Foreign residents in Korea can receive free 2012 desk calendars featuring Korean landscapes and cultural images by dialing 1330, a call center for non-Korean speakers, the Korea Tourism Organization said.Foreign residents can receive a calendar by calling the 1330 “TT Call Center” and leaving their names and addresses, KTO said. The 2012 KTO calendar carries works by four Korean photographers who traveled around the country to capture Korean traditional culture and its people. It is available in

Technical glitches, frequent program reruns dampen expectations for the cables operated by print media firmsAll that flashy advertisement and promises of “a new television era” were brought to shame, at least in the first few days after new pay-television channels went on air here. Instead of mega-sized soap operas and high quality variety shows that had been promised, viewers were left with broken and frozen frames, several minutes of sudden muteness, if not a complete empty signal. “For a mome

Creating one’s own ‘it-bag’ more popular among menWhile there are plenty of good things to say about leather crafting, the growing number of addicts of the hobby pick one above all others ― what you make is completely unique.“Regardless of the amount of money you pay for an expensive designer bag, someone else is bound to own the same one. I find pride in making something that only I can possess,” Kim Yu-ri, a blogger who started learning leather crafting four months ago, said.Although Korea is

Classical Music“Marc Grauwels & Friends”: Belgian flautist Marc Grauwels will perform with a group of acclaimed Korean musicians on Dec. 8 in Seoul. Noted for his eclecticism as a soloist, Grauwels has worked with international musician such as famed Guy Lukowski and Greek composer Yannis Markopoulos, who wrote a concerto for flute dedicated to Grauwels that was played at the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004. He will play with flautist Park Min-young, violinist Jung Yoo-jin and many more. The pro

A ‘great farewell’ to the Irish wonders’ 14 -year journey Westlife“Greatest Hits”(Sony Music)With boy bands appearing and disappearing at such speed these days, only Westlife -- the Irish wonders who have stayed with us for 14 faithful years -- could stretch the definition of greatest hits to its full potential.To the sadness of millions of fans all over the world, Westlife has announced the decision to disband with the release of their “new” and final album.Opening this final soiree with their

NEW YORK (AP) -- The National Board of Review picked Martin Scorsese’s 3-D ``Hugo‘’ as the year‘s best film, an unusually kid friendly choice sure to add further intrigue to the Oscar hunt.The group also picked Scorsese as best director for his whimsical film about an orphan who lives in a 1930s Paris train station. It’s the director‘s first film in 3-D but one in which the adventure leads back to the early days of cinema and the wondrous films of French filmmaker George Melies.It had been anoth

Korea must concentrate on the young generation, soft power and business-related vision in its future cultural promotion activities, experts at a Korea Culture and Information Service seminar said Thursday. The state-run organization held the seminar to mark its 40th anniversary, aiming to seek new ways to conduct its activities more effectively in the years to come.The seminar, titled “Reaching out constantly, Resounding globally,” was attended by dozens of experts and cultural figures from Kore

Entry of four general programming channels and one news network to stiffen competition in broadcastingFour new general programming cable TV broadcasters will go on air Thursday, with dozens of grand-scale drama series and variety shows to appeal to the nation’s 23 million cable, IPTV (Internet TV) and satellite TV subscribers. Four media consortiums led by top daily newspapers ― the Chosun Ilbo, Dong-A Ilbo, JoongAng Ilbo and Maeil Business Newspaper ― are anticipated not only to rake in the mo

Korea will continue to aim for one unified culture-related agency per overseas city to more effectively promote its culture to the world, the director of Korean Culture and Information Service said Tuesday.“We are very much aware of the importance of the issue and have been pushing to set up more integrated offices so that visitors can get all the information they need about Korean culture by making just one stop,” Seo Kang-soo, chief of KOCIS, said during a casual press meeting.The Korean gover

Experts to evaluate Korea’s overseas cultural promotion activities in seminar Over the past four decades, the Korea Culture and Information Service has grown into an organization with 24 overseas offices, promoting the nation’s culture and image all over the world.In time with its 40th anniversary on Dec. 31, the state-run organization will hold a seminar aimed at “seeking new answers” on how to conduct its activities more effectively. KOCIS was inaugurated as the Overseas Information Center und

The Ministry of Culture and Google Korea agreed Wednesday to jointly launch cultural projects and services starting from next year.Under the agreement, the ministry and Google will jointly hold and promote K-pop concerts with the shows broadcast live on YouTube. Google will also set up a channel on YouTube that specializes in Korean classic movies with English subtitles. The ministry and Google will also run an art-related website and create a mobile application. By Shin Hae-in (hayney@heraldm.c

Korea’s traditional martial arts taekkyeon, tightrope walking and ramie fabric weaving of the Hansan region have joined UNESCO’s intangible heritage list. UNESCO delegates, who are meeting Nov. 22-29 in Bali, Indonesia, gave the green light Monday to taekkyon, jultagi (tightrope walking) and Hansan mosijjagi (ramie fabric weaving). The three were among the six Korean traditions of the 49 submitted from across the world. UNESCO holds regular meetings to discuss which local traditions should be pr

Cellist says she finds happiness growing in conductingWhile the world-renowned musician says she regrets “not having done enough things” as she draws closer to the age of 30, Chang Han-na has had many unequivocal achievements in her decades-long musical career. While holding at least 40 concerts around the world each year, the cellist has managed to expand her musical scope through five years of conducting. Chang, 29, promised an “intimate interaction” with the audience during her upcoming recit

BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) -- Preparations for a long-needed renovation of the 1,500-year-old Church of the Nativity are moving ahead in Bethlehem, the town of Jesus’ birth, in the face of political and religious conflicts that have kept one of Christendom’s holiest sites in a state of decay for centuries.The first and most urgent part of the renovation, initiated by the Palestinian government in the West Bank, is meant to replace the building’s roof. Ancient wooden beams pose a danger to visitor

PARIS (AFP) -- A Paris auction of items related to Herge’s comic book reporter Tintin, whose adventures have been adapted for the big screen by Steven Spielberg, fetched more than 1.8 million euros Saturday.Auctioneers Arcturial said the sale, including costs, had brought in 1,873,396 euros ($2,480,095) -- far more than the one million euros expected.The 856 lots up for grabs were equally divided between recent objects and older material, including some very rare items, said Arcturial. In all, 8

LONDON (AP) ― George Michael has postponed all his remaining 2011 tour dates as he recovers from pneumonia, the singer’s publicist said Friday.Michael was hospitalized in Vienna, Austria earlier this week. A statement from publicist Connie Filippello said the 48-year-old former Wham! singer “is responding to treatment and slowly improving.”Michael “is ill with pneumonia and any other speculation regarding his illness is unfounded and untrue,” the statement said.Two Austrian doctors treating Mich

Bruce Willis, Andie MacDowell daughters star at Paris ballPARIS (AFP) -- Tallulah Willis, the youngest daughter of actors Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, stepped out as the teen star of the Debutantes Ball in Paris Saturday, alongside Andie MacDowell’s youngest, Margaret Qualley.Held each year at the Crillon Hotel on Paris’ Place de la Concorde, the ball is a highlight of Europe‘s high-society calendar that updates a custom stretching back to the royal courts of France and England.Clad in sumptuous

LOS ANGELES (AFP) ― Michael Jackson’s doctor Conrad Murray is due back in court on Tuesday for sentencing, facing up to four years in prison after being convicted over the King of Pop’s 2009 death.Prosecutors want Murray to get the maximum jail term and be ordered to compensate the Jackson family for the star’s loss of earnings, estimated at $100 million for the comeback shows he was preparing when he died.But the 58-year-old medic’s lawyer Ed Chernoff asked in submissions to court last week for

DENPASAR, (AFP) -- Chinese shadow puppetry and Belgian set ritual repertoire, both passed down through the generations were added Saturday to UNESCO’s list of “intangible cultural heritage” of humanity.Envoys on Indonesia’s resort island of Bali added the two new entries to UNESCO‘s intangible cultural heritage of humanity list for 2011.Chinese shadow puppetry is a form of theatre acted by colorful silhouette figures made from leather or paper, accompanied by music and singing and manipulated by

MONTPELIER, Vermont (AP) ― On Nov. 22, 1963, Tom Wicker was in the first press bus following John F. Kennedy’s motorcade when the president was assassinated. Wicker, the New York Times’ White House correspondent, would later write in a memoir that the day was a turning point for the country: “The shots ringing out in Dealey Plaza marked the beginning of the end of innocence.”At that moment, however, all he knew was that he was covering one of the biggest stories in history. “I would write two pa