The Korea Herald

Sogyumo Acacia Band gets back to the sound of nature

MusicJul 8, 2013

South Korean acoustic band Sogyumo Acacia Band put out its fifth album “Slow Diving Table,” a gesture that departs from today’s hectic electronic music to get back to the raw sound where music started. “People live in a world full of disturbing noises, but we wanted to awaken people to notice the beautiful sounds existing in them,” said group member Kim Min-hong.Kim and fellow member Song Eun-ji wanted to offer healing sounds to fans by featuring sounds of nature merged into the tranquil acousti
Verdi’s ‘Les vepres’ gaining new attention

MusicJul 7, 2013

KATONAH, New York (AP) ― It’s been called the “missing link’’ among Giuseppe Verdi’s operas, composed right after his three mid-career mega-hits ― “Rigoletto,’’ “Il Trovatore’’ and “La Traviata’’ ― and pointing the way toward the masterpieces of his later years.Why “missing?’’ It’s not as if “Les vepres siciliennes’’ (“The Sicilian Vespers’’), first performed in Paris in 1855, was lost or had to be reconstructed by scholars. Yet, despite its importance in the Verdi canon, the opera has remained
Bieber to hit Korean stage for first time

MusicJul 7, 2013

Teen pop sensation to perform in Seoul as part of 39-country world tour
Macau hosts glittering Indian film awards

FilmJul 7, 2013

MACAU (AFP) ― Romantic comedy ‘Barfi!’ swept almost all the major gongs, including best picture, at India’s answer to the Oscars on Saturday as Bollywood celebrates its centenary.Bollywood royalty converged on the Chinese gambling hub of Macau for the 14th edition of the Indian International Film Festival, held in the territory’s glittering Venetian resort.“Barfi!” won six awards, including the prize for best actor and best director.The light-hearted film, about a deaf and mute man from Darjeeli
Director Park Chan-wook directs music video

MusicJul 7, 2013

One of the most acclaimed and popular filmmakers in Korea, Park Chan-wook, is directing singer Lee Jung-hyun’s new music video for her upcoming mini album’s title song, according to Lee’s agency Ava Film and Entertainment on Friday.Park Chan-wook is most known for his 2002 film “Joint Security Area,” the vengeance trilogy “Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance,” “Oldboy,” and “Sympathy for Lady Vengeance” as well as his latest Hollywood film “Stoker.” His films are noted for their often brutal subject matt
Box Office: Mr. Go, Side Effects, Cold Eyes

FilmJul 5, 2013

Mr. GoComedy. Drama. Directed by Kim Yong-hwa.Opening July 17The film revolves around a young circus ringmaster Wei Wei and her special gorilla friend Ling Ling. After her grandfather dies in the Great Sichuan earthquake leaving an insurmountable debt, Wei Wei depends on Ling Ling as her only family member. The two enjoy playing baseball and are quite good at it since Wei Wei‘s grandfather was a huge fan of baseball. Story of the two is introduced in Korea and the materialistic sports agent Sung
Eyelike: Empire of the Sun deliver the goods

MusicJul 5, 2013

Empire of the Sun deliver the goods Empire of the Sun“Ice on the Dune“(Astralwerks)Empire of the Sun‘s new album opens with the instrumental track “Lux,” using drums of epic grandeur to build the anticipation for a record we have waited five years to hear. That’s followed by “DNA,” a surefire single and the strongest track on ”Ice on the Dune.“ The voice of lead singer Luke Steele - who has co-written songs for Usher and Beyonce - blends nicely as he sings ”be my DNA“ over a brilliant beat, whic
‘Way, Way Back’ a romance that’s nostalgic for the present

FilmJul 5, 2013

A person can come of age at any time. But in the movies, a lot of that growing up seems packed into the summer months. Especially for boys. That’s when a lad can hang out on the beach, come to some sort of arrangement with girls and endure entirely too much of his closely-observed family for his own good.“The Way, Way Back” is a semi-nostalgic coming-of-age dramedy from the folks who wrote “The Descendants.” It’s about a shy, put-upon lad, his long-suffering mother, the mom’s difficult new beau
K-pop singers to hold their first solo concerts in July

MusicJul 5, 2013

Vocal group Noel will hold its first Japanese concert “Melody in Tokyo” at the La Foret Museum Roppongi on Saturday, some 11 years after their debut. The event was organized upon requests of their Japanese fans, the group’s agency ITM Entertainment said through a press release Friday. Noel is a four-member male vocal group debuted in 2002 with their first album “Despite Holding On.” Since then they had a number of hits songs including “Proposal,” “Even Painful” and “It Was All You.” The group h
Rapper Mac Miller turns heads with new album

MusicJul 5, 2013

NASHVILLE (AP) ― Mac Miller had a quick decision to make when Kanye West jumped the street date for his new album: Move his “Watching Movies with the Sound Off” to a different week or stand firm in the face of “Yeezus.”In the end, it was a simple decision. The album was too good to wait.“I initially just wanted my own space for my album to drop and then Kanye’s date came out and it was kind of like, ‘OK, that’s probably the worst person to go up against to drop an album,’” Miller said. “But I’m
El Greco sets new record at London auction

TheaterJul 4, 2013

LONDON (AFP) ― El Greco’s 400 year-old painting “Saint Dominic in Prayer” on Wednesday broke the record for a Spanish Old Master, selling at a London auction for 9.1 million pounds ($14,000,000). The painting was one of two El Greco works on sale at the sale, said Alex Bell, worldwide head of Sotheby’s Old Master Paintings.It went under the hammer following a “tenacious” battle between bidders, he added.The painting represents the 13th-century founder of the Dominican order kneeling and praying
Embassy gives sneak preview of Aussie artist David Hart’s exhibition

TheaterJul 4, 2013

Iconic Australian artist David Hart’s highly collectable masterworks and fine art reproductions were on display last week at the Australian Embassy, giving viewers a taste of his upcoming exhibition in September. For Hart, Korea was “the perfect place to launch the David Hart brand internationally” due to its strong economic and cultural platform and its commitment to the arts. “I would have loved to be there with you all today but I’m here in the studio working hard on my Korea exhibition,” Ha
Spanish modernism in spotlight this summer

TheaterJul 4, 2013

Two exhibitions in Korea explore Spanish modern, contemporary art through Pablo Picasso, Joan Miro, Salvador Dali and more
Oscar winners Rash, Faxon make directorial debut

FilmJul 4, 2013

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) ― Way, way back before they were Oscar winners, back when they were honing their skills as members of The Groundlings comedy troupe, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash started writing together.This was even before Rash’s role as Dean Pelton on NBC’s “Community’’ or Faxon’s starring turn on the short-lived “Ben and Kate,’’ and years before they joined director Alexander Payne to co-write 2011’s “The Descendants,’’ the best-picture nominee that won the Academy Award for adapted screenplay
Brown Eyed Soul’s Naul holds art exhibit in Japan

MusicJul 4, 2013

Naul, a member of the popular R&B group Brown Eyed Soul, is stepping beyond his voice and showing off the full extent of his artistic abilities by holding a special exhibition of his paintings at the Gallery Kaze in Osaka, Japan.The two-person exhibition, for which Naul is joined by fellow Korean artist Noh Jun, will run until July 17. The R&B singer previously held a solo exhibition in Seoul in 2006, titled “drawing 05” with the theme of “Plant the Sweet Things.” The Osaka show includes portrai