Son Na-eun is basking in the glowing limelight of the “Psy effect” since her appearance in the singer’s music video for “New Face.”The Apink member is being bombarded with requests for advertisements and photo shoots, her agency Plan A Entertainment said Tuesday. The music video for “New Face” has reached over 3 million views on YouTube since its May 10 release. Son stars in it as the poker-faced subject of Psy’s fervent advances.Other female K-pop singers and actresses who have starred in Psy’s

Hong Sang-soo’s “The Day After” received both enthusiastic and mild responses from critics following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival Monday, prompting whispers of the film’s chance at the top Palme d’Or prize.　Hubert Niogret, prominent French film critic and an editor for the film magazine Positif called it a “fantastic” piece, and “the best of the competing films” at Cannes this year, according to reports. 　Korean critic Jeon Chan-il said he could detect “the film style that led the 19

While growing up in Koreatown, that bustling enclave in central Los Angeles home to a distinctly hybrid culture of Korea and America, rapper Dumbfoundead noticed something odd. 　 The neighborhood’s young residents, born to Korean immigrant parents but raised entirely on American soil, seemed to adhere to Korean social codes with enthusiasm. They would pour the staple Korean liquor soju for each other using both hands, and refer to older males as “hyung” or “oppa.” Whether reflecting a desire to

Two of the five Korean films screening at this year’s Cannes Film Festival have found themselves embroiled in a scandal, both in and out of the country. “Okja” is caught in a clash between its producer Netflix and French cinemas. “The Merciless” has sparked outrage among Korean spectators due to its director’s misled online tweets.During its Friday premiere, “Okja” was met with “whistles and jeers” by critics during a technical hitch in its premiere Friday, according to AFP. The screening was st

CANNES, France, (AFP) -- The premiere of the first of two controversial Netflix movies at the Cannes film festival had to be stopped Friday amid whistles and jeers when the curtain malfunctioned hiding part of the screen. Some critics had earlier whistled at the start of $50 million creature feature “Okja” when the Netflix’s logo appeared on screen.The screening giant has refused to show both its films in the running for Cannes’ top prize in French cinemas, sparking a bitter row which has oversh

This is a simple but delicious side dish that’s made with peanuts. Made similar to kongjang (soy braised soybeans), this braised peanut dish is sweet, sticky, savory and nutty with a pleasant chewy texture. It’s a popular basic side dish.For this dish, use raw shelled peanuts with skins. Around here, we’re lucky to have good quality Virginia peanuts, one of the largest varieties. Raw peanuts retain the skins intact and absorb the sauce better with a softer texture as a result, but you can use ro

At the Deoksugung branch of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, an exhibition of Egyptian surrealist art is underway in the west wing that was added to Seokjojeon, the country’s first Western-style building, in 1938 during the Japanese colonial period.It is coincidence that the period covered in the exhibition runs from 1938 to 1965. But nevertheless, the venue seems an apt one for the exhibition that covers a period in Egypt soon after it became fully independent from col

The Merciless (Korea)Opened May 17Crime, action. Directed by Byun Sung-hyunJae-ho (Seol Kyung-gu) is the maniacal head of a drug smuggling operation. While behind bars, he befriends Hyun-soo (Im Si-wan), a young delinquent who appears equally boisterous. Jae-ho suggests Hyunsoo join his operation, and the two begin working together in Jae-ho’s criminal gang upon their release from prison. The two soon come to slowly reveal their ambitions and hidden sides, however, and embark on a precarious par

“The Wall,” a story of two American soldiers facing off against an unseen Iraqi adversary, is a men-at-war story more interesting than you might imagine. But not interesting enough. Bringing to mind Steven Spielberg’s debut feature, “Duel,” and similar hidden antagonist fare, “The Wall” benefits from the work of director Doug Liman. His varied filmography (“The Bourne Identity,” “Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” the underappreciated “Edge of Tomorrow”) reveals him as a restless cinematic intelligence who li

The “Alien” franchise has always been battleground for the philosophical and physical tussles for dominance between human, alien and artificial intelligence. While “Alien” set up the themes, character types, and iconography of this universe, 2012’s prequel “Prometheus” established an origin story and philosophy, bringing up questions of faith, spirituality and the risks of creating life. “Alien: Covenant,” once again directed by Ridley Scott, is the second prequel in the series, chronologically

In the ending scene of the upcoming documentary “Our President,” a man walks around the streets of Busan, shaking people’s hands and introducing himself: “My name is Roh Moo-hyun. I’ll work hard.”The 109-minute film pinpoints the year 2002, a dramatic period in the late president’s political journey, when he was nominated the presidential candidate of the leading liberal party. The film hits Korean theaters May 25, two days after the eighth anniversary of Roh’s death by suicide. 　“Our President”

With a total of five Korean films invited to the Cannes Film Festival, which opened Wednesday, a handful of Korean directors and movie stars are set to walk the event’s red carpet in the coming days. Director Park Chan-wook, who is attending the event as a jury member, joined the opening festivities Wednesday. Director Park Chan-wook, a jury member of Cannes Film Festival’s competition category this year, attends the event’s opening Wednesday. (AFP-Yonhap)Director-actress duo Hong Sang-soo and K

Actor Gong Yoo will be featured on the cover of the June issue of men’s magazine Esquire in seven Asian countries. 　Gong’s face will grace the cover of the editions in Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Hong Kong. An in-depth interview with the actor will also be included in the issue and it will also be sold in Vietnam and the Philippines. Esquire is published in 10 countries in Asia. Gong Yoo is featured on the cover of the Korean edition of Esquire’s June issue. (Esqu

PARIS, (AFP) -- Another large-scale, stealthy cyberattack is underway on a scale that could dwarf last week's assault on computers worldwide, a global cybersecurity firm told AFP on Wednesday.The new attack targets the same vulnerabilities the WannaCry ransomware worm exploited but, rather than freeze files, uses the hundreds of thousands of computers believed to have been infected to mine virtual currency.Following the detection of the WannaCry attack on Friday, "researchers at Proofpoint disco

SOCHI, (AFP) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Moscow could provide a recording of the exchange between Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US President Donald Trump, but his aide later suggested he had meant a written transcript."If the US administration finds it possible, we are ready to provide a recording of the conversation between Lavrov and Trump to the US Congress and Senate," Putin said during a press conference.He mocked the idea that Trump went off-script to share

TOKYO, Yonhap -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in's special envoy told Japan's top diplomat Wednesday many Koreans still disapprove of the contentious bilateral deal on the historical issue of Japan's wartime sexual enslavement of Korean women.Moon Hee-sang, a five-term lawmaker, raised the sensitive topic in meeting with Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida here for about 40 minutes.The politician is on a visit to Tokyo as the special envoy of South Korea's new president, Moon Jae-in, as the neighb

Black Pink will be taking its first step into the global music scene with a Japanese release, the group’s agency YG Entertainment said Wednesday. The K-pop quartet will be holding a showcase at Tokyo’s Nippon Budokan arena on July 20. The showcase will be funded by Tokyo Girls Collection, a semiannual fashion festival launched in 2015 and Japan’s largest fashion event. The group will release an album in Japan on Aug. 9. The Japanese debut EP will include Black Pink’s hit tracks, including the re

BTS’ seventh single “Blood, Sweat and Tears,” released in Japan on May 10, has topped the weekly Oricon Charts, Japan’s largest music chart.The album ranked No. 1 on the list with a total of 238,795 Oricon points.Having debuted in Japan in June 2014, BTS broke the mark of 200,000 points on the Oricon charts in the shortest amount of time ever, according to the boy band’s agency Big Hit Entertainment. BTS first topped the Oricon charts in June 2015 with its fourth Japanese single “For You.”  Prom

Im Si-wan is among the few Korean entertainers who have completed their transition from K-pop singer into actor, but the 28-year-old is careful not to overestimate himself or his sensibilities.　The fact that his latest film, the upcoming crime flick “The Merciless (Bul Han Dang),” is set to screen at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival still feels surreal to him, the actor said in an interview at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Seoul last Thursday. 　“I’m not sure what to expect,” said Im, whose atten

Lee Min-ho was spotted heading to work for the first day of his mandatory military service at the Gangnam-gu Office in Seoul, Friday.  Lee Min-ho goes to Gangnam-gu Office for his first day of mandatory military service as a public service worker, Friday. (Yonhap) Lee Min-ho goes to Gangnam-gu Office for his first day of mandatory military service as a public service worker, Friday. (Yonhap)Lee’s management agency MYM Entertainment denied rumors claiming that the actor would get off work early.