‘In Your Town’ reaches out to underserved regions

Almost half of international air tickets sold here in 2012 were bought by women in their 20s and 30s, according to figures from a travel agency. According to online travel agency Interpark Tour’s analysis of outbound flight ticket sales last year, female customers accounted for 54.4 percent. Women in their 20s took 23.2 percent followed by those in their 30s 22.6 percent. On the other hand, overseas trips were bought more often by men in their 30s than those in their 20s. Thirty-somethings marke

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) ― Ashton Kutcher says playing Steve Jobs on screen “was honestly one of the most terrifying things I’ve ever tried to do in my life.”The 34-year-old actor helped premiere the biopic “jOBS” Friday, which was the closing-night film at the Sundance Film Festival.Kutcher plays the Apple Inc. founder from the company’s humble origins in the 1970s until the launch of the first iPod in 2001. A digital entrepreneur himself, Kutcher said he considers Jobs a personal hero.“He’s a guy

Swedish composer Ida finds path in Korea

A harmony of technical martial art combined with musical flair

“Thrombocytopenia shortened my lifespan and made it difficult to walk. Yet taekwondo helped my body and mind immeasurably and even allowed me to kick.”These are the reflections of taekwondo grade holder Sheila Radziewicz who visited the World Taekwondo Headquarters in Kukkiwon. She decided to overcome her obstacles and fight her genetic disorder, which means she has no arms or kneecaps, and learn taekwondo. “Wow, I can’t believe I really did that,” she exclaimed. “A life’s path changed by taekwo

Theater“Shear Madness”: The Korean adaptation of the popular German play “Shear Madness” is back for its second run in Seoul. The play is one of the longest-running plays in the world, premiering back in 1963. The play takes place in a hair salon, which is owned by a gay hairdresser named George. After George and his flirty assistant Suji welcome two customers, one a wealthy housewife and the other an antique dealer, the landlady of the shop is murdered upstairs. The audience is asked to partici

Rush of operas, concerts and recordings celebrate 200th anniversary of composers’ births

Baekje Kingdom established its capital in the lower reaches of the Han River basin. For 678 years, Baekje was one of the ancient kingdoms of the Three Kingdoms era, along with Goguryeo and Silla. After its establishment in the Han River basin, Baekje moved its capital to Wungjin (today’s Gongju) and Sabi (today’s Buyeo), where the highly developed Baekje culture flowered. Archaeologists have found ruins of royal palaces in Wanggung-ni in Geumma of Iksan, North Jeolla Province, which they assume

Sophisticated Baekje culture a candidate for recognition by UNESCO

Lotte Hotel is hosting a restaurant week that offers discounts on special course menus at its restaurants. The “Restaurant Super Week,” which runs from Jan. 25-31, offers diners a 30 percent to 50 percent discount on special menus at restaurants in Lotte Hotel Seoul in Sogong-dong, Lotte Hotel World in Jamsil, and Lotte Hotel Ulsan. The participating restaurants are the French restaurant Pierre Gagnaire; Italian restaurant Peninsula; Japanese restaurant Momoyama; Korean restaurant Mugunghwa and

Big Bang will release a new DVD featuring the group’s Seoul concert in March last year, YG Entertainment announced Wednesday. The “Alive Tour in Seoul” DVD is scheduled to be released on Jan. 29. The first disc features 23 live session tracks and remixes of the group’s hit songs, while the second disc features behind-the-scenes footage of the concert. “Making of” film clips and a multi-angle video of the “Bad Boy” encore will be a bonus. Big Bang, currently on the “Big Bang Alive Tour 2012” tour

Photographer Kim Jung-man is holding a smartphone photo exhibition to help young and elderly people with visual impairments. Titled “Eyes of Vega,” the exhibition features photos Kim took with Pantech’s latest mobile phone Vega R3, equipped with a 13 million-pixel camera.Kim captured beautiful scenes during his travels to Seoul’s old palaces, Jusanji Lake in North Gyeongsang Province, Jeju Island, Tokyo, and China’s Yunnan Province. “These are photos I took with two sets of Vega smartphones. I s