The Korea Herald

Bolshoi dancer jailed for acid attack released

PeopleJun 1, 2016

MOSCOW (AFP) - The Bolshoi ballet dancer who masterminded an acid attack on the troupe’s artistic director has been released on parole, his lawyer told Russian media on Tuesday. Bolshoi soloist Pavel Dmitrichenko, who was sentenced to six years in prison in 2013 for orchestrating an acid attack on artistic director Sergei Filin, has been granted parole and is already “back at home in Moscow,” his lawyer Sergei Kadyrov told TASS news agency. Kadyrov did not specify when his client, who had been s
Tokyo museum exhibits Issey Miyake‘s constant innovations

FashionJun 1, 2016

TOKYO (AP) -- Although he’s behind one of the biggest fashion brands to come out of Japan, Issey Miyake detests being called a fashion designer. Maybe a designer, even a sculptor, but not that frivolous, trend-watching, conspicuous consumption known as fashion. What he has pursued since he started in the 1970s is more timeless. His down-to-earth clothing is meant to celebrate the human body. And it’s anyone’s or everyone’s body -- any race, build, size or age.“The work of Miyake Issey,” at the N
Anthropologist follows trail of century-old hobo graffiti

CultureJun 1, 2016

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Anthropologist Susan Phillips had spent a career examining the graffiti that covers urban walls, bridges and freeway overpasses. But when she came across an unrecognizable collection made not of spray paint but substances like grease pencil and apparently left there for a century, she was stunned. Phillips had uncovered a peculiar, almost extinct form of American hieroglyphics known as hobo graffiti, the treasure trove discovered under a nondescript, 103-year-old bridge spann
Christie's fined over elephant ivory sale

CultureJun 1, 2016

LONDON (AFP) - Christie's auction house has been fined 3,250 pounds ($4,770) for selling a piece of elephant ivory without the correct documentation, London police said Tuesday.The silver-mounted tusk, put up for auction last year, did not have the right documentation under wildlife protection laws, a police statement said.A representative for the auction house pleaded guilty in London to selling the ivory, in contravention of an article in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Spe
Unnamed 'Oxygen Thief' becomes self-published success

BooksJun 1, 2016

NEW YORK (AP) -- The fair-skinned man with the hoodie and dark ski cap sits on a bench outside McNally Jackson Books in downtown Manhattan, where neither patrons nor employees seem aware that he's the author of a work so in demand at the store that it’s often out of stock.　Known to his growing fan base as “Anonymous,” he has given us one of the more unusual self-published successes: “Diary of an Oxygen Thief,” a 147-page fictionalized memoir, or autobiographical novel, depending on how much of t
Fat and happy: No one tells author Lindy West what to do

BooksJun 1, 2016

Lindy West is a defender of bodies: women’s bodies, fat bodies, every body’s right to exist in whatever way, shape or form, unjudged and unassailed. “Everyone has a body,” she says. “We haven’t developed brain-in-jar technology yet.” Her writing puts forth the unfortunately radical proposition that each person’s body is that person’s own business.“It is the thing that most belongs to them. It’s not yours,” she points out over sake bombs and edamame dip, pot stickers and ahi tacos. It’s the most
The worldwide war of keystrokes

BooksJun 1, 2016

“Dark Territory: The Secret History of Cyber War”　By Fred Kaplan　Simon & Schuster (352 pages, $28)　You’ve heard the complaining, from the White House on down, about the cyberattacks on our country. Well, yes, you guessed it: We started it.　That’s one of the central thrusts of Fred Kaplan’s “Dark Territory: The Secret History of Cyber War.” Because it pioneered computing, the U.S. intelligence agencies enjoyed decades of dominance over rivals, and even learned how to remotely wreak havoc on, say,
Seoul to provide 180 mln won on renovation of 'hanok'

CultureJun 1, 2016

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Wednesday it will provide up to 180 million won ($151,200) worth of subsidies for the renovation of traditional houses, in line with its bid to preserve traditional buildings remaining in the city.The announcement came as Seoul designated 550,000 square meters of area in five districts, including Bukchon and Seochon, two of the oldest neighborhoods in the capital, as special zones for the conservation of hanok, or traditional-style housing.The houses in the
A palace walk with Hamlet, Jeongjo

CultureMay 31, 2016

‘Hamlet’ is being recited at Changdeokgung Palace garden to mark the 400th anniversary of the bard’s death
Japan beats Korea in attracting foreign travelers in 2015

TravelMay 31, 2016

Japan beat South Korea in terms of attracting foreigners in 2015 as more travelers were encouraged to visit the island for shopping amid a cheaper yen and eased tax rules, a report showed Tuesday. The number of inbound tourists to South Korea had surpassed Japan's until 2014, but the trend reversed last year as Japan's tourism industry enjoyed a boom thanks to the cheaper local currency and a series of promotional efforts.In contrast, South Korea suffered a drop in inbound travelers in the wake
Anything goes as French liqueurs keep up with world trends

Food&BeverageMay 31, 2016

AVRILLE, France (AFP) -- Whether the ingredients are traditional, exotic or frankly bizarre, French liqueurs are reliable “ambassadors of quality,” an industry leader says.Visitors to the Printemps des Liqueurs, the industry’s annual trade fair, this month could sample tipples concocted from rose petals, tea or ... how about litchis?Jean-Dominique Caseau, president of the liqueur producers’ union who oversaw the trade fair, says 53 percent of France’s production goes for export.“Liqueurs are amb
Chai stirred into Silicon Valley coffee culture

Food&BeverageMay 31, 2016

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) -- In a Silicon Valley culture known for brilliant ideas boiling up in coffee shops, Gaurav Chawla is pouring his heart into chai.Chawla was on a break from his job as an engineering manager at San Francisco-based cloud-computing star Salesforce when he began lamenting how tough it was to find a cup of chai as good as he makes it at home.That frustration, and echoed complaints by other natives of India, where the blend of spiced tea and simmered milk is woven into daily lifes
Sponsors going along for the ride at theme parks

TravelMay 31, 2016

LOS ANGELES -- When Walt Disney opened his famed Anaheim park in 1955, he turned to corporate sponsors to keep construction and operation costs under budget.That helps explain why two of the original attractions were the less-than-thrilling Monsanto Hall of Chemistry, sponsored by the agrochemical giant, and the Aluminum Hall of Fame, sponsored by Kaiser Aluminum.“It was just as bad as it sounds,” said David Koenig, author of several books on Disney.More than 60 years later, sponsorships are on
Korean fashion designers to open pop-up store in Paris

Arts&DesignMay 31, 2016

A pop-up store showcasing creations by leading Korean fashion designers will open at the multibrand store L’Eclaireur from June 22-28 in Paris. 　The temporary shop-in-shop will feature women’s and men’s clothing by 10 Korean designers who regularly participate in Seoul Fashion Week and have been selected as “Seoul’s 10 Soul” to represent the Korean fashion scene. The program, run by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, offers financial, marketing and logistical support for the selected designers i
[Foreigners Who Loved Korea] George Lewis Shaw, an active supporter of Korean independence movement

CultureMay 30, 2016

George Lewis Shaw was born as the eldest son of an Irishman, Samuel Lewis Shaw, and a Japanese woman, Ellen O’Sea Shaw in 1880 on Pagoda Island of Fuzhou, Fujian province, China. He married Saito Fumi, a Japanese woman, and the second of his two sons, Samuel George Shaw, also married a Japanese woman. Despite his father, son, and George L. Shaw himself taking Japanese wives, George L. Shaw, was far from being pro-Japanese. Instead he actively supported the Korean independence movement while runn