From lips sewn shut to lonely roads, the imagery in the exhibition “A Place Called Home” is stark.Busan artists group Exotic Beasts will be holding the exhibition, themed on “home,” to highlight refugee issues and raise money for a local support center.“There’s a concept of home that people have. There’s an expat community (here) and for them, it’s always going to be where they come from,” said exhibition organizer Niall Ruddy “But there’s an estimated 60 million people that don’t have a home.”T

The Washington State University Madrigal singers and Concert Choir held a choral exchange concert Sunday with local music group Camarata Music Company.The U.S. Choir is in Korea as part of a performance tour of Washington and South Korea and contacted the local group, performing at the Chung-dong First Methodist Church in central Seoul.Washington State University professor Lori West conducts the WSU Concert Choir at Chungdong First Methodist Church on Sunday. (Paul Kerry/The Korea Herald)The con

While novelist Han Kang’s Man Booker International Prize will likely be a much-desired boost for Korean literature’s push into the international stage, there has been a prolonged, if niche, interest in Korean literature from global audiences long before her novel “The Vegetarian” came into the spotlight. 　In fact, Korean literature has enjoyed sporadic success overseas, which may have culminated in Han’s win. In Germany, for example, Jeong Yu-jeong’s “Seven Years of Darkness” ranked in the Top 1

NEW YORK (AP) -- J.K. Rowling's passion for free expression is so strong it extends to someone she’d otherwise not care to discuss: Donald Trump.　Speaking Monday night before hundreds gathered for PEN America's annual gala at the American Museum of Natural History, the “Harry Potter” creator noted that she opposed a recent petition calling for banning the presumptive Republican presidential nominee from entering the United Kingdom, saying such actions endanger everyone’s rights.　“I find almost e

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) -- Isabel Allende begins writing all her books on Jan. 8. But when the day arrived this year, she struggled with writer's block. 　The practice began out of superstition. She started writing her first book, “The House of the Spirits,” on this date and it became an international best-seller. She then kept it as a discipline. But it was a strange year (she doesn’t want to call it a bad one). A year away from writing after great losses: her publicist, two friends, even h

“The Noise of Time: A Novel” 　By Julian Barnes　Knopf (224 pages, $25.95)　In Julian Barnes’ novel “The Noise of Time,” Dmitri Shostakovich considers the two types of composers in the Soviet Union: dead ones and frightened ones.　Call Shostakovich one of the frightened ones. His music is played around the world, but he also stands by the elevator in his fifth-floor apartment many nights, a valise packed with his favorite cigarettes, in case he is arrested by the NKVD for such nonsensical ideologica

“LaRose” 　By Louise Erdrich　Harper (384 pages, $27.99)　Romeo Puyat, antihero and scourge of Louise Erdrich’s new novel “LaRose,” is a cursed man. Addicted to prescription drugs and anything else he can get his hands on, he lives in the shadows. Decades of ridicule and abuse run through his veins and fuel the rage that drives this story to its stunning end.　But once the scores have played out, Romeo stumbles into a moment of brief eloquence, a notable concession and measure of the affection that

The Social Welfare Society appointed rapper Tiger JK, singer and rapper Yoon Mi-rae and rapper Bizzy as its honorary ambassadors on Tuesday.　The married couple Tiger JK and Yoon, who have supported SWS for several years, will help raise awareness of the welfare society with Bizzy.  From left, rapper Bizzy, Social Welfare Society president Rhie Yong-heung, singer and rapper Yoon Mi-rae and rapper Tiger JK pose at the ceremony which saw the appointment of the project group MFBTY as honorary ambass

Korean author Han Kang became the first Korean to win the prestigious Man Booker International Prize for her novel “The Vegetarian” on Monday. British translator Deborah Smith, who translated the novel from Korean to English, was jointly awarded the prize. 　“I wanted to depict a woman who refuses to exercise violence,” Han, 45, said in her acceptance speech at the award ceremony held at London‘s Victoria and Albert Museum on Monday night. 2016 Man Booker International prize for fiction winner Ha

BALTIMORE -- Ethan Giffin doesn’t let working in a business setting prevent him from showing off his sense of style.　Giffin, CEO of the Little Italy-based Groove: Creative Marketing, Design & Development, is known for his extensive collection of accessories -- hundreds of patterned pocket squares, lapel flowers, designer cuff links, colorful socks and dress shoes.　“Many of my friends’ wives and girlfriends say 'I wish you can dress more like Ethan',” Giffin, 44, said. “It’s definitely something

MOSCOW (AFP) -- Moscow’s Aragvi restaurant, once the legendary haunt of KGB spies and cosmonauts, has reopened with its Soviet-era grandeur restored.　The high-end eatery on the main Tverskaya Street, which opened in 1938 at the height of Stalin’s purges, has relaunched under the same name after a $20 million restoration.　The restaurant opened on the initiative of Stalin’s notorious security chief Lavrenty Beria for the use of officials from his NKVD agency, the Soviet secret service later rename