The Korea Herald

‘Unbalanced’ woman vandalizes famed Delacroix painting

TheaterFeb 11, 2013

LENS, France (AFP) ― French police were holding a mentally “unbalanced” woman after an attack on one of France’s most iconic paintings, Delacroix’s “Liberty Leading the People.”The incident happened at the recently opened northern satellite of the Louvre museum, in Lens, northern France, when a visitor scrawled on the painting with a black marker. It was not believed to have caused any permanent damage.Prosecutors in the town said that after having received a psychiatric report on the 28-year-ol
Toys as art: Michael Lau’s art toy collections on view in Seoul

TheaterFeb 11, 2013

Toys as playthings has long been a bygone perception. They have become objects to admire for adults who treat them as valuable collectibles on the same level as artwork, including more than 100,000 fans of Michael Lau’s art toy collections worldwide. The Hong Kong-based artist’s famous toy collections have arrived in Seoul for the first time amid much anticipation from local fans. Making vinyl figures into the most sought-after toy collection in the world, Lau is considered a pioneer in the fiel
‘Romeo and Juliet’ opens season for KNB

TheaterFeb 11, 2013

French choreographer’s modern ballet gets its fourth run
Grammys shared among many on music’s big night

MusicFeb 11, 2013

LOS ANGELES (AFP) ― Indie pop band fun. won two big prizes at the Grammys as the music industry’s top honors were shared out Sunday, on a night which united veteran artists with the latest generation of hitmakers.The New York group won Song of the Year for “We Are Young” as well as best new artist at the 55th Grammy Awards held at the Staples Center amid tight security as Los Angeles police hunt a former cop wanted for multiple murders.British rockers Mumford & Sons took Album of the Year with “
‘New World’ a well-made noir with superb acting

FilmFeb 11, 2013

Noted screenwriter Park Hoon-jung’s second feature film was finally unveiled to the press last week, featuring three heavyweight actors ― Choi Min-sik, Hwang Jeong-min and Lee Jung-jae ― in the lead.What the film deals with is nothing new, at least in Korean cinema: a criminal organization, its gangsters and the cops who try to chase them down. However, Park, who is best known for his screenplays for Kim Ji-woon’s “I Saw the Devil” and Ryu Seung-wan’s “The Unjust,” managed to create a heartless
Psy first Asian to top 1m sales in U.K.

MusicFeb 11, 2013

Psy’s “Gangnam Style” has topped more than 1 million sales in the United Kingdom.In an announcement made by the Official Charts Company on Feb. 8, “Gangnam Style” became the 129th track to sell 1 million copies in U.K. history, and the first by an Asian artist to reach the milestone.“This is an amazing achievement by Psy,” commented Martin Talbot, managing director of the Official Charts Company. “It is further confirmation of ‘Gangnam Style’ as a true phenomenon ― it is the first U.K. million-s
Grammy red carpet still features plenty of skin

MusicFeb 11, 2013

A warning not to show too much skin didn‘t seem to deter the stars out Sunday for the Grammy Awards.Jennifer Lopez was among those showing off thigh-high _ or higher _ openings in their dresses, and she joked about it as she took the stage to present an award. Katy Perry showed down-to-there cleavage in a seafoam gown.CBS put out a memo earlier in the week asking that ``buttocks and female breasts are adequately covered’‘ for the televised award show. The memo sent out Wednesday also warned agai
Man left estate to two actors he never met

TelevisionFeb 11, 2013

A man who lived in a humble farmhouse in Illinois left his estate to two strangers, actors Kevin Brophy and Peter Barton, the executor of the estate said. Ray Fulk, 71, drove a car from the 1960s, had no water running in his farmhouse near Broadwell, and he bathed in a nearby creek, the State Journal (Springfield) Register said. But his estate will amount to high six figures, and possibly $1 million, after Fulk‘s 160 acres are sold, the State Journal Register said. Attorney Donald Behle, the exe
Psy performs 'Gangnam Style' at Rio Carnival

MusicFeb 10, 2013

Under a shower of confetti and with pulsating samba music, portly King Momo on Friday officially kicked off Rio's famed Carnival, a five-day fest that will climax in spectacular weekend parades of top samba schools.Milton Rodrigues da Silva, the event's symbol of overweight excess, symbolically received a giant key to the city from Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes."The time has come to hand over my duties to magnificent King Momo so that the city may have fun under his rule," said Paes, wearing a white pa
Eyelike:

MusicFeb 7, 2013

McGraw broadens sound on new albumTim McGraw"Two Lanes Of Freedom"(Big Machine)Veteran country star Tim McGraw resolutely refers to independence and the highway in the title of his new album, "Two Lanes Of Freedom," his first since leaving Curb Records, his label for two decades. The title cut flaunts that freedom by employing world-music instruments, harmonies and rhythms to communicate just how creatively liberated he feels.But McGraw‘s always pushed at the boundaries of country music. Here he
Box Office

FilmFeb 7, 2013

Silver Lining PlaybookTo open Feb. 14Comedy. Romance. Directed by David O. Russel. Life is not rosy for Pat Solitano, Jr. (Bradley Cooper). He has lost his house, job and his wife. Now he is living with his mother (Jacki Weaver) and father (Robert DeNiro) after spending eight months in a mental health facility for bipolar disorder. Pat is determined to get his life back, to become positive and reconcile with his wife Nikki (Brea Bee). When Nikki sees how much he has changed, Pat meets Tiffany Ma
Soderbergh keeps us guessing about a drug’s ‘Side Effects’

FilmFeb 7, 2013

Steven Soderbergh, rightly considered one of Hollywood’s smartest movie makers, is at his cleverest in “Side Effects,” a canny, cunning big-idea thriller in a minor key, an engrossing zeitgeist whodunit about Wall Street, Big Pharma, prescription drugs and the power we give psychiatry and psychologists.Put simply, it’s about a death, perhaps caused by an under-tested depression drug.Channing Tatum plays a Wall Street type just getting out of prison for securities fraud. Rooney Mara (of the Holly
A fresh look at Chinese contemporary art

TheaterFeb 7, 2013

Exhibition marking 20 years of diplomatic ties between South Korea and China sheds light on rapidly changing Chinese society
‘IRIS II’ set to explode onto the small screen

TelevisionFeb 7, 2013

Sequel to popular TV drama promises to be a gripping action bonanza
Korea’s first Buddhist rock band hits stage

MusicFeb 7, 2013

“Udumbara Band” surprises many with its unique title as the first Korean Buddhist music band. Seven monks with musical talent passed an audition held last July and became members of Udumbara Band. They have been practicing for their debut since August 2012. Udumbara is a plant that flowers, according to Buddhist legend, once every 3,000 years. The band was named after this plant to celebrate the first Buddhist music band to be formed in Korean Buddhism’s long history.　The band is made up of qual