 tickets on

It’s a challenge trying to find a crack in the pristine public image of actor Song Joong-ki, who has arguably been enjoying the most explosive pan-Asian popularity ever witnessed by an actor since last year’s hit drama series “Descendants of the Sun.”　In his numerous interviews, Song has been modest yet firm-footed in his opinions. His self-descriptions are humble and his assertions rooted in a belief in justice. It doesn’t help that Song has taken on another dashing, heroic role in Ryoo Seung-w

PYONGYANG (AFP) -- Washington’s ban on US citizens travelling to North Korea will have no effect on the country’s tourism industry and Pyongyang does not care about it “at all”, a senior development official insisted Tuesday.The measure is due to be enacted this week and once it goes into force US passports will no longer be valid for travel to the isolated country, which is subject to multiple sets of United Nations sanctions over its nuclear and missile programmes.Around 5,000 Western tourists

The current science minstry will be renamed as part of government restructuring taking effect Wednesday.The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning will now be called the Ministry of Science and ICT.The address of its website will change from www.msip.go.kr to www.msit.go.kr, after the ministry’s new abbreviation.The ministry will unveil its new sign in a ceremony at 3 p.m. Wednesday.The renamed ministry will have a vice ministerial “science innovation headquarters,” which will handle gover

The Seoul Museum of History is hosting the 2017 International Various Film Festival, screening a wide range of movies celebrating diversity and multiculturalism through the end of the year. 　An array of shorts, features and documentaries from around the globe will be screened at the museum’s first floor theater on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 2 p.m.From July 25-Aug. 31, the festival celebrates the analog sentiment, screening movies that have been shot on 35-millimeter film. This section will featur

“Train to Busan” will be opening in Japanese theaters on Sept. 1, the last stop in its worldwide run.The zombie flick, which was screened at the Cannes Film Festival’s Midnight Screenings category last year, has been sold to some 160 countries since its release.　The film opened in North American theaters in July 2016 and was later released in Europe and South America. It will be shown on 149 screens in 44 cities in Japan, including Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka.  A still from “Train to Busan” (NEW)“I

Asia’s largest virtual reality film event will take place at the Busan International Film Festival, running from Oct. 12-21 this year. The event, VR Cinema in BIFF, will screen some 30 virtual reality films in an exclusive screening space at the Busan Cinema Center, according to BIFF.　The film festival, Asia’s largest, has signed a memorandum of understanding with culture and VR contents company Barunson for the exhibit. 　BIFF will be spotlighting the virtual reality venue as one of the film fes

Herald Artday, a subsidiary of Herald Corp., is holding an online auction from July 22 to 26, presenting major works of art by contemporary Korean and international artists. The auction will feature works by Lee U-fan and Ha Chong-hyun, internationally acclaimed Korean artists leading the dansaekhwa, or monochrome painting, movement. Additionally spotlighted will be artists such as Kim Tschang-yeul, known for his signature water drop paintings; Lee Wal-jong, who captures the picturesque life of

From the chilling revenge story in 2003 neo-noir “Oldboy” to last year’s erotic thriller “The Handmaiden,” cinephiles will be able to revisit the works of Korean director Park Chan-wook from July 27 to Aug. 23 at the newly opened Park Chan-wook theater at CGV Yongsan, Seoul. Opened July 18, it is the third screen that CGV has dedicated to a significant figure in Korean cinema, following the Im Kwon-taek theater in Busan and the Ahn Sung-ki theater at CGV Arthouse Apgujeong. 　A wide range of Park