New Culture Minister Kim Jong-deok said Wednesday that hallyu was bound to lose its appeal unless it moves on from its current cookie-cutter style and content. “Hallyu is now driven mostly by (the popularity of a small bunch of) entertainers (the so-called hallyu stars,)” he told a group of reporters in Seoul on Wednesday. But that’s not a sustainable strategy.Speaking at his first press conference since taking office on Aug. 21, the minister stressed the need for genuine cultural exchange and c

‘Istanbul in Gyeongju 2014’ takes visitors to historic places in Istanbul; presents diverse Turkish cultural performances

Alexy Levykin has dedicated most of his life to the preservation of Russian history.As a former supervisor of studies at the Moscow Kremlin Museum for nearly 10 years and now the director of The State Historical Museum, Levykin is a firm believer that museums are gateways to both the past and the future. “The human memory is the guarantor of preservation and development of personality,” he said. “The museum is a place where it is necessary to go periodically and discover something new every time

Annual Culture Communication Forum discusses Korea through multinational lens

Aside from being the largest museum in the Western Hemisphere, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City is one of the most renowned and best-known museums in the world, attracting more than 6.2 million visitors every year. As the Met’s chief audience development officer, Donna Williams says she has had a number of opportunities to work closely with her local Korean-American community, adding that the establishment of its Asia Wing has “built a very big connection” with it. “We had this wo

SACRAMENTO ― Thanks to California’s chronic drought and watering restrictions, there’s no shortage of dry, dusty-brown lawns. And that’s led to a growth in business for a remedy that doesn’t involve wasting water or risking fines: lawn painting.Using nontoxic, emerald-hued paints, lawn painters can transform even completely dead lawns to look about as lush as a golf green.On a recent summer afternoon, David Bartlett, owner of Xtreme Green Grass, stood on the yellowing grass of a Folsom home, a b

SEATTLE ― As an eager, if nervous, ninth-grader, Anya Meleshuk allowed several older girls to blindfold her one afternoon, put her in a car and drive her to a park where she was told to “propose” to a stranger. Later, dressed in fairy wings, she downed a dozen flavors of ice cream while her friends watched, and went home afterward feeling as if she had been accepted, initiated into Garfield High School, where such “froshing” has a storied history.Many alumni cherish similar memories and were out

LOS ANGELES ― They rumble by night, these bikers.Dressed in heavy leather jackets and gloves, long hair streaming from under their helmets, they straddle smoking black-and-chrome motorcycles, waiting for the signal.Finally, it comes: “All right, ladies. Let’s ride!”On a hot Tuesday night, Stacie B. London had come to Silver Lake’s Casbah Cafe to meet her East Side Moto Babes riding club for their weekly cruise.London is one of a growing number of women who have taken up the sport with vigor. Mor

A prominent translator of Korean poetry, Brother Anthony of Taize’s works are part of his religious life

Pop music“Let’s Rock Festival”: The upcoming “Let’s Rock Festival” is gearing up to feature some of the country’s most notable indie bands in a two-day outdoor rock fest. The festival will include headlining acts Clazziquai, Peppertones, Zitten, Sister’s Barbershop, Crying Nut, No Brain, Guckkasten and Rose Motel as well as more than 30 other acts. The two-day indie music festival will be held at the Nanji Hangang Park on Sept. 20 and 21. Ticket prices are listed at 66,000 won for a one-day pass

Lyndsay Luff, 6, of Pittsburgh, tosses a green pepper into the crate as she and her brother Brandon Luff, 12, pick vegetables at the Common Ground farm in Upper St. Clair, Pennsylvania, on July 31. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette/MCT)PITTSBURGH ― Lyndsay Luff, 7, held out two salsa peppers as long as her hand. She smiled coyly and didn’t say a word, her eyes cast down at the first chilies she had ever picked. They sat loosely on her palms like miniature rolling pins.A slim, bright-eyed woman stood besi

When Tiffany Threadgould moved into her Philadelphia apartment in 2012, the first thing she did was trash the place.For Threadgould, 40, that didn’t mean making a mess. On the contrary, it’s all about discovering beauty ― or at least function ― in objects that might otherwise be destined for the landfill. In her hands, CD jewel cases formed pendant lamps, paint cans became planters (and paint stirrers labels for a windowsill herb garden), and old sweaters made a cozy throw for her sofa.Has been

CHICAGO ― A roadside bomb in Afghanistan left Israel Del Toro Jr. with third-degree burns over 80 percent of his body. He underwent 130 surgeries to reconstruct his body and face. After the grueling rehabilitation, he made peace with the fact that there were many things he would never do again.But at a Chicago athletic competition for disabled veterans in 2011, a coach urged him to try powerlifting. Del Toro balked at first. The explosion had taken the fingers on his left hand, and most of the f

Classical musicLim Dong-min and Lim Dong-hyek recital: Brother pianists Lim Dong-min and Lim Dong-hyek will hold their first joint recital in nine years to present the complete Chopin concertos at Seoul Arts Center on Oct. 4. The older brother Dong-min will play the first concerto, while Dong-hyek will take on the composer’s second concerto both with Gyeonggi Philharmonic Orchestra and its conductor Sung Shi-yeon. Tickets cost from 30,000 to 120,000 won. For more information, call 1577-5266 or v

South Korean researchers said Thursday they have uncovered dozens of artifacts used in Buddhist ceremonies nearly a millennium ago, as they begin to unravel the mystery behind an ancient shrine where they were discovered.The 77 artifacts include a vajra, a type of club with ribbed spherical heads, bells and censers thought to be from the Joseon era (1392-1910), or possibly even earlier.Researchers at the Seoul Institute of Cultural Heritage were wrapping up an archaeological field survey on Dobo