Kim Hye-seong, mother of Hong Ra-hee, director of the Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, and Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee’s mother-in-law, died of old age on Wednesday. She was 90. Kim, a Won-Buddhist, was the wife of Hong Jin-ki, who served as justice minister from Feb. 20, 1958, to March 23, 1960. Won-Buddhism is an indigenous religion founded in Korea as an amalgamation of Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism.She is survived by four sons and two daughters: daughter Hong Ra-hee; son Hong Seok-hyun, pr

Korean fast fashion brands are expanding overseas, hoping that tailoring items for Asian consumers will be a winning strategy. Korean fashion retailer E.Land Group has taken an aggressive lead, opening Japanese and Chinese stores of its women’s apparel brand Mixxo in March and May, respectively. In China, Mixxo has stores in Super Brand Mall in Shanghai, a prime retail spot, directly competing with fast fashion brands such as Spain’s Zara, Sweden’s H&M and Japan’s Uniqlo. Riding on the back of K

Group to film documentary on attempt to conquer India’s Janhukot mountain

Dionysus Daejeon Drama has literally taken things to a new level with its production of “Noises Off!” ― adding a second story to the stage.The production follows a festival of short plays at the end of last year put on to try to revive the group, the success of which let them put on Michael Frayn’s elaborate comedy. “We were able to put on a much more ambitious production,” said Elissa Jo Roberts, one of Dionysus’ organizers. “We wanted to move forward and we decided to move forward in a very bi

NEW YORK (AP) ― The big winners at the Council of Fashion Designers of America awards on Monday night were Proenza Schouler for womenswear, Thom Browne for menswear and Phillip Lim for accessories, but the crowd seemed to have the most love for Hillary Rodham Clinton.Clinton received a standing ovation at the Lincoln Center ceremony before she presented the CFDA’s highest honor, its Founder’s Award, to Oscar de la Renta, whom she called “a dear friend.’’ She recounted first meeting him as first

Chairman of Byucksan Engineering Kim Higgin on Tuesday was named a winner of the Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award, an award given to an active patron of the arts. Kim, who serves as chairman of the Korean Symphony Orchestra and the Korea Festival Ensemble, is a member of the Arts Council Korea; a board executive of the supporters’ group for Seoul Arts Center and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Arts; and a board member of the Gwangju Biennale. He has been recognized for

Hanjin Group chairman Cho Yang-ho was reelected to the board of governors for the International Air Transport Association Monday, officials said.His reelection came at the 69th IATA annual general meeting and world air transport summit in Cape Town, South Africa. It is his seventh election to the board since 1996.  With reelection, Cho will work for the international aviation industry along with chief executives of 30 other major airlines for three years. Cho is also chief executive officer of K

“Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austin was given the honor of being the nation’s favorite piece of classical literature according to a survey by Kyobo Book Center, the country’s biggest bookseller.The result came as South Korea welcomed more silver-screen and musical adaptations of classical literature involving well-known titles such as “The Great Gatsby, “Les Miserables” and “Resurrection.” In the survey, “The Catcher in the Rye” by J. D. Salinger was ranked second and Hermann Hesse’s “Demian” t

Classical music lovers will be able to witness the chemistry between the 95-year-old Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and its 37-year-old music director Yannick Nzt-Sguin at the Seongnam Arts Center in Gyeonggi Province on Sunday. For the orchestra’s third concert in Korea and the first since Nzt-Sguin assumed his post, the Canadian conductor and the orchestra will perform a wide-ranging repertoire, from Dutch contemporary to classical Russian music.  Dubbed the Dutch cultural ambassador alongsi

The King Sejong Institute Foundation, a state-funded Korean language teaching institute, has released a series of government-standardized Korean language textbooks for non-Korean speakers. The “Sejong Korean” volumes 1, 2, 3 and 4 were first developed to be used at the 90 King Sejong Institutes in 40 countries around the world. The textbook is based on a standard Korean language education model developed by the National Institute of the Korean Language. The foundation is planning to release “Sej