Korean artist Kim Hyun-jung opens an exhibition on Thursday in Berlin, the Korean Cultural Center in Germany said.The opening ceremony, attended by the artist herself, will take place at 6 p.m. local time in the center's gallery. One of the most promising young Korean artists, she is widely credited for pushing the boundaries of Korean art by presenting thought-provoking themes with prickly yet humorous wit and experimenting with new artistic techniques in her paintings. Last September she was t

Kim Ki-min has become the first South Korean ballerino to win the world's most prestigious ballet award, organizers said Wednesday.The organizing committee of Benois de la Danse 2016 declared him the best dancer on Tuesday, local time, for his role as Solor in the Paris Opera Ballet's "La Bayadere de Rudolf Noureev" staged in late 2015.The 24-year-old is currently the principal dancer with Russia's Mariinsky Ballet.Previously, two other South Korean ballerinos -- Kim Hyun-woong and Lee Dong-hoon

South Korean fiction writer Han Kang won the 2016 Man Booker International Prize for her novel "The Vegetarian," the organizer announced Tuesday. "The story of a Korean woman who awakens from uneasy dreams to find herself transformed into an enigma without a key. Evocative and suggestive, 'The Vegetarian' startles for the depth of its strangeness," the organizer said. Judging panel chairman Boyd Tonkin said: "In a style both lyrical and lacerating, it reveals the impact of this great refusal bot

France will celebrate Korean culture in a special week-long event early next month to commemorate the two countries’ 130th diplomatic anniversary, the Culture Ministry here said Monday.　According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, “K-culture Week” will coincide with Korean President Park Geun-hye’s state visit to the European country from June 1-4. It is part of events that the two countries have been holding to mark the anniversary of their diplomatic ties.　Last week, some 30 high-

NEW DELHI (AP) -- The bank executive, the book publisher and the social worker had one thing in common: Their hectic lives in the crowded Indian capital had become so chaotic and stressful, they’ve turned to chanting Buddhist mantras in search of calm.　The practice is catching on among India’s well-off urban professionals, growing by word of mouth as a way to relieve stress. Most of those picking up the practice are Hindu, but they say they see no conflict between their religious beliefs and the

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Tehran resident Sousan Heidari has stopped letting her headscarf slip casually down over her neck and shoulders while driving in the Iranian capital. These days, the 22-year-old with a taste for bold makeup makes sure to pull it tightly over her dark hair, fearful of running afoul of a newly established undercover division of the morality police. 　“Every single man or woman could be a member of the unit,” she cautioned. “I don't know. Maybe some plainclothes have already repo

NEW YORK (AP) -- The World Monuments Fund announced grants Monday totaling $1 million for five historic sites, including a 16th-century Nepalese temple destroyed in last year's massive earthquake. 　It comes one year to the day after the Char Narayan temple was decimated by the magnitude-7.8 earthquake, which claimed 9,000 lives, injured 22,000 people and destroyed 600,000 homes. 　The temple, located in the main square of the city of Patan, will be 90 percent rebuilt with salvaged pieces and seis