Renowned American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars will stage a live concert for the first time in Seoul on April 8.The gig to be held at Olympic Park Gymnastics Gymnasium is part of the 2014 Moonshine Jungle Tour, his East Asian debut tour stopping through China, Japan, then moving on to Southeast Asia.Born to a musical family in Honolulu, Hawaii, Mars moved to Los Angeles with the dream of becoming a musician after graduating from high school. The first thing he did on the way to a musical career

Two young Korean pianists won prizes in an international music competition in Russia. An Bong-su and Lee Jung-soo, both studying at the prestigious Moscow Conservatory, took first and second prizes in the piano section of the 15th International Maria Yudina Music Competition held in St. Petersburg from Jan. 3-10.The grand prix went to Oleg Kopeliuk of Ukraine. The annual contest started in 1999 to honor the late Russian pianist Maria Yudina (1899-1970). This year, 63 players participated in its

(SBS)Actor Kim Soo-hyun is gaining an explosive popularity in China, topping the “Today‘s Actor” chart on China’s largest search engine Baidu on Tuesday. 　Kim took the No. 1 slot, followed by Lee Min-ho of the popular drama “The Heirness” and Taiwanese top star Jimmy Lin. 　Kim has continued to broaden his presence in China with the soaring popularity of the TV drama “Man from the Stars,” in which he plays the lead role. The romantic comedy series features the love story between a modern-day actr

New York Philharmonic Orchestra to show breadth of its musical capability in Seoul concerts

A wax figure of Korean actor Lee Min-ho is on display alongside those of other world-famous celebrities at the Madame Tussauds wax museum in Hong Kong.The lifelike figure wears a black suit and a bowtie, both exclusively designed by his personal stylist, according to the museum.The wax creation was recently rented from Madame Tussauds Shanghai and will be on display in Hong Kong until March 31.“We believe that this gleaming star will become a highlight for Madame Tussauds Hong Kong in the coming

In CJ E&M’s push to increase its global content, it has announced that last year’s popular production format behind Korean reality series “Grandpas Over Flowers” and sci-fi series “Nine” will be exported overseas to China and the U.S., respectively. On Monday, CJ E&M released the company’s “2014 E&M Global Initiative” stating its goals including increasing its exports of weekly drama formats. The entertainment and media conglomerate is currently in negotiations with a Chinese broadcasting compan

Singer Sung Si-kyung expressed his fondness for entertainer Abigail Alderete in the latest episode of tvN reality show “Island Village Teacher,” which aired Monday. 　On the episode, Sam Hammington, an Australian comedian made popular by MBC reality show “Sunday Night: Real Men,” phoned Sung to invite him to the island as a music teacher. The 35-year-old singer responded by asking if Alderete, who also stars on the show, would be there, adding, “She looks beautiful.”　Alderete, 27, from Paraguay,

KARA’s agency DSP Media announced Tuesday that the team will lose one member Nicole as her contract ends on Thursday.Another group member Kang Ji-young, whose contract ends in April, is said too be deliberating whether she will return to her studies or stay on with the group.The agency is looking into different options for KARA, but said it was skeptical about recruiting a new member, since the group was established with a distinct character of its own.By Yoon Ha-youn, Intern reporter(yhayoun@he

LOS ANGELES (AFP) ― Hollywood is powering up for a clash of the titans this year, with two films about legendary demigod Hercules ― one starring teen heartthrob Kellan Lutz, and a more mature version later in the year.The superhero standoff ― Tinseltown seems prone to doing movies in pairs, after two adaptations of the Snow White tale last year ― comes 16 years after the last Hercules movie by Disney in 1997.The first new one to do battle opens Friday in North America, with Lutz in his first maj

“The Attorney,” a local film inspired by the early years of late President Roh Moo-hyun, drew more than 9 million viewers in the 25 days after its release, its distributor NEW announced. It has topped the local box office chart for four consecutive weeks, and is expected to break the 10 million viewer mark this weekend. According to the Korean Film Council, the directorial debut by webtoon artist Yang Woo-seok was watched by 9.26 million people as of Sunday, far outnumbering “The Suspect” and “T