LOS ANGELES -- The various bodies moving through “Kiki,” an energetic and enveloping documentary about New York City’s LGBT ballroom scene, are capable of astonishing, even superhuman physical feats. They dance and gyrate on underground subway platforms, down half-empty streets, and on the grass at Christopher Street Pier. They pour themselves into stunningly elaborate costumes before hitting the dance floor, performing under hot lights, thundering music and the eyes of hundreds of enthusiastic

LOS ANGELES -- As unexpectedly enchanting as its title is initially perplexing, “My Life as a Zucchini” is short but oh so satisfyingly bittersweet, an example of the kind of movie magic that’s always hard to find.A word-of-mouth phenomenon since its premiere at Cannes last year, this 70-minute stop-motion feature took the grand jury prize and the audience award at the top-drawer Annency International Animation Film Festival.More impressive still, it managed the almost unheard of double feat of

Song Ji-hyo and Shin Ha-kyun have been cast in an upcoming film tentatively titled “Wind Wind Wind” (unofficial translation), the film’s distributor Next Entertainment World said Friday. Directed by Lee Byeong-heon, who was behind “Twenty” (2015), the film is a comedy about four people seeking love and adventure on Jeju Island. Shin, previously in “Empire of Lust” (2015), will play a dispirited husband who once had dreams of becoming a renowned chef. Song, who was in “New World” (2013), will pla

Party music guru Pitbull is coming to Korea. The rapper will hold his first concert in Korea on May 18 at the Seoul Olympic Park’s Olympic Hall at 8 p.m., according to the event’s host Live Nation Korea on Thursday. Pitbull debuted in 2004 and has since come to be known for fusing danceable Latin pop and electronic hip-hop sounds in his music. Hits by him include the 2013 song “Timber” featuring Kesha and the 2014 song “Time of Our Lives” featuring Ne-Yo. Tickets can be purchased from Thursday a

For those weary of typical travel itineraries -- looking at landscapes, eating local food, sightseeing -- The Korea Herald recommends a number of unique, and somewhat strange, places to visit, ranging from interesting accommodations to unusual places of interest. Robotic comfortsIn Nagasaki, Japan, there is a hotel staffed almost entirely by robots, from automated employees at the reception desk and electric bellboys to droid waiters at a restaurant. 　Upon entering the futuristic establishment,

A slew of entertaining shows have hit the small screens recently, featuring familiar themes and characters -- the hierarchy of the Korean office and wealthy, psychopathic villains -- but with new twists. Several once much-hyped series, meanwhile, are proving to be less engaging despite their star-studded casts.Also noteworthy is that the most popular shows at the moment do not center on romance, unlike recent hits such as “Descendants of the Sun” and “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God” that foc

Iconic Korean actor Choi Min-sik will be returning to the big screen next month with “Special Citizen.” A trailer for the film was released by its distributor Showbox on Thursday. Best known to international audiences for his striking performance as a vengeful prisoner in the 2003 Park Chan-wook thriller “Oldboy,” Choi plays Byun Jong-goo, the ambitious mayor of Seoul running for his third term, in the upcoming film. The trailer features the unknowable and multifarious politician Byun, who in on

Bluebeard(Korea)Opened March 1Thriller. Directed by Lee Su-yeonSeung-hoon (Cho Jin-woong) is a doctor whose failed marriage and career have put him on edge financially and psychologically. Forced to give up his hospital in Seoul’s affluent neighborhood, he moves to a provincial city to work at a clinic. During a sedated endoscopy, one of his elderly patients makes a confession to murder. The corpse of a woman is also found on the Han River, reviving a murder case. Logan(US)Opened March 1Action,

Hyolyn, the lead vocalist of K-pop girl group Sistar has signed a contract with Spinnin’ Records, the world’s largest electronic dance music label, according to her agency Starship Entertainment Tuesday.Hyolyn has become the first K-pop singer to sign with the company, the agency said in a statement. “Her collaboration with Justin Oh will be released globally in March,” Starship Entertainment said. Oh is a Korean DJ and producer who has garnered international fame and is also signed to Spinnin’

From chart-topping solo singers to rising female bands, the K-pop scene will be rife with returning female acts this week. K-pop group Lovelyz dropped its second album “R U Ready?” on Sunday with the title track “WoW!” Lovelyz (Woolim Entertainment)Power vocalist Ailee, whose original sound track for “Guardian: The Great And Lonely God,” “I Will go to You Like the First Snow” is enjoying popularity here, is set to return Monday with a new track titled “Old Longing” (unofficial translation). Gugu

Soft-spoken Ahn So-hee seemed to put a great amount of thought into her answers before vocalizing them. One of her hobbies is simply to “observe people” as she herself isn’t “very outgoing or talkative,” Ahn said at an interview Wednesday at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Seoul.“People say that observing others, (and) seeing and feeling lots of things will help me even more in my future acting,” said the budding actress, who stars in the recent film “A Single Rider” alongside Lee Byung-hun and Gong H

Oysters are in season, and they are great in soups. This oyster soup is simple, refreshingly clear, and incredibly briny. The recipe uses two main ingredients -- oysters and radish. The oysters impart a strong briny flavor, so you don’t need to use a flavorful broth such as anchovy broth as a soup base. I simply add a small piece of dried kelp (dashima) to boost umami, and use salt to season to highlight the briny flavor of oysters. You can use a little bit of soup soy sauce if you want. 　The ra

A Single Rider(Korea)Opened Feb. 22Drama. Directed by Lee Zoo-youngJae-hoon (Lee Byung-hun) is a stockbroker who loses his fortune, friends and the trust of his clients after a risky investment goes abysmally wrong. He leaves for Australia to find his wife and son, who have relocated there, only to discover that they too are slipping out of his grasp. He hovers around them, observing their daily routine and wandering the streets in search of answers to a horrifying truth. New Trial(Korea)Opened

“Tell the world what you have seen,” a character exclaims in “The Great Wall,” “and what is coming!” The warning is about the mythical mass of marauding monsters that are sweeping down northern China but it could just as easily be for the kind of Hollywood-China collaboration that is “The Great Wall.” The first English language feature shot entirely in China, it’s the biggest-budget attempt yet to straddle both sides of the Pacific, plucking a movie star (Matt Damon) from the West for a producti

R&B artist Dean dropped a new single titled “limbo” on Feb. 17, comprised of two songs.　The producer-turned-singer, who has written songs for K-pop’s biggest names such as EXO, VIXX and Taeyeon, has been consistently collaborating with artists such as Crush to produce trendy tracks. 　The following is a list of facts about the new album:1. The album’s concept is the state of limbo between dreaming and reality, where the two are indistinguishable. 2. It was inspired by the Christopher Nolan movie

Go Ara’s breakthrough came in 2013, when she starred in the nostalgic drama series “Reply 1994.” Forgoing her previously pristine look, she cut her hair in a frizzy bob to portray the spunky university student Sung Na-jung, in a performance for which Go nabbed praise both critically and with viewers.The role, to a certain extent, enabled the actress to break free from the prejudice that she was “too pretty” to embody diverse characters, which is in fact her ultimate goal, Go said at an interview

Korean film industry insiders are speculating on the next move by director Hong Sang-soo and actress Kim Min-hee, who won the best actress award at the Berlin International Film Festival on Sunday for their film “On the Beach at Night Alone.” The two have not yet made specific plans to return to Korea or hold a press conference here, as is customary after winning prominent international prizes.“On the Beach at Night Alone,” Hong and Kim’s second collaboration, meanwhile, will open in local theat

Director Hong Sang-soo’s much-talked-about new film will hit local theaters on March 23, according to the production company Jeonwonsa Film Co., Monday.Although the film won Kim Min-hee the Silver Bear award for best actress at the Berlin International Film Festival on Sunday, there has been much speculation as to whether the film will enjoy success here. Poster for ‘On the Beach at Night Alone’ (Contents Panda)The film is Hong’s 19th feature and tells the story of an actress, played by Kim, who

In one of his most acclaimed performances, Lee Byung-hun plays a gang member ordered to spy on his boss’s wife in director Kim Jee-woon’s 2005 noir “A Bittersweet Life.”The character starts out as a ruthless perfectionist trusted to unquestioningly execute orders. But struggling between his dreams and real life, he begins to act on his own impulses.Lee was strongly reminded of that tortured mobster he had portrayed over a decade ago while playing his recent role in the psychological drama “A Sin

Red Velvet’s new song “Rookie” has been enjoying a streak of popularity lately, topping charts of major music programs since its Feb. 1 release. For two weeks in a row now, “Rookie” has nabbed first place on music programs “M Countdown,” “Music Bank” and “Inkigayo” as of the weekend of Feb. 18-19. Since Feb. 2, the song has maintained first place on the Korean songs section of Chinese Xiami Music charts.　 Red Velvet (S.M. Entertainment)Billboard describes “Rookie” as a “quirky, funk-driven dance