In 1867, opera master Verdi was commissioned to write a piece marking the Paris International Exposition that year. Having been impressed by German author Friedrich Schiller’s “Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien,” the Italian composer decided to stage the story of the Spanish royal family originally written by Schiller. The opera follows the tragic story of Prince Carlos, whose father, King Filippo II, marries his son’s fiancee for political purposes. The prince, who was already famous for his tempe

A total of 110 journalists from 74 countries on Monday called for inter-Korean peace and worldwide cooperation at the World Journalist Conference that kicked off earlier the same day. “There is serious concern over the recent increase in tension on the Korean Peninsula, accompanied by fear of a crisis situation, raising the need for immediate dialogue to seek a viable solution,” they said in the World Journalists’ Declaration for Peace on the Korean Peninsula.  The conference, hosted by the Jour

Former Culture Minister Choe Kwang-shik recently released a new book, “Hallyu Road,” focusing on the Korean Wave. In the book, the former director of the National Museum, Cultural Heritage Administration and the Culture Ministry traces how Korea, the “recipient” of pop culture transmitted from Japan, the U.S. and other countries, became an “exporter” of culture through K-pop singers, popular TV dramas, films and even literature such as Shin Kyung-sook’s “Please Look After Mom.”  The author calls

PARIS (AP) ― In a chaotic auction repeatedly interrupted by protests, dozens of Native American tribal masks were sold Friday after a French court ignored the objections of the Hopi tribe and the U.S. government.The total tally was 931,000 euros ($1.2 million), with the most expensive, the “Mother Crow,’’ selling for 160,000 euros ($209,000) ― more than three times the pre-sale estimate. Of the 70 masks up for sale, one was bought by an association to give back to the Hopis, the Drouot auction h

A college student from Uzbekistan who spoke on the topic of “a key word that can imprint an image of Korea to the world” won a speech contest held at the Seoul Museum in Buam-dong on Saturday.The speech contest, held under the title “Communicating for a Brighter Future of Korea,” was organized by the Corea Image Communication Institute.In very fluent Korean, the top-prize winner Zohid Mamadjanov, who came to Korea only a year ago, suggested that developing the tourism industry would promote a po

Boom in retro and eco-conscious style has hanok in high demand

Married with Western elements, wider demographic favors hanok

Classical Music“Ars Nova”: The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra is holding its “Ars Nova” concert series on April 16 and 19, dedicated to contemporary classical music. Under the theme of “Vienna,” a chamber unit of the SPO will perform music by Alban Berg, Hans Abrahamsen’s rearrangement of Arnold Schonberg, Georg Friedrich Haas, Bae Dong-jin and Olga Neuwirth at 7:30 p.m. on April 16 at Sejong Chamber Hall. On April 19 at 8 p.m. at LG Arts Center, the music of Charles Ives, Bernd Zimmermann, Albert

LONDON (AP) ― Let it be ― as in billionaire.Paul McCartney remains Britain’s wealthiest musician, according to the Sunday Times Rich List.The newspaper estimated Thursday that the ex-Beatle shares a 680 million pound ($1.05 billion) fortune with his third wife, Nancy Shevell, whose family owns a U.S. trucking company.McCartney has topped the musicians’ list every year since it was first compiled in 1989. Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber is ranked second, with an estimated 620 million pound fortune.A

A clearer ink rubbing of a recently discovered rare stele from the ancient Korean kingdom of Goguryeo was made public for the first time in South Korea Thursday.The rubbed copy is expected to serve as a crucial catalyst for the study of the monument by local historians since it has the best quality of all others that have been released so far.The monument believed to date from Goguryeo, which controlled the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and northeastern China for more than 700 years unti

Leonard Lauder, honorary chairman of cosmetics firm Estee Lauder, has given New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art an entire collection of Cubist art worth $1 billion.The collection which Lauder has assembled over more than four decades includes 78 works of Picasso, Braque, Gris and Leger, making it the biggest art donation ever made.The Met has long been trying to secure major artworks from the early 20th century. Thomas Campbell, CEO of the Met, said, “Lauder’s gift would be truly transformati