American basketball legend Michael Jordan will open an Asian barbecue restaurant with a Korean chef later this year, a Chicago media outlet reported this week. According to NBC, Jordan, 48, will join hands with Korean-American chef Bill Kim and open “Belly Q” in Chicago sometime this spring. The new restaurant will replace “One Sixtyblue,” which Jordan had managed for 14 years with his Cornerstone Restaurant Group before closing it earlier this month. Kim, whose family immigrated to the U.S. whe

7 Wonders chief refutes doubts among KoreansKorea’s Jeju Island was chosen as one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature through fair competition and there should not be any more doubts about the process, the chief of the Swiss-based organization told a Thursday press conference in Seoul.Bernard Weber, chairman of the New7Wonders Foundation, convened a press gathering a day after arriving in Korea, vowing to resolve suspicions over the transparency of the voting that was conducted via the Internet a

Top policymaker stresses globalization of Korean wave, eyes 11m visitors this yearWith the world’s attention continually shifting from one aspect of Korean culture to another, Korea should produce high-quality and consistent cultural products in the coming years by linking the old and new and the unique and universal, Culture Minister Choe Kwang-shik said. “The first hallyu was led by Korean dramas and the second by K-pop. The third wave should consist of the Korean culture overall ― the content

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) ― A fresh dusting of snow over Park City heralded the beginning of the Sundance Film Festival on Thursday.Sundance Institute founder Robert Redford opened the festival by characterizing the slate of 117 feature films as products of “dark and grim’’ times and the “suffering from a government that’s in paralysis.’’“Even though the work reflects hard times, there’s not paralysis here,’’ the 75-year-old filmmaker said at an afternoon news conference. “They’re breathing life into

Chung Hyung-min, director of the Seoul National University Museum of Art, was named the new chief of the National Museum of Contemporary Art, the Culture Ministry said Thursday. Chung, 61, will hold the post for two years. After receiving a Ph.D in art history at Columbia University, Chung has held a variety of posts that helped her secure the knowledge and experience necessary as director of the national art museum, the ministry release said.Chung has been teaching art at Seoul National Univers

Hallyu actress Choi Ji-woo, girl band Kara and Hong Kong star Lee Ku won top awards at the 2012 Asia Model Awards organized by the Korea Model Association Wednesday. The seventh annual ceremony was held Wednesday evening under the slogan “Asia is One,” and was joined by some of the most popular models and stars from 15 different Asian countries including Korea, China, Japan and Thailand. The top Asia Star Award went to three stars from Korea and Hong Kong, while the Popular Artist Award went to

At least 45,000 Chinese travelers are expected to flock to Korea during the neighboring state’s biggest holiday beginning over the weekend, according to Korea’s tourism agency.An average of 800 million Chinese people travel abroad or visit local regions during the country’s Lunar New Year holiday, which falls on Jan. 22-28 this year.Expecting the number of Chinese visitors to increase by about 35 percent from the previous year, the Korea Tourism Organization has been preparing events for the lar

Korea boosts its brand value across the globeFashionistas around the world may soon be adding a new city to their list of fashion capitals alongside Paris, New York, London and Milan.With its up-and-coming designers and beautiful celebrities Seoul is preparing to become the world’s next fashion and beauty destination.Greeting President Lee Myung-bak and his wife at the White House during the Seoul-Washington summit last year, first lady Michelle Obama was clad in a distinguished purple dress de

Richard M. Saul has taken office as the new general manager of JW Marriott Seoul.Saul, 48, a native of Melbourne, Australia, joined Marriott International in 1996 as executive assistant manager in charge of housekeeping, sales and marketing at Renaissance Inya Lake Hotel in Myanmar. In 1998, he was appointed general manager of the Renaissance Palm Garden Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, later serving as general manager of Melbourne Marriott, Courtyard by Marriott Surfers Paradise Resort Gold Coast, Renais

Some 5,000 tickets to Korean boy band JYJ’s upcoming tour of South America sold out in less than two days, breaking the record for foreign artists, the group’s agent said Monday. “We began selling the tickets last Thursday (Jan. 12) for the tour in South America and the seats were sold out in two days,” C-JeS Entertainment said in a press release. It was reported that some fans camped overnight to buy VIP tickets for seats closer to the stage. Peru’s El Comerico news published an article stating

Philippe Thiebault, who studied Korean philosophy in Korea for the past three decades, died of pneumonia and other complications on Saturday. He was 67. Thiebault, a visiting professor at Seoul’s Sejong University, is especially recognized here for translating “Mongmin Simseo” ― written by Jeong Yak-yong (1762-1836), one of the leading scholars in the late Joseon Dynasty ― into French in 2007. The book, whose title means “Admonitions on Governing the People,” describes the fundamental principles

PARIS (AFP) ― France’s Louvre museum plans to send more than 20 artworks to Japan, including Fukushima prefecture, near the stricken nuclear plant, in order to show solidarity with the disaster-hit country.The exhibition will run from April 20 to Sept. 17 in Japan’s Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, said Jean-Luc Martinez, director of the department of Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities at the Louvre.The artworks ― 23 paintings, sculptures, drawings and other works from different eras

NEW YORK (AFP) ― The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York unveiled new galleries dedicated to the history of American painting, sculpture and design, some of which museum officials said displayed the country’s “crown jewels.”The new galleries are part of a $100 million renovation of the museum.“Today we celebrate 10 years since the beginning of the project to reimagine, reinvent and rebuild the American Wing,” said Morrison Heckscher, chairman on the “American Wing,” during a presentation to t

NEW YORK (AP) ― In the end, “Porgy and Bess’’ didn’t need anyone coming to its rescue after all.A gorgeous version of the American stage classic opened at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Thursday for the first time in more than three decades with plenty of hand-wringing that this updated version led by director Diane Paulus and playwright Suzan-Lori Parks was messing with a Gershwin masterpiece.Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, Paulus and Parks have protected and cared for this th

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Chris Burden’s latest kinetic sculpture, “Metropolis II,’’ does more than just imitate life. The colorful display of roads, cars, trains and buildings is art imitating what the artist foresees life being like in five or 10 years.It will be a time, Burden forecasts, when cars will race across Los Angeles’ no-longer-gridlocked freeways and streets, past a skyline of towering buildings and single-family homes, at speeds of 386 kilometers per hour or more.That’s just what the tiny

PASADENA, California (AP) ― Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony were together again on Saturday ― at least to promote their new project.The stars, who announced last summer they were ending their marriage after seven years, appeared on a stage Saturday to talk briefly about a new music series they are doing together. “Q’Viva! The Chosen’’ premieres on Univision on Jan. 28.Anthony reached down to offer his hand and help Lopez climb three stairs to the stage, and later admired the four sparkling rings

PARIS (AFP) ― Veteran Hollywood actress Jane Fonda, returning to the screen in a French film about a band of friends in their 70s, said making the movie was on her “bucket list” of things to do before she dies.Set for release next Wednesday, “Et si on Vivait Tous Ensemble” (Why Don’t we all Live Together?) tells of a group of friends who decide to move in together, to share the joys and challenges of old age.It is Fonda’s first French film since the 1972 release, “Tout Va Bien,” by the New Wave

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Movie and TV studio Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. is creating a Hollywood powerhouse focused on young adult audiences with its purchase of Summit Entertainment, maker of the teen hit “Twilight’’ series, for $412.5 million, which the companies confirmed Friday.The cash and stock deal brings the “Twilight’’ franchise ― which has grossed more than $2.5 billion worldwide since the first movie blew out of the gates in late 2008 ― under the same roof with Lions Gate’s upcoming four

KTO chief stresses high-quality tourism, upgrading of the country’s imageWhile an ardent promoter of “long vacation culture,” President Lee Charm of the Korea Tourism Organization has yet to settle his winter holiday plans. With so many things he wants to accomplish in 2012, the final year of his three-year term, it may be a while before Lee maps out plans for another trip around Korea, the country he cherishes so dearly. Lee, a lover of mountains, took a two-week trip around the nation last sum

Office workers choosing ‘learning, meeting, resting’ over eating at lunchFor many Seoulites who often find themselves working nights and weekends to survive in the city of excessive competition and gloomy unemployment, lunch break is like a blessing to endure the long, tiring day. Feeling the one-hour break is too precious to waste on eating and gossiping with co-workers, a growing number of people here are coming up with different ideas to make the time more worthwhile. “I recently had three bl