An apparently innocent traditional item has found its way to the center of the influence-peddling scandal surrounding President Park Geun-hye and her longtime confidante Choi Soon-sil. 　Obangnang, a multicolored pouch that is a traditional symbol of good fortune, featured in Park’s inauguration ceremony in February 2013 -- a giant obangnang setup at Gwanghwanun Plaza opened up to reveal a tree with dozens of mini obangnang hanging from its branches.Almost four years later and the pouch has come

Last year, pianist Cho Seong-jin caused a sensation when he became the first Korean to win the International Chopin Piano Competition at the age of 21. Over 90,000 copies of his two live albums were sold in Korea within a month. Classical music experts around the world lauded the “expressive nuance” of Cho’s interpretations. Naturally, Korean parents wondered how he had been educated.“My parents never pressured me. My mom didn’t even expect I would keep playing the piano. My dad told me to quit

The hotly anticipated crime flick “Master” features three characters, played by a trio of top stars, who are each “masterful” at what they do. Lee Byung-hun portrays a criminal organization’s maniacal leader who dons a myriad of disguises; Kim Woo-bin is an unpredictable genius hacker and the mastermind behind the organization’s operations; and Kang Dong-won stars as the head detective of a white collar crime investigation unit who doggedly pursues elusive villains. “Things that shouldn’t happen

“The K2,” a star-studded political drama that delved into the essence of power and people’s hunger for it, wrapped up Saturday with a 6.2 percent viewership, according to Nielsen Korea. 　The 16-episode show presented the tangled web of power involving political parties, presidential secrets, the opulent wealth of Korea’s chaebol families and the media. Saturday’s final episode topped all cable channel viewership during its 8 p.m. time slot.  Ji Chang-wook stars in "The K2." (tvN)“The K2” stars a

“The Sound of Your Heart,” a web series based on the popular eponymous webtoon, is off to a good start, reaching nearly 10 million views in just six days after its release.　Short snippets of the series are being uploaded on Naver TV Cast since Nov. 7. Two new clips each will be uploaded Mondays and Thursdays until Dec. 9, when the full series will begin airing on KBS. As of Sunday, the show had reached over 9.68 million views. The number is the highest for web dramas launched on Naver TV Cast so

The 12th Jeju Film Festival opened Saturday on Korea’s southernmost island.The annual film festival is being held through Saturday at Lotte Cinema Jeju in Jeju City. This year’s opening film was English director Ken Loach’s social drama “I, Daniel Blake,” which nabbed the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in May. An exhibition is highlighting Korean director Kim Jee-woon’s works, including “A Bittersweet Life,” Kim’s 2005 crime drama featuring actor Lee Byung-hun as a gangster who starts a

Susan Boyle“A Wonderful World”(Syco/Columbia)How to properly harness the skill of Susan Boyle is something of a pop riddle. What’s the best way to deploy the soaring voice that comes out of this shy, British, middle-aged woman? Jazz? Broadway show tunes? Christmas songs?Producer Steve Anderson thinks he’s cracked it: Give Boyle an old pop tune, surround her with an orchestra and let her start quietly before the musicians crank up and she ends up belting behind a gale of music.His approach seemed

Split(Korea)Opened Nov. 9Drama. Directed by Choi Gook-heeChul-jong (Yoo Ji-tae) is a former bowling superstar who has lost his skills to an unfortunate accident. While scraping by as a gambler and a swindler, he meets genius bowler Young-hoon (Lee David). The two partner up to make big money against gamblers in the bowling scene.Ouija: Origin of Evil(US)Opened Nov. 9Horror. Directed by Mike FlanaganWidowed mother Alice Zander (Elizabeth Reaser) invites a spirit of evil into her house by accident

The alien spacecraft in “Arrival” arrive by the dozen, each of the looming, egg-sliced-in-half-shaped wonders looking like the latest in KitchenAid gadgetry. All around the globe, their contents a mystery to paranoid earthlings, the visitors hover just above the planet’s surface. Why have they come? Do they come in peace? Will the US military and other nations’ leaders give peace a chance?True to the spacecraft, director Denis Villeneuve is one sleek craftsman. Every subtle camera crawl, each da

A banner at the door of children’s modeling and acting agency Olive Entertainment, located in western Seoul, features the recognizable faces of young trainees who have gone on to star in ads, films and TV shows. It also reads, “Make your dreams come true.”The rising fame of child actors on the big and small screen has led to growing numbers of children seeking stardom from an early age. Hand-in-hand with their mothers, hundreds flock to large-scale acting academies, many of which function as one

According to Tom Cruise, he’s the “first person to be on set and the last to leave” when making a film. Even with more than 30 years in the acting business, his love for films and “passion for storytelling” hasn’t subsided, the US actor told reporters Monday.Cruise was in Seoul to promote “Jack Reacher: Never Go Back.” He met the Korean press at The Ritz-Carlton Seoul, alongside director Edward Zwick, who helmed the mystery-crime thriller, set for local release on Nov. 24. The film stars Cruise

Experts from around the world have gathered in Seoul to share insights on how technology, design and solid business management come together to define a product or service’s identity at Asia’s largest conference specializing in design.Herald Design Forum, an annual event organized by Herald Corp., the publisher of The Korea Herald, takes place Tuesday at the Grand Hyatt Seoul under the theme of “Design for convergence.” Participants will be able to gather inspiration from some of the world’s mos

According to director Lee Min-yong, this was a watershed year for the North Korean Human Rights International Film Festival, with a record number of audiences and films offering diverse perspectives on the lives of both North Koreans and defectors. The sixth edition of the film festival, which took place at the Daehan Cinema in central Seoul from Oct. 21-23, was launched in 2011 to inform the world of the gross human rights violations occurring in the North.In the beginning, the films had a “cle

The members of veteran K-pop group g.o.d will be gathering again to tour the country next January and February.The group will kick off the tour from Jan. 6-8 at Seoul’s Jamsil Arena and subsequently perform in Incheon, Daegu, Ilsan, Gwangju, Busan and other cities, concert planner SJ Entertainment announced Friday. K-pop band g.o.d (Sidus HQ)“Fans can look forward to the five members dressed up in elegant tuxedos,” the agency said. It added that g.o.d will be performing some of its biggest hit s

YG Entertainment on Thursday refuted rumors that the company and its singer Psy are connected to Choi Soon-sil, who is under investigation for meddling in various areas of President Park Geun-hye’s administration.“We are releasing this official statement due to rumors that have been generated relating to ‘Choi Soon-sil Gate’ and certain media outlets that are reporting the rumors as if they were true,” YG said in a statement.  Singer Psy (YouTube)The agency added, “Psy is not acquainted at all w

The makers of the latest comic book-inspired feature film “Doctor Strange” faced the same hurdle as those who put together “Guardians of the Galaxy.” Both come from the lesser known quadrant of the Marvel Comics galaxy.“Guardians” became a massive box office and fan hit with brilliant casting, a smart script and stunning visual effects. “Doctor Strange” uses the same formula — but kicks it up 100 degrees — to make “Doctor Strange” one of the best films in the Marvel Comics film library.For those

Twenty Again(Korea)Opened Nov. 3Romance, Melodrama. Directed by Park Heung-sikTwo old lovers (Kim Seung-woo, Lee Tae-ran), now in their 40s, or “second 20s,” meet again for the first time since their heated romance that sizzled down years ago. The two remember how they fell in love at first sight, the passionate relationship, and the untimely separation that ensued. As fate takes them on a trip together to Italy, the two wonder, “Could we still be in love?”Hell or High Water(US)Opened Nov. 3Crim

Returning with another EP just three months after its debut, YG Entertainment’s newest girl group Black Pink hopes to differentiate itself from other female K-pop performers through its dance skills. “We practiced on our performances a lot during our time off,” Jennie, 20, told reporters at a press interview Wednesday in Samcheong-dong, Seoul.The four-member group’s second album, “Square Two,” was released Tuesday with two new tracks, “Playing with Fire” and “Stay.” The album comes after the gro

According to Yancey Strickler, his company Kickstarter offers a kind of intimate patron-artist relationship in the digital age, on a global platform with no geographical limits.“A community of patrons supporting artists as they made their newest work -- this is the way authors like Alexander Pope and Mark Twain, and composers like Mozart and Beethoven brought their work to life,” the firm’s co-founder and CEO told The Korea Herald in an email interview last week. Strickler, who propelled Kicksta

Director Um Tae-hwa’s “Vanishing Time: a Boy who Returned” offers a mix of genres unfamiliar to Korean cinema -- it is fairy tale-like in its plot, fantasy-esque in its computer graphics, but also firmly rooted in reality.　Um has always been interested in “the area where the real and surreal clash, or influence one another,” he told reporters after a press screening on Tuesday in Seoul. “I imagined what it would be like to live in a place where time stops. I imagined it would be a lonely existen