The Cat (Korea) Opening July 7.Horror. Directed by Byeon Seung-wook. So-yeon (Park Min-young), a young woman who works at a pet shop, suffers from claustrophobia stemming from a traumatic childhood experience. One day, the owner of a beautiful cat named Bi-dan, who often visits So-yeon’s shop, is found dead in an elevator. So-yeon takes Bi-dan, found next to her dead owner’s body, to her place and

After 17 years of winning over moviegoers with her mile-long legs, breezy confidence and wide, almost goofy smile, one of Hollywood’s consummate charmers has had enough. Cut the charisma and cue the contempt: It’s time, finally, to loathe Cameron Diaz.As an unrepentant moral scourge in her new film “Bad Teacher,” Diaz plays Elizabeth Halsey ― an educator who steals, cheats, lies, sleeps in class,

Poetry makes nothing happen.So said W.H. Auden.Who never lived in Chicago.Or knew Don Share. Share is the senior editor of Poetry magazine, the venerable Chicago-based literary institution. It turns 100 next year and has seen far more than nothing happen, particularly in the past decade. Share arrived at the magazine four years ago, hired away from Harvard University, where he was poetry editor of

A beautiful garden, Geoje Sanbangsan Biwon, can be found after a 10-minute drive to the right of Geoje Bridge, in Dundeok-myeon, Geoje City, where the legacy of Emperor Uijong of Goryeo Dynasty still vividly remains. Seating in the Mount Sanbang foothill over 24-acres of land, Sanbangsan Biwon looks like it came from another planet. The garden boasts more than 1,000 kinds of wild flowers, trees, s

PORTO, Portugal ― On an overcast day in November, we drove east from Porto along the Douro River. The grape harvest was over. The men hired for the crush had gone home; the raw tawny and ruby ports had been poured into barrels or steel casks to age.The boats that make day trips up the river and the excursion trains that bring visitors to the wineries had ended their seasons, so my travel agent had

The Cry of the MagpiesBy Kim Dong-ni(Jimoondang, 5,000 won)“The Cry of Magpies” is one of the most well-known short stories written by Korea’s late author Kim Dong-ni. A dark and painful account of war and betrayal, the novella engages elements of Korean shamanism to reflect his view on human destiny that controls one’s life and innermost desires.The novel tells a story of Bong-su, who just return

Miracle told by late Park’s chiefFrom Despair to HopeBy Kim Chung-yum(KDI)The right-hand man of late President Park Chung-hee uncovered inside the brainstorming of Korea’s macroeconomic policies of the 1960s and 70s ― process widely believed to have brought the country’s remarkable development. The memoirs by former chief presidential secretary Kim Chung-yum is reorganized and translated by the Ko

Ever since a shipwrecked Robinson Crusoe scrambled ashore and found Friday, the novel has been exploring lost continents in search of what’s missing at home.Anybody who has read Ann Patchett’s masterfully constructed “Bel Canto” won’t be surprised to learn that in “State of Wonder,” her latest novel, she, too, has made an outbound voyage.“Bel Canto” revolved around a hostage crisis in an unnamed c

A term synonymous with Hawaii much like ukulele, luau or humuhumunukunukuapua’a (the state fish), shaved ice is a must-have for anyone visiting from the mainland. Shave ice, as the locals call it, has its roots in Asian culture, as it was Japanese plantation workers who first started shaving ice with machetes and flavoring it with fruit juice. One of the near infinite flavor combinations available