NEW YORK (AP) ― Two early casts from Auguste Rodin’s masterpiece “The Gates of Hell’’ have sold for a total of more than $16 million at a New York City auction.“The Thinker’’ sold Tuesday for $15.3 million, a new record for the figure. Sotheby’s hasn’t said who bought it.A later cast of the statue was auctioned for just under $12 million in 2010.The full-scale sculpture was commissioned by publishing magnate Ralph Pulitzer in 1906 and made under Rodin’s supervision.“Ugolino and His Children,’’ f

Cho Young-pil and his band will perform at the Super! Sonic 2013 music festival in August, according to the festival’s PR company. This will be the 63-year-old veteran singer’s first-ever performance at a rock festival.Fortune Entertainment unveiled the first lineup of this year Super! Sonic on Tuesday which includes Cho as well as British pop duo Pet Shop Boys and the electronic band Two Door Cinema Club, and Korean artists 10cm and the semifinalist of “Superstar K4” DICKPUNKS.  The annual even

Veteran four-member Korean rock band Delispice and Japanese group HY will be performing in Seoul at a special joint Seoul-Okinawa concert showcase on May 31. The concert will be held in the Live Hall at the KT&G SangsangMadang Center in Mapo-gu at 7:30 p.m. Making their start playing in various clubs in Hongdae, Delispice released its first studio debut in 1997 with the lead single “Chau Chau,” from its first, self-titled album.  Now more than 15 years later, Delispice is one of the nation’s big

Movie actress Jang Mi-in-ae as well as two other female celebrities, Lee Seung-yeon and Park Shi-yeon, are under investigation for recreationally abusing the drug propofol, an anesthetic used in surgeries. Police revealed that the stars received propofol injections at various hospitals even though they were not undergoing any type of surgery.  According to news reports, the police have found that Jang had 95 administrations of propofol from December 2011 to September 2012. Park was reported to h

Super Junior member Ye Sung, 28, left the spotlight temporarily to fulfill his two-year mandatory military service. Ye Sung enlisted with the 35th division in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, on Monday for four-week basic military training. After basic training he will serve 23 months in a public service position.  The night of his enlistment, Ye Sung wrote a message to his fans on his Twitter account: “I will miss it all. Stages, songs... I look forward to the day we meet again, ELF. No worries,

Singer Jang Yoon-jeong’s pre-interview for SBS talk show “Healing Camp” was leaked last week, exposing her family’s private matters. The news was that the trot queen was heavily in debt due to her mother and brother. During the pre-interview, Jang cleared up rumors about her fiance approaching her for her money. “One day I checked my bank account and all I saw was a negative balance of 1 billion won. At this news, my father suffered a stroke,” she said. Since then her parents have filed for divo

Traditional, fusion and indie music from Korea will be performed at leading venues in London

Portraits by Alice Neel are on exhibit for the first time in Asia at Gallery Hyundai, Seoul. The exhibition “People and Places: Paintings by Alice Neel,” which began on May 2, features 15 portraits of Neel’s family, friends and lovers that are regarded as unique in the expression of her subjects’ inner personalities. Neel, who didn’t receive much attention during her lifetime, is now considered one of the greatest portrait painters of the 20th century, along with Lucian Freud, for her distinctiv

K-pop diva Lee Hyori has made her way back to the stage after a three-year hiatus from the music scene with her newest single “Miss Korea,” which was unveiled on Monday. “Miss Korea,” a pre-release single from her soon-to-be-released fifth studio album, achieved an “all-kill” almost immediately upon its release by topping all the major Korean music charts including Melon, Daum, Bugs and Mnet. “Miss Korea” was both written and composed by the diva herself and arranged by her jazz guitarist boyfri

The 16-year-old Lee Hi continues to soar as one of last year’s most successful debut singers, and is scheduled to take the stage for her first live solo concert at Sogang University’s Mary Hall on Sunday in front of 500 fans. The up-and-comer took to the spotlight as the first runner-up of the reality TV competition show “Survival K-pop Star.” After signing with YG Entertainment, Lee released her first single “1,2,3,4” on Oct. 28 and became an instant sensation. The track reigned at the top of t

Star of ‘After Earth’ talks about co-starring with his son, Jaden

Hollywood actor Will Smith made a surprise visit to South Korean agency YG Entertainment on Monday with his son Jaden Smith.YG Entertainment posted photos on its official blog, YG LIFE, showing Will, Jaden Smith and its Korean singers and producers getting together at its recording studio.In the unofficial visit, the two Smiths and YG members shared their musical interest while the emerging hip-hop artist Jaden played his music. They ate Korean traditional dishes like bibimbap and bulgogi togeth