Croatian artist to visit children’s hospitals, deliver lectures for aspiring musiciansMaksim Mrvica, a Croatian classical-crossover pianist popular for his charismatic performances, said he feels a strong bond with Korea and wants to return the love he has received from his loyal fans.The 36-year-old artist, currently in Seoul to promote his Korean tour in July, said he will meet not only his fans but also sick children at hospitals and music students at a college in Seoul. This is his 8th visit

NEW YORK (AP) ― Disney says its programming will no longer be sponsored by junk food.The Walt Disney Co. said Tuesday that it will become the first major media company in the U.S. to ban such ads for its TV channels, radio stations and websites intended for children. The guidelines won’t go into effect until 2015 because of existing advertising agreements.First Lady Michelle Obama, who has pushed for healthy eating, called the announcement a “game changer” during an event announcing Disney’s dec

TOKYO (AP) -- A Japanese shoe designer has become a pop diva’s favorite by taking geisha and making it Gaga.Noritaka Tatehana is the man behind Lady Gaga’s towering, cloglike shoes, which have no heel and are 25 to 46 centimeters (10 to 18 inches) tall. Her appearances on TV shows and music videos, teetering in his creations, have helped make him such a fashion star that some of his shoes sell for more than $15,000 a pair.Tatehana, who has made more than 20 pairs for Lady Gaga over the last two

Viewers become part of exhibits, study their body and balanceAn innovative exhibition is creating a rare scene in the Korean art world by combining art and dance. At the exhibition titled “The Move: Art and Dance since the 1960s” at the National Museum of Contemporary Art of Korea, the artwork is not in a completed state until viewers engage with it physically. For two months, the NMOCA will feature a dynamic exhibition featuring installations and sculptures complemented with live dance performa

NEW YORK (AP) ― Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen took home the biggest prize at the annual Council of Fashion Designers of America awards. The former child TV stars were selected Monday night as the country’s top womenswear designers for their collection called The Row.“I’d like to thank you ― you,” Mary-Kate, wearing an all-black ensemble, said, turning to her purple-clad twin, as she accepted.Jessica Chastain, who wore a sparkly white dress by Prabal Gurung, announced the 25-year-olds as winners at

A place for commemoration and contemplationFollowing is the fifth in a series of articles in which leading architects discuss their representative work. ―Ed.The Ahn Jung-geun Memorial Hall, rebuilt after the old one was demolished in 2009, is nestled in a small plaza behind the original building. Next to the site are the remnants of an old war shrine where Japanese people worshipped their warlords and spirits during the colonial era. Having dug up the age-old reminder of disgrace and humiliation

A Florida woman was arrested Saturday for allegedly choking her boyfriend because he refused to marry her, according to news reports.Nikoleta Karoly, a 24-year-old reportedly from Hungary, needed to marry her boyfriend in order to get a green card, but he had different opinions on the matter. He said he was not sure about marrying Karoly because of her violent temper and the fact that she had beaten him before while arguing about her visa.Karoly seemed to have finally snapped when her visa expir

Venus moves in front of the sun on Wednesday. (Yonhap News)None of us will likely see Venus pass, like a moving beauty spot, across the face of the sun again.From the U.S. to South Korea, people around the world turned their attention to the daytime sky on Tuesday and early Wednesday in Asia to make sure they caught the rare sight of the transit of Venus. The next one won't be for another 105 year

 Women treated with chest radiation for cancer when they were girls have a higher risk of developing breast cancer than previously thought, doctors warn.Even lower doses of radiation therapy posed a risk for survivors of childhood cancer _ something not known before, researchers found. That means more women might need to be screened beginning at age 25 for breast cancer.“We find that by age 50, approximately 30 percent of women treated with radiation for Hodgkin lymphoma‘’ as girls have develope

The K-pop girl group KARA has been chosen to receive an award as one of the key contributors to Korean tourism, the Korea Tourism Organization said Tuesday.The state run organization said KARA would receive the award given to people, companies and popular tourist destinations for promoting Korea’s image overseas and attracting foreign tourists. The five-member female group has been active both in Japan and Korea, and has led the K-pop boom in Japan. The group was selected as the most popular Kor