PARIS (AFP) -- Dior struck a blow for the boys and for traditional tailoring Saturday with an all-male show after a week when women turned up on the majority of Paris menswear catwalks.With so-called co-ed shows with both male and female models almost becoming the rule for men’s fashion weeks -- the reverse rarely applies -- Dior’s Kris Van Assche cried halt.In a show that married rave culture and mosh pit punks with haute couture, the Belgian designer insisted that young men had the right to we

Evangelical Christians and reform-minded Protestants have reason to celebrate the recent publication of “Thinking the Think,” a book that critically engages their cherished beliefs and encourages them to live closer to the Bible. Written by Senior Pastor Lee Jae-hoon of Onnuri Church in Seoul, the 193-page book marks the fifth centennial of Martin Luther’s Protestant Reformation in 1517, and introspects the beliefs and practices that dominate Christian lives today.Interwoven in a diverse spread

Yangpyeong Icefish Festival The Mulmalgeun Yangpyeong Icefish Festival takes place in Yangpyeong-gun, Gyeonggi Province, each winter. Visitors can eat warm fish cakes and roasted chestnuts at the festival. Aside from ice fishing, other traditional winter games and activities such as kite-flying, top spinning, sledding and making jjimbbang (steamed buns with red bean filling) will be available.The festival will continue until Feb. 12, and online reservations are available at soomyland.winterfesti

Chinese cuisine at Grand Hyatt Incheon The Grand Hyatt Incheon is offering a promotion of Chinese fusion dishes prepared by Chef Moon Sung-jo until the end of February. Moon has prepared a selection of Beijing-style dishes made of healthy ingredients, including duck, pine mushrooms and abalone.Various dim sum dishes are also available along with a pine mushroom soup, duck noodle soup and deep-fried Mero fish. Desserts include mango sago, seasonal fruits and coconut. The price is 66,000 won per p

Pairing Room earning its hashtags one dish at a time

“Human Acts: A Novel” by Han Kang; Hogarth (224 pages, $22)In May of 1980, the South Korean government turned its guns on its own people, murdering hundreds in the city of Gwangju who had been protesting a military coup and the continuation of martial law.In “Human Acts,” Korean writer Han Kang -- winner of the Man Booker International Prize -- gives us their story, presented in this short novel through seven interwoven vignettes featuring characters who either died in Gwangju in 1980 or are now

NEW YORK (AFP) -- Curling up with a paperback may be a forgotten luxury for many thanks to today’s busy lifestyles, but listening to a book on the go, while shopping or jogging, is fast becoming the new norm.Gone are the cumbersome cassette sets that could cost three times as much as an old-fashioned book and often featured only excerpts to cut down on costs.Now, audiobooks are just a click away and can be uploaded onto a smartphone for the same, if not lower, price as the print edition.Mary Bet

PARIS (AP) -- Subzero temperatures were an apt backdrop for fashionistas who arrived in Paris for the first day of warmly-wrapped fall-winter 2017 menswear fashion shows.The travelling press bid “ciao” to Milan and said “bonjour” to Paris -- kicking off 50 fashion shows, endless parties, million-dollar business deals and the last leg of the menswear mania that will sweep the French capital for five days. Powerhouse Valentino unveiled its couture-infused creations from the now-solo designer Pierp

A collection of anti-North Korean stories written inside the reclusive state has recently won a translation award from by a UK-based literary group.“The Accusation,” by North Korea-based author Bandi, was among 10 PEN Translates’ Autumn 2016 winners. It was translated by Deborah Smith, who won the Man Booker International Prize in 2016 for her translation of “The Vegetarian” by Han Kang.The PEN Translates award is given by the English PEN, the founding center of worldwide writers’ association PE

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The American Friends Service Committee is celebrating 100 years of nonviolent activism with an exhibition, “Waging Peace,” that showcases the group’s accomplishments while also illustrating work that remains to be done.General Secretary Shan Cretin hopes both aspects of the exhibit inspire visitors.“We don’t want to just be looking backward, (but) a lot of the issues that are so urgent today -- how we treat immigrants, racial justice issues -- are issues we have been working

Artists on the government’s blacklist of anti-Park Geun-hye cultural figures were placed at a disadvantage in competing for state funding, as they were labelled by the Park administration as left-wing biased. Now, they have set up a stage of their own in Gwanghwamun Square in the heart of downtown Seoul to hit back at the government by performing precisely what it did not want to see. Black Tent is a makeshift theater inside a giant tent that hosts plays and performances dealing with social issu

A group of cultural figures in Korea on Monday announced it would file a lawsuit against the Park Geun-hye administration for the “blacklist” it kept of anti-government artists. Comprised of groups including Cultural Action, Lawyers for a Democratic Society (Minbyun) and others in the culture circle, the association for legal action on the blacklist held a press conference to publicly invite fellow artists as plaintiffs in its lawsuit.“The Park administration abused the inherent disadvantage of

MILAN (AP) -- If turmoil brings innovation and renovation, Italian menswear is in for a creative burst.Fashion houses are continuing their reboot of Milan Fashion Week menswear offerings, with notables like Bottega Veneta and Gucci sitting out this round, preferring to combine menswear and womenswear previews next month. That is making room for a plethora of newcomers.The data indicates that menswear is worth the rethink. Euromonitor market research forecasts that between now and 2020, growth in

MILAN (AP) -- This is the season of renewal, with new faces at some of Milan’s top fashion brands.New creative directors made their debuts Sunday during the second day of Milan Fashion Week at Salvatore Ferragamo and Dirk Bikkembergs, days after Marni and Zegna set off in a new direction. Roberto Cavalli and Brioni, meanwhile, took a runway break this season as they worked out what their future creative directions would be after parting ways with their stylists.Here are some highlights of menswe

SARATOGA SPRINGS, New York (AP) -- Bob Dylan would surely still recognize the low-ceilinged room in Caffe Lena where he played a couple of gigs almost 60 years ago. But just about everything else about a venue that bills itself as the nation’s oldest continuously operating coffeehouse has undergone some major upgrades as part of a $2 million renovation project bankrolled in part by folk music performers themselves. Dylan performed twice there early in his career, when the young singer born in Mi