The Arab Film Festival is set to open on June 4 under the slogan of “Journey Through the Arab.”The festival, now in its fourth year, has announced a lineup of 10 films to be screened through June 10 at the Arthouse MOMO at Ewha Womans University and the Busan Cinema Center. The list includes films from both established, award-winning Arab directors and up-and-coming new faces which show various sides of Arab society.“Since the Arab Spring, Arab films have undergone a dramatic change,” noted Kim

Imagine being led, blindfolded, down a hall and into a room behind a big wooden door. The door’s lock clicks, and music begins blaring from the speakers. You take off the blindfold, and the digital clock on the wall starts counting down. You have 60 minutes to find the key and escape. Every item in the room could be a clue.This is the basic setup for the experience at Code Escape in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, an offline escape game that offers a real-life version of popular online and mobile escape game

After years of training and endless evaluations in a pre-debut system that was broadcast to the public, Pledis Entertainment’s new thirteen-member multinational boy group Seventeen finally made its official debut Tuesday in an hourlong live TV performance. “We’ve performed a lot of songs by other artists through the pre-debut system, but we’re very nervous because this is our first time performing our own tracks,” said member Woozi at a press conference at the MBC Dream Center in Ilsan, Tuesday.

One of singer Lee Seung-chul’s greatest strengths is his ability to amplify emotion without straining his voice, and make a melody dynamic without using conspicuous technique.Those strengths are out in full force in his 12th album “Time Flies Like an Arrow,” timed to match the 30th anniversary of his debut. The album opens with “Ordeal,” a song about overcoming the hardships of life and growing stronger. The melody has a contemporary Christian music-style majesty to it, with a swelling instrumen

At its core, the function of a hotel is to offer guests a place to stay the night. However, in Korea, luxury hotels are widely known for another function: hosting gatherings of various types and sizes. These events have become an important source of revenue for hotels, which are facing fierce competition from guest houses offering cheaper accommodations and rental services like AirBnB. “If you look at the sales figures, banquets such as conferences and weddings make more than rooms,” said Hannah

Jang Yi-jeong shines alone on History’s 4th EPBy Won Ho-jung History“Beyond the HISTORY”LOEN EntertainmentBoy band History continues the dark, melodramatic mood of their previous song “Psycho” on their 4th EP, “Beyond the HISTORY,” but the only standout voice is that of member Jang Yi-jeong.The album opens with loose vocals over a strong bass line in “Mind Game,” a groovy, medium-tempo song. The intensity shoots up with the title track “Might Just Die,” which wastes no time in bringing in the dr

Spy (U.S.)Opened May 21Comedy. Directed by Paul FeigWhen a CIA agent falls off the grid, the agency needs to send another agent out into the field. They find a volunteer in an unlikely desk analyst named Susan Cooper (Melissa McCarthy) for an undercover track-and-report mission, but once she arrives on the scene Cooper throws herself into action to stop arms dealer Raina Boyanov (Rose Byrne). Hilarity ensues as Cooper proves that despite what others may think of her, she’s got enough fight in he

“What sets us apart from previous idol bands is our hip-hop element. We have a stronger beat.”Those were words from Lee Seung-hyub, the leader of FNC Entertainment’s new boy band N.Flying, short for “new flying.” Consisting of a vocalist/rapper front man (Lee Seung-hyub), guitarist (Cha Hun), bassist (Kwon Kwang-jin) and drummer (Kim Jae-hyun), N.Flying naturally invokes thoughts of FNC’s previous band successes FT ISLAND and CNBLUE ― an association that gives the rookie band a boost, but also p

Swedish director Carl Javer took home top honors at this year’s Green Film Festival in Seoul, held May 7-14, for his documentary “Freak Out.”“It’s an untold true story about how five young kids in their twenties grew up in the first consumer society,” Javer told The Korea Herald in a sit-down in Seoul on May 13. “Their reaction was to leave it, and to say they wanted something else. They revolted against a society that didn’t fulfill their needs.”“Freak Out” director Carl Javer. (Green Film Fest

“Ice Age” and “Despicable Me” were two of the most sensational franchises in recent animation history, drawing in movie goers of all ages and racking up impressive revenues worldwide. The secret to success? Their deviously mischievous, yet ultimately golden-hearted characters, according to Illumination Entertainment CEO Chris Meledandri, the mastermind behind both series.Meledandri recently arrived in Korea to announce a new collaborative project with Korean studio Molfac & Alfred, and to promot

“SHINee’s back!” whispered Minho’s voice, and the Olympic Park Gymnastics Arena erupted with cheers of the 10,000-strong crowd on Sunday as SHINee took the stage on the last day of their three-day concert “SHINee World IV in Seoul.”Clad in white military-style costumes, the five SHINee members moved through a remix medley of “Note,” “Clue,” and “Sherlock,” followed up by renditions of “SHINe,” “Stranger,” and “Picasso.”“We have something to tell you about today’s concert,” said member Minho afte

Dusty, ashen and gray, the visual element in Oh Seung-uk’s “The Shameless” follows the typical formula of a crime noir film. However, it is not a crime film, or a thriller. Its genre is melodramatic romance. But love is not the core theme of the film either, according to director Oh. “It’s about a world that is rough, degenerate and horrifying, teeming with people who have no human respect,” he said at a press preview at CGV Wangsimni, Seoul, on May 13. “Through these main characters, I wanted t

BoA stays true to her style with ‘Kiss My Lips’BoA“Kiss My Lips” (KT Music)BoA, arguably hallyu’s most iconic star, shows ease and maturity with her eighth studio album “Kiss My Lips.” The album is steady and true to BoA’s style, with generally predictable melodies and easy beats that hit smooth with listeners.The 12-song album starts out with “Kiss My Lips,” which has a strong beat but trades in power and punch for a more seductive, sultry vibe. The rhythm turns funky with “Smash,” and dreamlik

The Treacherous (Korea)Opening May 21Historical drama. Directed by Min Kyu-dongIn the reign of the tyrant Joseon king Yeonsangun (Kim Kang-woo), the throne is surrounded by treacherous advisers such as Im Sung-jae (Ju Ji-hoon) who feign loyalty while seeking to grab influence for themselves. When Yeonsangun orders that 10,000 beautiful women be brought for his pleasure, his subjects see an opportunity to wield true power. In this historical drama, Korea’s most beautiful women become trained pawn

In a world of bloodthirsty vampires, a young human boy and a vampire girl end up as unlikely lovers in the new KBS drama “Orange Marmalade.”The show, an adaptation of the eponymous Web cartoon, premiered on Friday with a strong hallyu cast featuring Yeo Jin-goo, AOA’s Seolhyun and CNBLUE’s Lee Jong-hyun as the leads.“It wasn’t an easy decision to take the role,” Yeo admitted during a press event at the GLAD Hotel in Yeongdeungpo-gu on Tuesday. He plays Jung Jae-min, a smart, handsome and athleti

Im Heung-soon, winner of the Silver Lion Award at this year’s Venice Biennale, hopes his work “Factory Complex” spurs interest in the lives of working women in Korea and around Asia. “In the 60s, 70s, and 80s women worked physically demanding jobs. After the 80s, they became focused in service and emotional labor. I thought about what happened to all of those laborers, and realized that they were our mothers, our sisters, people around us,” said Im at a press conference held at the Art Nine thea

Good people do evil things. When do those actions turn them from good to evil? This is the core question asked in “The Chronicles of Evil,” a new thriller by director Baek Woon-hak. Actor Son Hyun-joo stars as Choi Chang-sik, a decorated detective who commits a murder in self-defense but covers it up for fear of spoiling his chances of a big promotion. However, things become complicated when the dead body turns up hanging from a crane in front of the station where Choi works, and he is put in ch

Choi Mag-gi and Kim Chun-hee are two old ladies living together in Yeongdeok-gun, North Gyeongsang Province. Their relationship is difficult to explain at first. After Mag-gi lost her two sons to a typhoon and measles, respectively, she and her husband brought in Chun-hee, who has a slight mental impairment, to live with them and to bear them a son. Although Mag-gi’s husband died decades ago, the two women ― the wife and the concubine ― still live together and look after each other.They are the

A young mother with an autistic child is chased by a loan shark who demands that she pay off her husband’s gambling debt. She is beautiful and doting; her husband is well-meaning but plagued by his addiction; the loan shark is ruthless and psychotic. “Coin Locker,” which made its world premiere in the Korean Competition section of this year’s Jeonju International Film Festival, is a parade of cliches and extremes. That was what director Kim Tae-kyung intended. “I began with the thought that toda

Up & Coming is a series of interviews with emerging artists in various fields of arts and entertainment. ― Ed.Widely hailed as one of the leading violinists of her generation, 26-year-old Cho Jin-joo continues to make waves in the world of classical music. However, her relationship with the violin was not one of instant passion. On the contrary, she was introduced to the instrument because her mom believed it would help her child’s brain development. “My mother had this ambition for her daughter