The Korea Herald

KARA launches first celebrity fragrance in Asia

Apr 3, 2012

An ad image of KARA and their new fragrance (3CY)Popular girl group KARA announced on Tuesday they will launch their first signature fragrance, becoming the first Asian celebrity to introduce a cosmetic product named after them and created with their input.“We have been working for a long time on developing K5J and are so excited that our signature fragrance is now a reality,” said KARA members i
S.M. Entertainment singers to hit L.A.

Apr 3, 2012

Broadcaster MBC and S.M. Entertainment Agency are to co-host a K-pop concert, “MBC Korean Music Wave in Los Angeles,” in May. K-pop groups from S.M. including Girls’ Generation, TVXQ, SHINee, f(x) and Super Junior will showcase at Anaheim Honda Center on May 20, MBC announced on Tuesday. The organizers said that the concert will be a large-scale project different from previous hallyu, or Korean Wave, concerts. “We will offer a show of higher quality with better stage settings, repertoires and ne
Titanic centenary grips global TV market

TelevisionApr 3, 2012

CANNES, France (AFP) ― From documentaries to high-end costume dramas, the centenary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic has sparked a tidal wave of TV shows, up for grabs at this week’s MIPTV international trade show.Episode one of the mini-series “Titanic,” penned by Oscar and Emmy-winning scriptwriter Julian Fellowes and distributed by Britain’s ITV Studios, was given a gala screening at the fair opening night Sunday, in presence of cast and crew.ITV’s take on the tragedy, which claimed some 1,5
Trailer from Houston‘s new film makes its debut

FilmApr 3, 2012

Viewers got a first glimpse of Whitney Houston’s upcoming film Monday when NBC‘s ``Today’‘ show premiered a trailer for the much-awaited release, and a fuller clip debuted on Yahoo! Movies.A remake of the 1976 original, ``Sparkle’‘ stars Houston as the mother of three girls who form a singing group and struggle with fame and drug addiction. The trailer showed the daughters, including ``American Idol’‘ winner Jordin Sparks, performing. Houston is prominent throughout, at one point singing the cla
Kutcher to play Steve Jobs in biopic

FilmApr 3, 2012

He's already a titan of social media, so it only makes sense that Ashton Kutcher would play the late Apple founder Steve Jobs in an upcoming biography.Kutcher's publicist confirmed Tuesday that the independent film ``Jobs'' will begin production in May while he's on hiatus from the CBS sitcom ``Two and a Half Men.'' Variety first reported the casting news.The 34-year-old actor, who has over 10 mil
Stones and nails bring artist close to nature

TheaterApr 2, 2012

Artist Lee Jae-hyo showcases sculptures close to nature at Sungkok Art MuseumWhat could have ended up in the trash or at a hardware store at best turns into art ― extremely delicate, even, ― when touched by Lee Jae-hyo’s finger tips. The South Korean artist slices nails and hammers them until they are shiny and smooth, and creates symmetrical sculptures by putting thousands of them together. Some of his other materials of choice are wood and stones, which he works in similar ways. Seeing his wo
Sarah Palin set to co-host NBC’s ‘Today’

MusicApr 2, 2012

NEW YORK (AP) ― NBC’s “Today” show is bringing Sarah Palin on board as a co-host ― for one morning, this Tuesday.The announcement was posted Sunday on NBC’s website. It says the former Alaska governor and GOP vice presidential candidate will “reveal a different side” than viewers have seen before.The booking is clearly an attempt to blunt the impact of “Today” alumna Katie Couric’s weeklong return to morning TV as a guest host on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” Couric joined ABC last year and was
Korean to head IATC for third time

TheaterApr 2, 2012

Kim Yun-cheol, head of Korea National University of Arts’ School of Drama, has been reelected as the president of the International Association of Theatre Critics for the third time. The decision was made Friday at the IATC regular general meeting in Warszawa, Poland. Kim was the first Asian ever to be elected to head IATC in 2008. Each term lasts two years.Kim studied English education at Seoul National University and obtained an M.A. degree in Theater and Cinematic Arts at Choong Ang Universit
Busan to become multimedia content center in May

TelevisionApr 2, 2012

Busan will become a marketplace for multimedia content including TV dramas and smartphone apps from around the world in May.From May 10-12, the city hosts Busan Contents Market at BEXCO, a convention center in Haeundae, with more than 600 media companies and buyers from 47 countries participating, the organizing committee said. The committee expects to have companies signing deals worth $54 million this year, up from $48 million last year.In its sixth year, the committee plans to open the market
Filming in Chernobyl, the ‘Land of Oblivion’

FilmApr 2, 2012

PARIS (AFP) ― The film had to be shot in Chernobyl. That was the sizeable challenge Michale Boganim set herself for her first feature film, the story of a young bride robbed of a husband by the 1986 nuclear disaster.Five years in the making, the French-Israeli director’s “Land of Oblivion,” just released in France, was shot entirely in the so-called exclusion zone, reaching 30 kilometers around the defunct Ukrainian nuclear power plant.Starring “Bond girl” Olga Kurylenko in the lead role, the fi
Feist wins Juno for Artist of the Year

MusicApr 2, 2012

TORONTO (AP) ― Indie-rock songstress Leslie Feist took home a Juno for Artist of the Year on Sunday night, her third win at the 41st annual Canadian music awards ceremony.Feist, best known for her whimsical 2007 song “1234,’’ which became an international hit after it was featured in an iPod nano commercial, might have surprised some with Sunday night’s win since her contemplative fourth disc, “Metals,’’ wasn’t nominated for Album of the Year.Another of the night’s early winners was no surprise:
Korean-American playwright brings unusual portrait of immigrant family

MusicApr 2, 2012

Lloyd Suh’s drama ‘American Hwangap’ gets its first Seoul runThe concept of home and belonging has been repeatedly discussed in migration studies and art, yet many local viewers may find Korean-American playwright Lloyd Suh’s play quite equivocal and even unusual.As its title, “American Hwangap” suggests, the play deals with the clash between two different worlds: Korea and America, parents and children, and the past and the future. It deals with an uneasy reunion of an immigrant family, as well
Sandler big loser at Razzie Awards

FilmApr 2, 2012

"Jack and Jill," a big-screen comedy starring Adam Sandler as the titular twin siblings, "won" 10 Razzie Awards at a Santa Monica ceremony Sunday night.The movie is the first to sweep all categories in the Razzies' 32-year history.It was named Worst Picture of 2011, while Sandler was declared Worst Actor and Worst Actress, and the cast was dubbed Worst Ensemble.Sandler's Oscar-winning co-star Al P
Korean art explained for English-language readers

TheaterApr 1, 2012

Prestigious U.K. publishers and Korea’s Culture Ministry publish English-language books on Korean artEnglish-language books shedding new light on South Korean art and artists are pouring out from in and outside of the country, to the delight of non-Korean speaking art aficionados. U.K. publishing company Prestel released the 192-page hardcover book “Korean Contemporary Art” on March 19. The book, written by Miki Wick Kim, an expert on Korean contemporary art and director of Mick Wick Kim Contemp
‘The Voice’ adds Facebook app for voting

TelevisionApr 1, 2012

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― NBC’s talent show “The Voice” is jumping on Facebook’s “timeline” app bandwagon to give fans another way to vote for their favorite contestantsThe new application allows viewers to cast votes for “Voice” singers and connect with friends and others watching the show, NBC and Facebook said Friday. Voting on live performances begins Monday. The Facebook app for “The Voice” is intended to create “a fully social online voting experience,” said Vivi Zigler, president of NBC Universa