K-pop icon BoA will be performing a solo concert in Taiwan on May 18, S.M. Entertainment announced on Thursday. This performance will be her first solo concert in the country since she debuted in 2000.  The K-pop veteran will perform fan favorites from all seven of her albums, including songs from the seventh and latest album release, “Only One.” The concert, titled “BoA Special Live 2013 ― Here I Am,” will also feature a live band.In addition to her performance in Taiwan, BoA will also be hosti

Zo In-sung’s tear-jerking scene on SBS TV drama “That Winter, the Wind Blows” grabbed many viewers’ hearts. The series recently wrapped up after maintaining the top spot in the Wednesday-Thursday TV drama time slot, and Zo played a big part in the runaway success. The 32-year-old heartthrob showcased his acting skills for the drama series after a five-year hiatus from TV, mostly due to mandatory military service. Notably, Zo pulled off onscreen chemistry with his counterpart, Song Hye-kyo, one o

One of the common notions among the public, including classical music lovers, is that contemporary classical music is inaccessible. Every year hundreds of composers release new pieces but hardly a dozen get a chance to be performed on stage. Chin Un-suk, composer-in-residence of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, said this was because universities and institutions had been “rolling out” composers while the public was yet to even understand the concept of contemporary classical music. “Only a smal

Celebrated American choreographer makes Korean stage debut with ‘Heterotopia’

PARIS (AFP) ― French actress Audrey Tautou, best known for the 2001 film “Amelie,” will host the opening and closing ceremonies of the Cannes Film Festival next month, one of the organizers said on Tuesday.The opening ceremony of the 66th Cannes Film Festival will take place on May 15 with the closing ceremony on May 26, pay-TV operator Canal+ said.Director Steven Spielberg has already been announced as the head of the festival jury.“Amelie,” set in Montmartre, was a critical and box office succ

Although Psy’s local agency YG Entertainment had previously announced that the rapper’s upcoming single would be released exclusively in Korea on April 12 ― a day before it was to be unveiled globally during a concert ― it has now been confirmed that “Gentleman” will be available worldwide on Friday. The “Gangnam Style” follow-up single will be released at midnight in 119 countries via local Korean music sites as well as iTunes. The global star completed the music video shoot for “Gentleman” on

21 acts to take to the stage for biggest K-pop festival

BRUSSELS (AP) ― The Antwerp Royal Museum of Fine Arts has put those big, bold Baroque works of its famous son Peter Paul Rubens into hiding ― if only for a renovation.Just as the famous Amsterdam Rijksmuseum in neighboring Netherlands has returned “The Night Watch’’ of its most famous painter, Rembrandt van Rijn, back in the main building after a ten-year renovation, Antwerp is hiding five oversized Rubens paintings in a special depot to protect them against the rough and tumble of four more yea

Singer, fashion icon and animal rights activist Lee Hyori will be releasing her fifth studio album after a three-year hiatus from the music scene. The yet-to-be-titled album is scheduled to be unveiled sometime in mid-May and the lead track of the upcoming release has been reported to be a dance track. Lee’s fifth album will be her first since “H-Logic,” which was riddled with controversy due to plagiarism accusations that prevented her from fully promoting the release. The album was released in

Ga-in, a member of K-pop girl group Brown Eyed Girls, and Jo Hyung-woo, who made his name through MBC’s “Birth of a Star,” have released a collaboration album titled “Spring Romantic” on Monday.In the mini album, they offer four songs set in the atmosphere of spring, featuring their perfectly matched voices.The mini album marks a new beginning for Jo, who gained the media spotlight when he competed in popular audition program “Birth of a Star 1” two years ago. The singers, both aged 27, played

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia (AP) ― A federal judge will seek to unravel an art mystery and determine the rightful owner of a napkin-sized painting by French impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir that a Virginia woman says she bought at a flea market for $7.The ownership is in dispute after documents were uncovered showing a Baltimore museum reported the painting stolen more than 60 years ago.The painting has been seized by the FBI, and the federal government filed an action last month in U.S. District Co