Gangnam Tourist Information Center is not your average information center with a bored employee behind a desk with free pamphlets. The multi-dimensional center, created by the Gangnam-gu local government, is not only staffed by highly-qualified employees, but also facilities such as a medical tourism and hallyu experience zone. Since its opening in June, an average of 200 people have visited the center each day. Due to its convenient location in the vicinity of Apgujeong subway station near Hyun

Hip-hop duo Leessang will embark on their tour, “LEESSANG 1ST ASIA SHOWCASE,” through five Asian countries, starting with Singapore on Nov. 30. Members of the duo, Kang Gary and Gil, gained substantial fandom around Asia due to their appearance in SBS program “Running Man” and MBC program “Infinite Challenge.” “We are honored that many people are recognizing Leessang’s music, and we want to show the audience our own style,” the artists said in a statement. Unlike many other performances by young

Popular boy band CNBLUE is to release a documentary titled “The Story of CNBLUE/ Never Stop” in Japan.The group is scheduled to attend the Tokyo premiere of the documentary on Dec. 16., but the documentary will be officially released on Jan. 17 in theaters across Japan.The film captures the band’s life before stardom when they were just an indie band in Japan and after they became popular with performances in Korea. The film features the daily life of the band, largely revolving around their act

The nude photo scandal surrounding singer Ailee took a twist on Tuesday as a U.S.-based Korean pop news site that uploaded the photos stuck to its story that it had taken the images from an online forum.On Sunday, allkpop posted a set of nude photos of the singer in an article titled “Purported pre-debut nude photos of Ailee leaked.” In response, Ailee’s agency, YMC Entertainment, released a statement which said, “The photos were from a camera test shoot for a famous underwear company that Ailee

Museum invites some of the hottest international artists

There is no doubt that Sir Simon Rattle is the Midas of the classical music circle. He invigorated the British regional City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and raised its name to an international level. Most recently, he has expanded the musical realm of the Berliner Philharmoniker since becoming its chief conductor and artistic director in 2002. From Bach to the contemporary Bruckner and Pierre Boulez, the maestro, who is said to “know what and why of the orchestra,” has brought a breath of f

Actor Lee Min-ho will hold a finale performance for his 2013 world tour, “My Everything,” in Seoul next January. The actor released an album titled “My Everything” in May and embarked on a world tour spanning nine venues in six countries including Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines and China. “Many fans in the country were disappointed because Lee Min-ho left Korea for his Asia tour after only one performance,” a representative for the actor stated. “Our original plan of finishing the tour in Kore

The artwork on the cover of G-Dragon’s recent album has nabbed 20th place in Complex Magazine’s “50 Best Pop Album Covers of the Past Five Years.” The star’s second studio album “Coup d’Etat” is the only album by a Korean artist that earned a spot on the list. The album cover features a bright red background with a black symbol that can be interpreted as a modified peace sign. The symbol also resembles the emblem for voting in Korea. Complex Magazine writer Dale Eisinger described G-Dragon as a

Duo Norazo is collaborating with comedian Noh Hong-chul for their upcoming single “Wild Horse.” The single, set to be released on Wednesday, will be a lively, upbeat number similar to the group’s previous hit “Superman,” which was released in 2008 as part of their third studio album “THREE GO.” “Infinite Challenge” member Noh recently collaborated with indie band Rose Motel for the program’s popular annual music festival. This year’s performances were held at Imjingak in Gyeonggi Province where

NEW YORK (AFP) ― Multi-platinum selling diva Lady Gaga took off in a custom-made flying dress to proclaim a new cultural revolution for Monday’s global launch of her third album, greeted by mixed reviews.Fighting to retain her “Queen of Pop” crown, Gaga strapped herself into the fly suit, clamped on a helmet and wearing little else but a cut-out black leotard and knee-high sparkly white stiletto boots, took off and propelled through the air at a press conference in a Brooklyn warehouse.“Artpop”

The recent charges of plagiarism involving local hip-hop artist Primary has brought the Korean music industry’s notorious past and ongoing allegations of plagiarism to the fore.Many are now questioning how these accusations will impact the future of the industry. Thanks to the infinite capabilities of the Internet, netizens have been exposing supposed plagiarism.“As bad as an accusation of plagiarism can be, the resolution of plagiarism in Korea might actually be far worse,” said one industry in

The controversy surrounding alleged plagiarism by celebrated hip-hop artist Primary is escalating as listeners find more similarities between Primary’s songs and the creations of David Schreurs, a producer for Dutch jazz singer Caro Emerald. Accusations of plagiarism surfaced earlier this month with the release of “I Got C,” which Primary produced with comedian Park Myung-soo for the popular MBC entertainment program “Infinite Challenge.” The song topped most of the major music charts in Korea.

There may be many ways to honor Galileo Galilei’s (1564-1642) contributions to the study of the heavens, and listening to classical music under the stars seems to be a very romantic and fitting one.In fact, Galileo was a true music lover, with his father being a respected lute player-composer and his brother and nephew both famous musicians of their times. Since 2009, the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s improvement of telescopes, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra from Canada has been creating a sensat