Actress Lee Yoon-mi speaks on joys of sharingOf the 24 children she has all over the world, Lee Yoon-mi gave birth to only one. But to this actress, who says she has experienced the miracle of sharing many times, all 24 children are equally precious.Lee, currently the leading character in the musical “The Golden Days,” has been sponsoring the children via Compassion Korea, where she has been especially active in helping newborns to 3-year-olds. “It’s no longer an issue of me helping them. I’m th

Theater“Guess How Much I Love You”: Korean adaptation of “Guess How Much I Love You,” a musical based on children’s book of the same title by British writer Sam McBratney, is being staged once again in Seoul. The show premiered in Korea in January at Wonderspace Triangle Theater in Daehangno, Seoul, and was staged in more than eight venues nationwide, including KBS Ulsan Hall and MBC Art Hall in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province. A story of two hares telling how much they love each other, the

BEVERLY HILLS, California (AP) ― The silent-era tale “The Artist” heads the Golden Globes with six nominations, among them best comedy or musical, and acting honors for its French stars, Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo.Tied for second-place with five nominations Thursday are the 1960s racial tale “The Help” and George Clooney’s Hawaiian family story “The Descendants.” Both films are up for best drama, while Clooney was nominated for best dramatic actor and “The Help” earned acting slots for Viol

University of Hawaii professor Sohn receives 3rd Korea Foundation award As a scholar who has spent the past four decades studying his mother-tongue and language in general, professor Sohn Ho-min should know what he’s talking about when he says Korean is the world’s most superior language. “When we say Korean is superior, we are basing this on scientific examination. The Korean language’s method of making sound through a combination of vowels and consonants is very scientific and economical, even

Despite more than 100,000 Facebook fans and nearly 20 million plays on MySpace, British singer-songwriter Joe Brooks is humble enough to say he has “yet to reach the top” and is “still on his way up” at the age of 24. But when it comes to writing songs, the young musician makes it clear that he is pretty sure of what he’s doing. “It inspires me to dig below the surface and look honestly at myself,” Brooks said in an email interview with The Korea Herald. “The core of what I do is a burning need

Ven. Jinje was elected as the new spiritual leader of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, Wednesday. The 77-year-old succeeds Ven. Beobjeon and will serve for five years as the 13th Jogye Order spiritual chief. Twenty-three senior members unanimously approved of Ven. Jinje, who was the only candidate, according to the order. The new leader will officially take the post after March 25, when his predecessor’s term ends, it said. The post “jongjeong,” or spiritual leader, is considered the core of

Boy band releases travel book on Spanish cityAs drivers of K-pop fever abroad, SHINee had long regarded hotel room service as the “best foreign food.” That’s all they ever got a chance to eat overseas thanks to their tight touring schedules.After taking “a real trip” to Barcelona as travel authors and tasting the dishes on offer outside their hotel rooms, three of the group say they are now qualified to reveal their favorite food of all time.“Kimchi still rules over all other food. It tastes goo

The Korean Culture and Information Service published “K-Drama: A New TV Genre with Global Appeal” this week as its third publication in a series designed to help foreigners better understand Korean pop culture. The full-color book explains in detail the history of Korean dramas, how the shows began to receive attention overseas, how they started off the so-called Korean Wave and also introduces the shows considered the “top 10,” including Yonsama’s “Winter Sonata.” Affiliated with the Culture Mi

Founder of French culture society Paquet receives presidential citationIn a world where communication and interaction are becoming very important, a country like Korea can be an excellent tool in making more people meet and more nations interact with one another, the founder of France-based Korean culture society “The Korean Connection,” said. “I have many goals in mind with the Korean Connection, but I see Korea more as a tool than a goal,” Maxime Paquet, told The Korea Herald. “Amazed by how m

KTO lists mid-price  hotels around country An affordable hotel room with a good view and prompt service is a must for many a traveler. “Benikea,” an abbreviation of “Best Night in Korea,” is a list of Korea Tourism Organization-affiliated hotels with branches in Seoul, Busan, the southern provinces of Jeolla and Gyeongsang, Jeju Island and more.KTO introduced the budget hotel brand with the goal of linking independent travelers with reasonably priced hotels run by small and mid-tier companies he

PARIS (AFP) ― Dozens of Catholics picketed a top Paris theater while thousands more held a prayer vigil in protest at a play attacking consumer culture and religion and featuring gory pseudo-crucifixion scenes.“Golgota Picnic” by Argentinian director Rodrigo Garcia, opened Thursday at the Theatre du Rond Point on the Champs Elysees after a run in the southwestern city of Toulouse, where it drew protests and charges of “Christianophobia.” Some 160 Catholics gathered outside, laying white roses on

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― Online retailing giant Amazon was criticized as “anti-competitive” Saturday for its latest promotion that encourages consumers to enter stores and leave empty-handed, after reporting back the prices they find there.The deal dubbed “Price Check” involves customers finding and sharing in-store prices and receiving a discount of five percent ― to a maximum of $5 ― from the online retailer for that item if Amazon has it in stock.The move was sharply criticized by Maine Senator Oly

Grammy award-winner and UNESCO Artist for Peace Jo Sumi will perform for some 500 VIP guests at the Reach Out To Asia gala dinner in Qatar on Monday. The Korean soprano was to be accompanied by former U.S. President Bill Clinton, designers Pierre Cardin and Donna Karan, singers Cher and Bryan Adams in the 4th ROTA event, which also features a charity auction to help children and teenagers.  Jo was to perform with UAE singer Hussein Al Jassmi.ROTA is a Qatari-based non-profit organization that em

NEW YORK (AP) ― Comic book industry pioneer Jerry Robinson, who helped create Batman sidekick Robin the Boy Wonder and their arch-nemesis The Joker, has died at age 89.An editor and friend, Charles Kochman, said Robinson was different from most artists in the field because he worked on every kind of comic genre, from political cartoons to theater illustrations.“Jerry brought a realism to comics ― and a sense of humor,’’ said Kochman, his editor at Abrams Comic Arts, which last year published a b

NEW YORK (AP) ― Shooting a love scene with Charlize Theron would be a dream come true for many actors, but for Patton Oswalt, who co-stars with the Oscar-winning actress in the new movie “Young Adult,’’ the experience was “a nightmare.’’“Why do I have to be in my underwear next to the most physically perfect person on the planet? Why couldn’t I have been next to John Goodman or Michael Moore in their underwear?’’ said Oswalt at the film’s premiere Thursday night. “It was a dream that turned into

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) ― YouTube said Friday it has acquired RightsFlow, a New York-based company which manages music rights for songwriters, recording artists, record labels and online music services.“As new ways of consuming music have emerged, RightsFlow has been at the forefront of solving the complex issues of licensing and royalty payment management,” YouTube product manager David King said in a blog post.“By combining RightsFlow’s expertise and technology with YouTube’s platform, we hope to

ST. PAUL, Minnesota (AP) ― The University of Kansas is buying up website names such as www.KUgirls.xxx and www.KUnurses.xxx. But not because it’s planning a Hot Babes of Kansas site.Instead, the university and countless other schools and businesses are rushing to prevent their good names from falling into the hands of the pornography industry. Over the past two months, they have snapped up tens of thousands of “.xxx’’ website names that could be exploited by the adult entertainment business.“Dow

HAVANA (AP) ― The hottest ticket in Havana is a gory, campy zombie flick with a wicked sense of humor about Cuba’s obsessive relations with the United States, one that revels in islanders’ knack for making the best of things even when everything around you ― buildings, streets, human limbs ― is falling to pieces.Audiences thronged movie houses this week to catch screenings of “Juan of the Dead,’’ or “Juan de los Muertos’’ in the original Spanish, and organizers had to hastily add extra midnight

21 teams from 16 countries compete in ChangwonCHANGWON, South Gyeongsang ― A petite singer from the Philippines and a duo from Kazakhstan won the grand prizes at the 2011 K-pop World Festival Wednesday, where 10 teams from all over the world performed songs by their favorite Korean idols. Karla Carreon from the Philippines and JAM from Kazakhstan bested teams that had flown to the southeastern city of Changwon from Peru, Vietnam, Japan, China, Indonesia, Britain, Russia, the United States and mo

‘Readers want a bit of extravagance — art, even’Judging a book by its cover is not a behavior worthy of a wise person ― or so the old saying goes. But for the growing number of trendsetters out there, the way a book looks is just as important as whether it’s interesting or not. “I recently remodeled my living room, filling two entire walls with bookshelves,” Kim Jin-hyun, 33, said. “I filled the shelves, mostly with art and design related books with colorful bindings and covers. I’m pretty sati