LONDON (AP) ― It wasn’t a car crash, but there weren’t fireworks, either. Critics gave a lukewarm welcome to Lindsay Lohan’s professional stage debut last week, which followed months of hype and speculation about whether the wayward star was up to the job. “Shock news: Lindsay Lohan can act a bit,” wrote Dominic Maxwell in The Times on Friday after the opening night of David Mamet’s Hollywood satire “Speed-the Plow.” The Guardian’s Michael Billington called Lohan’s performance “perfectly credita

The Performing Arts Market in Seoul will run from Oct. 7-11 at the National Theater of Korea in Jangchung-dong, central Seoul.The annual event, organized by the state-run Korea Art Management Service, provides a marketplace for people in the performing arts industry to buy and sell performances, while exchanging resources and industry information. The festival aims to help diverse Korean shows advance to other countries, while enhancing a creative collaboration network among participants. “Marki

An annual literary festival will be held at Paju Book City in Gyeonggi Province, bringing over 500 writers from home and abroad to present and discuss a wide range of literary works. “Paju Booksori Festival,” marking its fourth year, will kick off this week from Oct. 3-12 for a 10-day run at different venues in Paju Book City, a cluster of some 260 Korean publishing houses in Paju. “Last year, in its third year, the festival was selected as a representative festival by the Ministry of Culture, S

PYONGYANG (AP) ― High heels, with sequins. Brightly colored, tight-fitting dresses. Hairstyles and makeup that are almost like what you would expect on streets of Beijing or Seoul. Something is definitely afoot in the style scene of North Korea’s capital. Most North Koreans remain too poor to think much about fashion, and the country in general maintains a deep-rooted resistance to outside influences. But in Pyongyang, where the standard of living is relatively high, clothes and styles have been

Author, translator Bae Su-ah is a homebody by nature forced to travel out of necessity

ROYAL MUSIC AT NIGHT ― Musicians practice Jongmyo Jeryeak, the UNESCO-listed royal ancestral ritual music, at Jongmyo, a Confucian shrine for Joseon kings and queens in Seoul, on Thursday. The grandiose royal music will be performed at night from Sept. 26-28. (Yonhap)Classical musicChung Myung-whun piano recital: Maestro Chung Myung-whun will hold his first recital tour of Korea as a pianist, not as a conductor as he is widely known now, starting in Changwon on Oct. 5. He will play in Daegu on

A variety of festivals take place in city, inviting

Easy-to-make miniature landscapes, or terrariums, make for interesting accessories in just about any room in your home. They seem fitting for all seasons of the year, but it’s during the colder months that the green is so welcome. It doesn’t take much time or money to fill your home with these tiny gems. Just follow these three easy steps and create terrariums to dress up your home or a friend’s home, make them as gifts and even sell them at fundraisers! Easy-to-make miniature landscapes, or ter

Composer and pianist Steve Barakatt talks about his new venture into business world

NEW YORK (AP) ― Here’s something the folks at Disney can take real pride in: “The Lion King” is the top ticket of all time. With a worldwide gross of over $6.2 billion, “The Lion King” stage musical has now achieved the most successful box office total of any work in any media in entertainment history, The Associated Press has learned. The show quietly took over top spot from the $6 billion-earning “The Phantom of the Opera” late this summer, according to representatives from both shows. “Phanto

JOHANNESBURG (AFP) ― It’s danced to Tchaikovsky’s famous melody, but it’s not your traditional Christmas “Nutcracker”: the Joburg Ballet has set it in the Kalahari desert among ancient Bushmen paintings.The winter theme has been replaced with sun, sand and baobab trees.The role of the Sugar Plum Fairy is instead played by a sangoma or traditional healer, and the famous “Russian Dance” is performed in overalls and gumboots.“The Nutcracker Reimagined” comes with the original music and story line o

Exhibition“The Art of Dansaekhwa”: Kukje Gallery in Seoul brings together the works of key Dansaekhwa artists from the 1970s and 1980s in the exhibition “The Art of Dansaekhwa,” which runs through Oct. 19. Curated by Yoon Jin-seob, art curator and promoter of the term Dansaekhwa in the global art world, the exhibition showcases some 18 monochrome paintings, offering insight into the Korean Dansaekhwa movement and its distinctive style. For more information, call (02) 735-8449.  “Conjunction” by

Lee Shin says creating successful characters is all about reading the trends

NEW YORK (AP) ― The customized Captain America chopper Peter Fonda rode in “Easy Rider” has come to symbolize the counterculture of the 1960s. Now it’s for sale. The auction house Profiles in History told The Associated Press that it estimates the Harley-Davidson will bring $1 million to $1.2 million at its Oct. 18 sale being held online and at its galleries in Calabasas, California. The seller is Michael Eisenberg, a California businessman who once co-owned a Los Angeles motorcycle-themed resta

NEW YORK (Bloomberg) ― A pair of Chinese porcelain vases sold Monday for $1.2 million at Doyle New York, soaring 120 times past its low estimate. The two 16-inch tall glazed vases, painted with branches of blooming peonies on a turquoise background, each had a Qianlong-era seal on its base, referring to the reign of the Qianlong Emperor from 1736 to 1795. Estimated at $10,000 to $15,000, they were part of Doyle’s “Asian Works of Art” sale in New York. The price includes buyer’s commission.  A pa