Leadership and communications coach Kim Hoh talks about effective apologies, management

Theater“Heavy Metal Girls”: Joo-young, Eun-joo, Jung-min and Boo-jin are all 40-year-old women working at the same small company. When they all face a possibility of layoff, they decide to learn heavy metal, to impress their new boss who is a heavy metal fanatic. “Heavy Metal Girls” runs through March 1 at Yegreen Theatre in Daehangno, Seoul. Tickets are priced at 20,000 won and 30,000 won. For more information, call (02) 744-7090.“The Best in Tragedy”: The play centers on the playwright and Nob

Lee Seung-yeop, art management professor of Korea National University of Arts, has been appointed head of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts this week.  Lee Seung-yeop, CEO of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts. (Sejong Center for the Performing Arts)Lee, 53, began his three-year term on Thursday with a goal to make the arts center an accessible and friendly place for Seoul citizens. “I will promote the brand value of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts so that it can be the

Yun Bong-gil’s granddaughter honors nameless independence fighters

TheaterCast members rehearse for the play “The Best in Tragedy.” (Bananamoon)“The Best in Tragedy”: The play centers on the playwright and Nobel laureate Goh Il-bong, who has devoted his entire life to writing tragedies. But what he does not realize is that while he is writing a masterpiece on life and death, his wife is slowly dying. “The Best in Tragedy,” which raises questions about the meaning of life, tragedy and time, runs through Feb. 21 at the Byeoloreum Theater of the National Theater o

An original Korean musical about independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun will greet audiences in the Chinese city of Harbin, the show’s producer said Thursday. Harbin is where the Korean man shot dead a prominent Japanese statesman more than 100 years ago to protest the then-imperialistic country’s colonization of Korea.  A scene from the musical “Hero.” (Acom International)“Hero” will be staged three times at the 1,600-seat Global Theatre of the Harbin International Convention Center on Feb. 7 and 8

With its roots in Korean TV dramas and pop music, the Korean Wave, or hallyu, has generated great interest in Korean culture. Now, the country wants to take this chance to present other cultural areas, including publications, to the world.  Kim Seong-kon, president of the LTI Korea, speaks during the business information session held for the publications industry in Seoul on Wednesday. (LTI Korea)The roadmap for the development of the local publication industry, unveiled Wednesday by the Ministr

LONDON, (AFP) ― The only two surviving bronzes by Italian Renaissance master Michelangelo are thought to have been identified with the help of a tiny clue in a 500-year-old sketch, British researchers said Monday.The bronzes, “Bacchants Riding On Panthers,” date from 1506-08 and show a muscular pair of nude male revelers, arms raised in triumph to the sky, astride snarling panthers. One of two bronze statues named “Bacchants Riding on Panthers,” thought to be by Italian Renaissance master Michel

YANGON (AFP) ― Behind a wooden counter in downtown Yangon’s Coffee Club, the unmistakable hiss of a barista steaming milk briefly drowns out a funky soundtrack piped through a store filled with students glued to their smartphones.In any other Asian capital it would be a ubiquitous sight. But in Yangon, this is something new.Long absent from the region’s booming cafe culture, Myanmar’s commercial capital is now witnessing a surge in swish coffee bars providing an alternative to the treacly instan

MOSCOW (AFP) ― A fire that ripped through one of Russia’s largest university libraries is believed to have damaged over one million historic documents, with some describing the fire as a cultural “Chernobyl.”The blaze, which started Friday and was still not completely out on Saturday evening, ravaged 2,000 square meters of the Institute of Scientific Information on Social Sciences in Moscow, which was created in 1918 and holds 10 million documents with some dating back to the 16th century.  Fire

Exhibitions“New Wave: The Road of Memories”: A group exhibition of Asian artists will run at and.n gallery from Feb. 3-21. The exhibition invites emerging artists from South Korea, China, Taiwan, India and Indonesia whose works have gained international recognition. Six artists showcase some 20 paintings that portray their individual memories. South Korean artist Shim Bong-min depicts childhood memories in gray concrete apartment settings. Chinese artist Liu Xia captures the past memories in sti

New chief of Korea Creative Content Agency stresses market-based approach to further Korean Wave

More ancient Korean documents will be revealed to the public as part of a project of the Academy of Korean Studies to highlight Korea’s rich history and tradition, said Lee Bae-yong, president of the AKS, at a news conference on Tuesday in Seoul. “The Academy has an extensive archive of valuable ancient materials, but we haven’t been active in sharing the ancient treasures with the public. We plan to bring the valuable resources to people and let their important lessons be told in contemporary s