The Korea Herald

Calvin Klein snaps up ex-Dior designer Simons

FashionAug 4, 2016

NEW YORK (AFP) -- U.S. fashion house Calvin Klein on Tuesday announced the appointment of former Christian Dior designer Raf Simons as its new chief creative officer, with his debut collections set for the fall 2017 season.The appointment of the 48-year-old design heavyweight, effective immediately, will see the Belgian lead the creative strategy of the brand globally, including its clothing, underwear, jeans and home furnishings.“As part of his role as chief creative officer, Mr. Simons will ov
Cannabis chef takes fine dining to new high

Food&BeverageAug 4, 2016

LOS ANGELES (AFP) -- Christopher Sayegh holds up two syringes filled with cannabis compound, primed to pump tiny amounts into a pomegranate sorbet or a juicy cut of Wagyu Japanese beef as part of a bold new sensory experiment.As more U.S. states move to legalize the use of recreational marijuana, the California chef is aiming to elevate haute cuisine to a new level.Armed with cooking skills acquired while working at Michelin-star restaurants in New York and California, Sayegh says his mission is
Winfrey picks Whitehead novel for book club

BooksAug 3, 2016

NEW YORK (AP) - Oprah Winfrey has a new book club pick, Colson Whitehead's “The Underground Railroad,” a historical novel that imagines the network of safe houses and passages that helped slaves escape to free territory is an actual train.Winfrey told the Associated Press during a recent telephone interview that she knew from the first sentence that she would want to share her passion with her audience, an impulse she has relied on with uncommon success for 20 years.“I was blown away by it,” Win
Deep into the mind of a psychopath

BooksAug 3, 2016

“The Doll-Master and Other Tales of Terror” By Joyce Carol OatesMysterious Press (336 pages, $24)When not writing fat, complicated novels that are some of the finest of our time, the ever-prolific Joyce Carol Oates churns out mysteries, often in the form of short stories or novellas. Sometimes those lesser works read like careless afterthoughts; other times, they’re quite good. “The Doll-Master” falls into the latter category. Its six stories are especially bone-chilling because they contain no
Exploring 1950s New York in ‘Three-Martini Lunch’

BooksAug 3, 2016

“Three-Martini Lunch” By Suzanne RindellPutnam (512 pages, $27)“Nobody ever became a writer by just wanting to be one.” This terse advice by F. Scott Fitzgerald sets the scene for a compelling exploration of New York City’s Greenwich Village scene in the late 1950s, when beatniks, berets and big ideas gravitated to jazz clubs, and women and minorities could begin to voice ambition without feeling outright derision. (There was derision, but more politic.)Three ambitious young people intersect: Ed
Negotiation with North Korea inevitable, writes policy expert Clemens

BooksAug 3, 2016

“North Korea and the World”By Walter C. Clemens Jr.University Press of Kentucky (443 pages, $39.95)North Korea and its succession of unfathomable, belligerent totalitarian dictators have long presented some of the most difficult challenges to world diplomacy. In his book “North Korea and the World,” published July 22, international policy expert Walter C. Clemens Jr. poses the question, “Can, should, and must we negotiate with a regime we regard as evil?”Clemens, an associate at the Harvard Uni
Panty lines and prom-posals: 'Inside Amy Schumer' writer Jessi Klein on invented problems

BooksAug 3, 2016

There’s a great scene in Jessi Klein’s new book, in which she is backstage at the Emmy Awards last year with her just-won statue -- and her breast pump.“On a professional level, it felt really good,” she said of the win for her work as head writer on the Comedy Central sketch series, “Inside Amy Schumer.”“But for a variety of reasons, last year was one of the hardest years of my life,” she said, alluding to marital strife. “I spent a lot of time suffering and the Emmy did absolutely zero.“There’
Renowned Korean poet’s works translated to English for first time

BooksAug 3, 2016

Poet Jeong Ho-seung, known for unaffected musings on life, joy, sorrow, has published first Korean-English compilation
Top-selling edition of Constitution by conservative press

BooksAug 3, 2016

NEW YORK (AP) - Since Khizr Khan held up a copy of the U.S. Constitution last week at the Democratic National Convention and offered to lend it to Republican nominee Donald Trump, sales for the government’s founding document have soared, with two editions in the top 10 on Amazon.com.But the most popular text comes from a publisher as far from the Democratic Party as can be imagined. “The Constitution of the United States,” trailing only the new Harry Potter book on Amazon as of Tuesday evening,
Restoring medieval Tibetan shrines in Nepal's Himalayas

CultureAug 3, 2016

LO MANTHANG, Nepal (AFP) - Deep in the heart of a medieval monastery in Nepal's remote Upper Mustang region, the battle to restore sacred murals and preserve traditional Tibetan Buddhist culture is in full swing.Tsewang Jigme is among the artists toiling to safeguard the unique cultural heritage of this former Buddhist kingdom high on the Tibetan plateau, which escaped the ravages of the Cultural Revolution in neighboring China.“These murals are irreplaceable ... I feel nervous every time I touc
Foreign viewers of Naver's webtoons outnumber Koreans

CultureAug 2, 2016

The number of viewers from outside Korea watching Naver Corp.’s webtoons has surpassed that of Koreans for the first time, according to the search engine on Tuesday, illustrating the growing popularity of the web comics among foreign audiences.Naver began publishing its web comics overseas in 2014 via Line Corp., a Japan-based mobile messaging subsidiary of Naver. Line’s webtoons are offered in five languages, including English, Chinese and Indonesian.In June this year, Line’s webtoons reported
Real-life ‘Pianist’ family wins defamation appeal

CultureAug 2, 2016

WARSAW (AFP) -- The family of the late Jewish-Polish protagonist of Oscar-winning Holocaust film “The Pianist” said Monday they won an appeal against defamation over claims in a book that he was a Nazi collaborator.Wladyslaw Szpilman’s widow and son brought the case to Warsaw’s appeals court after losing the initial complaint in September 2013.The family took issue with certain quotes by Polish-Jewish singer Wiera Gran in a 2010 biography of her life, written by Agata Tuszynska.The remarks see G
Tibetans gather for horse festival

CultureAug 2, 2016

YUSHU, China (AFP) - Thundering across the vast Himalayan plateau in their traditional finery, Tibetan horsemen gather for an annual riding festival which is a colorful feast for the eyes.Multicolored prayer flags inscribed with religious texts flutter in the breeze and tents line the green hills surrounding the racing ground in Yushu, in the northwestern Chinese province of Qinghai.The area is home to many of China’s 8 million strong Tibetan minority, some of whom chafe against Chinese rule.Spe
Young women drive Korean hip-hop scene

CultureAug 1, 2016

Women in 20s-30s heaviest hip-hop consumers
Seoul Plaza to be converted into outdoor camping site

CultureJul 31, 2016

How about spending a night out at a cool, green-lawned plaza to let off some steam?The Seoul city government on Sunday said it will launch the "Seoul Culture Night" festival next month in various places across the city.On Aug. 27, it will run "MT Seoul," where 100 preselected teams are allowed to set up tents in Seoul Plaza and stay overnight there. At the plaza, a flea market, a talk session and a movie screening will take place.On the previous day, the city will run a number of tour programs i