South Korean rapper PSY's ``Gangnam Style'' video has more than 200 million YouTube views and counting, and it's easy to see why. No Korean language skills are needed to enjoy the chubby, massively entertaining performer's crazy horse-riding dance, the song's addictive chorus and the video's exquisitely odd series of misadventures. Beneath the antic, funny surface of his world-conquering song, how

SCARBOROUGH, Maine (AP) ― The studio where painter Winslow Homer derived inspiration on Maine’s craggy coast and produced some of his most notable seascapes isn’t heated by wood or illuminated by oil lamps the way it was in Homer’s day.But in most other ways, the studio has now been restored to what it was like when Homer lived there, from 1883 until his death in 1910, following a multiyear, $2.8-million restoration by the Portland Museum of Art.With the renovation complete, the museum will begi

Deoksugung Project breathes new life into desolate royal bedchamber, garden and buildingsThe turbulent royal history of late Joseon period seemed to have faded in memories of visitors to Deoksugung. But this fall, the royal history is revived by Korean contemporary artists, who shed light on both happy and unfortunate days of the palace. Through the Deoksugung Project, organized by the National Museum of Modern Art, Korea and Deoksugung Office of the Cultural Heritage Administration, 12 artists

Arirang TV’s viewership has expanded to 103 million households from 188 countries, it reported last week. The government’s aim of promoting Korea through an international broadcaster proved successful with Arirang TV’s total number of viewers up to 330 million. Arirang TV reaches 37 million households in Europe, 32 million households in the Americas, and 19 million households in Asia. Arirang TV is accessible to 14 million households in the Middle East and Africa, according to the company.Countr

For Keane, an English alternative rock band, the explosive energy from the Korean audience was something that forced them to come back. “The audience was amazing! I don’t know how they survived the heat, but they were singing along and giving us lots of energy, so I hope it will be the same,” said Richard Hughes, drummer of Keane, in an email interview with The Korea Herald. The four-member band holds its first solo concert on Sept. 24 at Handball Stadium at Olympic Park in Seoul.  The band visi

With a tuft of bushy blond bangs, his slight frame and beaming smile held up designer jeans and a trendy school bag. But Nash Ang’s boyishness belied a cinematic penchant for revealing the grueling poverty in the Philippines.In his hour-long documentary, “Live To Dive” (Lusong), Ang explores how Totoy, 11, and Pirot, 10, eke out a living for their families by diving for scraps of garbage like discarded plastic bottles and bits of metal in the severely polluted waters beside the ramshackle area o

NEW YORK (AP) ― Keira Knightley seems to be in a good place personally and professionally. She’s engaged to marry musician James Righton and stars in the film adaptation of “Anna Karenina’’ alongside Jude Law.The 27-year-old tells Vogue magazine’s October issue, there was a time when she wasn’t in such a good place.She recalls a time when the fame from such roles as “Bend it like Beckham’’ and the “Pirates of the Caribbean’’ franchise was too intense. She says she “literally had no life outside

Irish actor says he likes ‘Oldboy’ and ‘The Chaser’ during his visit to KoreaActor Liam Neeson, famous for his role as the vengeful father in Luc Besson’s 2008 high-grossing film “Taken,” said the thriller has made him an “action figure” in Hollywood, during his first visit to Seoul on Monday. The Irish actor arrived in Korea on Saturday to promote the 2008 movie’s sequel, “Taken 2.”“I seem to be have been re-envisioned as an action figure ever since the first ‘Taken’ came out,” the actor told r

Artist Koo Dong-hee has been chosen the winner of the 13th Hermes Foundation Art Award. The art award, launched in 2000 in Korea, aims to contribute to the development of Korean art by supporting Korean artists. Koo was selected among three finalists including Jackson Hong and Lee Mi-kyung, whose works are also on exhibit at Hermes Atelier inside the Maison Hermes Dosan Park in Seoul. The Hermes Foundation presented Kim with an award of 20 million won ($18,000) and a plaque last Thursday. Koo wo