Musical actor Jo Sang-woong has been cast for the part of Thuy in the West End musical “Miss Saigon.”According to Cameron Mackintosh, the production company behind the musical’s London revival, Jo will be replacing Korean actor Hong Kwang-ho for the part starting May 11. He will be a member of the new cast for the production’s second year at the Prince Edward Theatre in West End. Jo Sang-woong. (Project H)“Miss Saigon” is one of the world’s most successful musicals. It is an adaptation of Puccin

Koreans love singing and they love to watch people sing on TV.In the latest addition to a horde of popular singing TV programs, two shows are in with a big, counterintuitive twist: musical talent has nothing to do with winning.Mnet’s “I Can See Your Voice,” launched in February, proclaims to be “a mystery music show where the tone-deaf can win the top prize.”  Its eight contestants each week are not allowed to sing until the end of the last round, when the winner is chosen. The objective of the

Reba McEntire shines on ‘Love Somebody’Reba McEntire“Love Somebody” (Starstruck/Nash Icon/Big Machine)“Love Somebody” is Reba McEntire’s best album of the 21st century because it draws on her strengths: That is, subtly and powerfully interpreting substantial story songs about adult relationships set to contemporary country music.At 60, the performer remains a remarkable vocalist, capable of stunning ferocity and dramatic nuance. She’s one of the great traditional country singers of her time, but

The Avengers: Age of Ultron (U.S.)Opening April 23Adventure. Directed by Joss WhedonTony Stark attempts to revive a dormant peacekeeping program, but the situation takes a bad, dangerous turn. The Avengers -- Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), The Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) -- team up again to save the world from the villainous Ultron’s plans.The Gunman (U.S.)Opened April 16Action.

The Avengers superheroes are back to save the world from a rogue robot.The cast and crew of Marvel’s blockbuster “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” including director Joss Whedon, Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans, came to Seoul to promote the film ahead of its official opening. They were joined by Mark Ruffalo and Kim Soo-hyun at a press conference at the Conrad Hotel in Yeouido on Friday.“We really started the movie by coming here, and this is actually the hotel where Claudia auditioned for a role,” d

“Whiplash,” the thrilling musical drama directed by Damien Chazelle, has become an unexpected hit in Korea, drawing in some 1.5 million moviegoers here as of early this month.The movie, which is about tough music professor Terence Fletcher (B.K. Simmons) tormenting his student Andrew Neyman (Miles Teller) to bring out the best in him, received rave reviews at the Sundance Film Festival. It also won Academy Awards, including for Simmons as best supporting actor.The positive reception in Korea for

The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them (U.S.), Opened April 9Drama. Directed by Ned Benson. Conor Ludlow (James McAvoy) and Eleanor Rigby (Jessica Chastain) are a young couple living in New York. They fall in love, and it seems they have nothing to fear or want in the world until a life-changing event threatens to throw their relationship on the rocks. Divided into three films ― “Them,” “Him” and “Her” ― the same story is narrated from different perspectives to provide insight and depth into t

Five young men get on a plane to an unfamiliar country, cameras in tow. At first glance “News Report Reality: Exciting India,” which aired its first episode Friday, may seem like just another travel reality show. However, the cast of K-pop megastars Kyuhyun (Super Junior) Minho (SHINee), Jonghyun (CNBLUE), Sunggyu (Infinite), and Suho (EXO) did not get to visit top tourist attractions in India or spend time comparing local culinary offerings. On the show, the five idol stars explore the country,

A little over four decades ago, folk singer Hahn Dae-soo invited listeners to come with him down a “Long Long Road” with his debut album. The singer, who was briefly banned for what the authoritarian regime at that time called “subversive anti-regime” lyrics, introduced the concept of singer-songwriter to the Korean music scene. His best songs, such as “Land of Happiness” and “Give Me Water” remain classics to this day. Now, 40 years after his first album, the folk music icon looks back on his m

A large trove of old Korean films considered lost have been acquired by a state-run film archive center, potentially filling some of the gaps in the official record of Korean cinema, Korea Film Archive revealed Tuesday.At a press conference in Seoul, the Seoul-based KOFA said that it had received a donation of 450 films, 94 of which were Korean films from 1949-1981 that were believed to be lost. The films will lead to a fuller understanding of Korean cinematic history, officials said. The 94 fil

When the clock struck midnight Tuesday, online music sites released the new full-length album from one of Korea’s most beloved singers, Lee Moon-sae. His new album, “New Direction,” is the first full-length album from the balladeer in 13 years, following his 14th album in 2002. “The title is ‘New Direction,’ but it’s not a grand statement about setting a new direction for music. It’s an album that’s truly Lee Moon-sae,” he said at a press conference at Baek-Am Art Hall in Samseong-dong, Seoul on

A peculiar sculpture greets visitors at the old Seoul Station building. Dangling from the ceiling in the main lobby of the building is a tangled clump of twisted wooden ropes that are studded with rocks. All of the materials are from nature, but the wooden stalks are painted red, yellow, blue and white ― colors that conjure images of the cluttered manmade chaos of electrical wires. Artist Cha Ki-youl, who created the piece, “The Journey of Circulation/A Period Between Ark and Kangmok,” said it w

K-pop mogul Park Jin-young will return to the stage as an artist in his own right, according to industry sources Sunday. The singer, producer and chief of JYP Entertainment will release a new album of original tracks on April 13. It will be Park’s first new release in 19 months, following his 10th album “Halftime” in September 2013.Sources say that Park is putting the final touches on his album, personally working on the music, lyrics and choreography. He is expected to release a teaser and his

Hanwha Life will celebrate the 10th anniversary of its youth volunteer program “Happy Friends” in April, according to the insurance company.Happy Friends is a joint initiative run by Hanwha Life Insurance and international children’s aid organization World Vision that promotes community service as a way to foster maturity and leadership in young people.  Hanwha Life executives and students participate in a cleanup campaign on Ganghwado Island. Hanwha LifeThis year’s Happy Friends will comprise 3

Asiana in Pilien  Asiana Airlines employees smile with local Aeta children at Pilien Village in the Philippines. Employees from the airline visited the village over the weekend to do volunteer work and to share Korean culture. Asiana Airlines has been providing the indigenous Aeta tribe with sanitation and construction support since 2009.      Asiana Airlines

Korean Air Lines’ newest aircraft will offer passengers a luxury in-flight experience on medium-to-long distance flights beginning April 2, according to the flagship carrier.The new plane is an Airbus A330-300, which seats 272 passengers. It is highly fuel-efficient and can fly up to 11 hours covering 9,450 km. According to Airbus’ website, it also has the quietest cabin among twin-engine planes operating today. Korean Air has fitted the plane out with its luxury Prestige Suites to make it more

Busan Bank will focus on expanding non-face-to-face transaction channels and smart finance strategies, bank officials said Thursday.The bank said the efforts were part of a bid to gain competitiveness in the emerging fintech era. Fintech, a relatively new term combining finance and technology, broadly refers to technology and software that is used to facilitate financial analysis and transactions.The bank is currently working on creating mobile-based bankbooks, a credit card transaction system b

Korea’s 30 largest conglomerates acquired 203 companies at a total price surpassing 29 trillion won ($26.3 billion) in the past five years, according to data compiled on mergers and acquisitions released Wednesday. CJ Group led the pack in the number of deals with 36 acquisitions while Hyundai Motor Group topped spending on M&As, tallying nearly 5.2 trillion won, the business performance analysis site CEO Score said.The most expensive acquisition by far was Hyundai Engineering and Construction,

Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering and Changwon City in South Gyeongsang Province announced Tuesday that they signed a memorandum of understanding to share and transfer patented technology.The MOU was a follow-up measure to a visit by DSME to Changwon in January at the request of Changwon’s Future Strategy Committee, when the two parties first agreed on a transfer of technology regarding liquefied natural gas-fueled ships, or LFS.DSME will transfer technology to shipbuilding material sup

Lotte Department Store soared past the other big five local department stores in sales reported on Monday, while Galleria Department Store gave up its fourth-place slot to AK Plaza.Lotte reported sales of 14.2 trillion won ($12.8 billion) last year, followed by Hyundai Department Store with 6.98 trillion won ($6.3 billion) and Shinsegae Department Store with 6.3 trillion won ($5.7 billion).AK Plaza unseated Galleria Department Store for fourth place with 2.15 trillion won ($1.94 billion) in sale