TOKYO (AFP) ― Japanese film director Kaneto Shindo, known for hard-hitting works dealing with human nature and the effects of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, has died at his home in Tokyo, his office said Wednesday.Shindo, who celebrated his 100th birthday last month, died early Tuesday, producer Tetsuo Satonaka said.Shindo directed nearly 50 films, with his final work, “A Postcard” winning the special jury prize at the Tokyo International Film Festival in 2011. Born in Hiroshima, he studied sc

U.S. star to kick off world tour in Korea’s Busan, Nami IslandU.S. singer-songwriter Jason Mraz has chosen Korea to kick off his world tour this year, joining a growing number of world stars including Lady Gaga, who launch their concert tours or world premieres here. Indeed, Korea has long been considered a test-bed for foreign artists and companies making inroads into Asia. Yet, Mraz says he’s coming to Korea first because he found something very special about the audience.“Every time I played

25-year-old pianist explores the life of Beethoven by recording his 30 sonatas in a debut albumThe country’s classical music scene was surprised at first when EMI Classics, a major record label, signed an exclusive recording contract with young pianist Lim Hyun-jeong, a first for a Korean artist since pianist Lim Dong-hyek did so 10 years ago.Lim, now backed by the full-fledged support from the international recording company, demonstrated her idiosyncratic interpretation of classical music in S

For those who reminisce on the good old ’70s and ’80s, a festival sure to conjure up old memories and exhibit the culture of the time is to be held next month. The music festival “Arirang Fest,” themed around the music of the ’70s and ’80s and makgeolli, one of Korea’s favorite alcoholic beverages, will be held for the first time from June 8-10 at Kintex in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province.  Well-known singers and bands from the era, including rock singer Kim Jong-seo, band Love and Peace and six other

In her recent works, actress Ko Hyun-jung has been nothing but a powerful, ruling woman.She starred as Korea’s first female president in the 2010 SBS drama “Daemul,” and the ambitious, manipulative royal concubine Lady Mishil in MBC’s 2009 hit biopic drama “Queen Seondeok.” Even in her 2007 police procedural TV series “H.I.T.,” Ko played a fierce detective who would not take no for an answer.In her upcoming movie “Miss GO,” however, Ko returns to the screen as a timid, dowdy woman. In the highly

Dancers from Royal Swedish, Tulsa, ABT to perform in Korea in June and JulyKorean dancers currently with acclaimed dance groups around the world are coming home over the summer to show off what they have learned from the international dance scene. A number of Korean dancers active on U.S. and European stages will come together to perform not only classics, but their latest creations at the Korea World Dance Stars Festival 2012. The four-day festival kicks off at Theater Yong of the National Muse

CANNES, France (AP) ― Actress Audrey Tautou, known for her sweet and light roles in such films as “Amelie,’’ praised the late director Claude Miller as a “bright and passionate’’ filmmaker who helped her turn in a darker direction in his final film.The French star plays a husband-poisoner in Miller’s “Therese Desqueyroux,’’ which closed the Cannes Film Festival on Sunday at a special screening celebrating the lauded New Wave filmmaker, who died last month of cancer at age 70.The contemporary of

Gong returns to television after five-year breakFive years have passed since actor Gong Yoo last starred in a television drama, leaving fans hankering for his long-awaited return to the small screen. It looks like his television comeback will not disappoint. Gong has decided to return with a puff pink, star-studded, star-scripted rom-com. Given that, it would be hard to say Gong is taking a gamble with KBS’ new series “Big.” He has seen great success with the rom-com genre in the past, not to me

Justin Bieber carries Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s title belts into the ring, May 5, 2012, in Las Vegas. (AP)Pop singer Justin Bieber is being investigated for battery after allegedly hitting a paparazzo who tried to take pictures of him, California authorities said.The incident happened Sunday afternoon outside the Calabasas mall The Commons, TMZ.com reported.Police said Bieber and his girlfriend Selen

HAVANA (AP) ― Ruben Alpizar never met the American collector who fell in love with his painting of a plummeting Icarus against a starry background, hanging on the wall of a Spanish colonial-era fortress across the bay from Havana. Nor did he get a name or a hometown, or even learn whether the buyer was a man or a woman.It all happened quickly, starting with a phone call from a broker. “How much for the painting? Look, I think somebody wants it. I’ll call you right back.’’ Soon after, the phone r

Exhibition, symposium and performances to commemorate the artist’s life and worksAs this year marks the late pioneering video artist Paik Nam June’s 80th birthday, a series of events are planned to shed new light on the artist’s life and work.Starting on his birthday, July 20, the Nam June Paik Art Center in Gyeonggi Province plans to hold a special exhibition featuring a rare collection of his major works, followed by a symposium and musical performances attended by his wife Shigeko Kubota, his