Back for a second year, Seoul Players’ 10-Minute Play Festival and Competition returns this weekend, this time with plays from across the world.Seeking to maximize submissions, the troupe advertised on several international theater websites. The response was more than expected, with nearly 200 submissions having to be whittled down to 14 finalists. Adel said that after an initial screening selected the top 60 plays, the panel spent 10 hours reading through each one.“This year it was a really tou

Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka says writers should defend human freedoms with languageGYEONGJU, North Gyeongsang Province ― Nobel laureates and writers on Monday stressed the importance of freedom of speech and their members who are currently imprisoned, at the opening of the 78th International PEN Congress in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province.One PEN International member in Beijing, Jiao Guobiao, has been prevented by the Chinese government from attending the literary event in Gyeongju, said PEN

BERLIN (AFP) ― Germany’s former first lady, Bettina Wulff, denies she ever worked as an escort in a book to be published Wednesday, seven months after the ex-president stepped down over a political favors scandal.In a chapter entitled “The Rumours,” 38-year-old Wulff seeks to snuff out stories that have swirled about an alleged previous life suggesting she worked as call girl under the pseudonym “Lady Viktoria.” The former PR executive, who married Christian Wulff in 2008 and with whom she has a

Sunny Yi, a Korean-Canadian film director, has recently introduced to Korean viewers her 2004 documentary film on North Korea, which got somewhat embarrassing responses with some calling it “ideologically biased.” For Yi, well-known in Canada for a set of Asia-related fine documentaries, the responses from people of her motherland were not what she first expected. But she appeared to take the responses as part of becoming better in her documentary production.“I will not wince back. I want to liv

It wasn‘t exactly Prince Charming but one of Ukraine’s “Sleeping Beauties” finally got a kiss on the lips as she dozed on a dais filmed by cameras -- though unlike the fairy tale she never woke up.“I‘m not sure I would marry precisely this girl, I just was curious whether she would open her eyes,” said the young woman who dared the embrace while male visitors shied away.The venue was Ukraine’s National Art Museum and the stakes were -- marriage.Visitors at a wacky performance called “Sleeping Be

Pakistani women celebrate color, style and fashion as much as they do Eid, Muslims’ biggest festival.And Eid celebrations brought with them colorful clothes of all kinds, from the flow of chiffon dupattas (long scarf) to the elegance of silk kameezes (long shirt or tunic).As with fashion in Pakistan, there are trends that come and go yet some are timeless ― block printing is one such trend, and in recent years, screen printing too has become mainstream fashion.There are quite a few designers and

Literary forum discusses issues concerning media and human rights with Nobel laureates GYEONGJU, North Gyeongsang Province ― The 78th International PEN Congress opened on Monday in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, kicking off a seven-day event focusing on issues of media, literature and human rights. A London-based international association of writers, PEN International has been hosting the congress, which consists of networking and literary events and lectures, in different cities around th

JAKARTA (Yonhap News) ― A regional consultative body to safeguard intangible cultural heritage in 11 Southeast Asian countries was launched in Jakarta Monday under South Korea’s initiative.The launch took place during a sub-regional meeting of the International Information and Networking Center for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region. The Daejeon-based center, affiliated with South Korea’s Cultural Heritage Administration, was established in July 2011 as an a “category 2 cent

‘Design should be realistic and make others believe in the world you created,’ says Steve JungThe futuristic yet realistic portraits of the fictional world in the superhero films “The Avengers” and “Transformers” captured the eyes of millions of international viewers. Behind the spectacular scenes was Steve Jung, a Korean-American concept designer. The Stark Tower and major scenes of the films made Jung a household name in the entertainment design field and raised awareness of entertainment desi

  Two Korean artists Moon Kyung-won and Jeon Joon-ho and Japanese artist Motoyuki Shitamichi have won the Noon Award, an art award given by the Gwangju Biennale Foundation. The foundation selects an established artist and an emerging artist whose works share an experimental and creative nature of the biennale event. The Korean team’s collaborative video project “El Fin del Mundo (The End of the World)” has been acknowledged for portraying the survival of two artists in a post-apocalyptic environ

NEW YORK (AP) ― Bill Moggridge, a British industrial designer who came up with an early portable computer with the flip-open shape that is common today, has died. He was 69. The Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum said Moggridge, its director since 2010, died on Saturday from cancer. Moggridge is credited with the design of the Grid Compass, a computer that had a keyboard and yellow-on-black display that sold for $8,150 when it was released in 1982. It was encased in magnesium an

PHOENIX (AP) ― Dorothy McGuire Williamson, who teamed with sisters Christine and Phyllis for a string of hits in the 50s and 60s as the popular McGuire Sisters singing group, has died. Williamson died Friday at her son’s home in the Phoenix suburb of Paradise Valley, daughter-in-law Karen Williamson said. She had Parkinson’s disease and age-related dementia. The McGuire Sisters earned six gold records for hits including 1954’s “Sincerely” and 1957’s “Sugartime.” The sisters were known for their

LONDON (AP) ― Prince Harry is finishing his first phase of initial training at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan.The 27-year-old Army captain arrived in Afghanistan for his second tour there on Friday but will not start flying Apache helicopter missions for at least seven more days.On Sunday, the third-in-line to the British throne was expected to complete his two-day course in first aid, shooting, and roadside-bomb awareness.He then is to start Apache-specific preparation Monday, where he will begin

MADRID (AP) ― Oscar-winning actress Penelope Cruz says she is deeply concerned about the financial crisis engulfing Spain and how it might affect the future of the film industry in her native country.The Hollywood star said she would like to encourage film-makers to choose Spain as a location and perhaps use her status to promote co-productions there. In a statement released Sunday through her agent Katrina Bayonas, Cruz said she also wanted “to rectify” what she called a misinterpretation of he