The Korea Herald

Top entertainers honored

Nov 21, 2011

Six leading entertainers including music producer Lee Soo-man and veteran singer Ha Chun-hwa were awarded cultural medals by the Korean government on Monday in recognition of their contribution to Korean pop culture. Twenty-seven others received commendations by President Lee Myung-bak, the prime minister and culture minister during the award ceremony held at the Korean Pop Concert Hall at Seoul Olympic Park.The Culture Ministry and the state-run Korea Creative Content Agency declared the fourth
S.M. to hold global talent audition

Nov 18, 2011

Korea’s top entertainment agency SM Entertainment said it would hold overseas auditions for future K-pop stars starting January. Starting Jan. 7 in Daegu, Korea, the auditions will go to 15 cities in five countries including the U.S., China, Canada and Japan, S.M. said. The talent agency has produced many famous musicians and pop groups including Girls’ Generation, Super Junior and f(X), becoming Korea’s largest entertainment firm in the past decade. The auditions are open to anyone and everyone
Less than stellar year for charity bazaar

Nov 17, 2011

Less than stellar year for charity bazaarBy Yoav CerralboThis year’s SIWA and Diplomatic Community Bazaar received mixed reactions from participants.For some embassies, it was a good year selling most or all of their products with the profits going to charities in Korea.For others, it was a year that did not bear much fruit despite the amount of labor they put into making it a success.Dressed in traditional dress, the women of the Nordic Club sold out of all their homemade bread, chocolates, Chr
Benetton yanks pope-imam kiss ad after protest

Nov 17, 2011

VATICAN CITY (AP) _ The Benetton clothing company quickly withdrew an ad featuring a fake photo of Pope Benedict XVI kissing a top Egyptian imam on the lips after the Vatican denounced it as an unacceptable provocation. (Yonhap News) Benetton had said its ``Unhate'' campaign launched Wednesday
Political campaigns a gold mine for late-night comedians

Nov 16, 2011

LOS ANGELES ― Earlier this political season, many comedians lamented the absence of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in the 2012 presidential race, fearing they would never be able to tap an equally rich source of humor in the stable of button-down Republican candidates. Oh, ye of little faith.Perhaps, after Rick Perry’s already infamous debate gaffe of absent-mindedness, “The Daily Show’s” Jon Stewart put it best this week: “Many Republican faithful thought Perry would be the answer to their pray
K-pop wields influence in local stock market

Nov 16, 2011

YG, third entertainment agency to be listed on KOSDAQ,attracts 3.6 trillion won in IPOThe recent success of YG Entertainment and other listed Korean entertainment agencies in the stock market is an indicator of the growing influence of Korean pop music at home and abroad, analysts said Wednesday. YG Entertainment drew more than 3 trillion won in its initial public offering this week, receiving bids for 561 times the number of shares allocated to individual investors.The company, which produced p
Court upholds suspended prison term for celebrity over enlistment delay

Nov 16, 2011

SEOUL, Nov. 16 (Yonhap) -- A Seoul court on Wednesday rejected a TV celebrity's appeal of his conviction for a deliberate enlistment delay and upheld a suspended jail term handed down earlier this year.Reading a summary of its decision, the appellate division of the Seoul Central District Court said
Jang to direct ‘Saturday Night Live Korea’

Nov 10, 2011

Movie director and screenwriter Jang Jin will direct and write scripts for a Korean version of comedy show “Saturday Night Live” on entertainment channel tvN. The operator of the cable channel CJ E&M said “Saturday Night Live Korea” would air for eight weeks starting Dec. 3 at 11 p.m.The American late-night TV show, which started in 1975 on NBC, has been on the air for 37 years every Saturday, inviting top celebrities to perform sketches on politics and culture. Celebrities such as Madonna, Lady
Woody Allen is the (reluctant) subject of two-part U.S. TV documentary

Nov 9, 2011

BEVERLY HILLS ― Writer-filmmaker Woody Allen may be a private kind of a guy, but when it comes to deconstructing Woody, everybody’s eager to lend a hand.Documentary filmmaker Robert Weide managed to charm his way into Allen’s good graces and the result is the two-parter on PBS’ “American Masters,” “Woody Allen: a Documentary,” airing Nov. 20 and 21.“I’ve known him a little bit for a number of years because years ago I headed development for Rollins and Joffe, who were his producers’ managers,” S
Sing the miracle!

Nov 8, 2011

Ulala Session, Busker Busker battle for ‘Superstar K3’ title on FridayLast Friday evening, a long line snaked up the steep hill leading to the Peace Hall of Kyunghee University as Korean youngsters waited to see which two of the top three contestants would reach the final round of Mnet’s reality talent show “Superstar K3.”As soon as the show started with the contestants appearing on stage at 11 p.m. sharp, the whole audience screamed in support of their teams.Busker Busker took to the stage firs
Miss Venezuela wins Miss World crown

Nov 7, 2011

Miss Venezuela Ivian Sarcos reacts as she is crowned winner at the Miss World competition held at Earls Court in London, Sunday, Nov. 6, 2011. (AP-Yonhap News)Miss Venezuela, Ivian Sarcos, was crowned the 2011 winner of the Miss World beauty pageant on Sunday at a glittering final ceremony in London
Court orders conservative media not to call TV celebrity 'leftist'

Nov 4, 2011

An Internet news outlet has been ordered to pay millions of won in compensation for calling a comedian-turned-TV hostess a "leftist" loyal to former President Roh Moo-hyun against her will, a Seoul court said Friday.In a compulsory arbitration decision on a libel suit filed by Kim Mi-hwa, the Seoul
Kim Kardashian: Intuition led to divorce decision

Nov 3, 2011

SYDNEY (AP) _ A grim-looking Kim Kardashian says ``intuition'' led her to pull the plug on her 72-day-old marriage.Kardashian told the hosts of Australia's ``Sunrise'' program on Thursday that she followed her heart and felt there was no right or wrong way to handle the demise of her brief marriage
Kardashian apologizes to fans for failed marriage

Nov 2, 2011

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kim Kardashian says she never meant to hurt anyone by ending her marriage after just 72 days.The 31-year-old reality star posted a message to her fans on her website Tuesday, one day after filing for divorce from Kris Humphries, whom she married in a lavish ceremony that air
MBC going private inevitable: former BBC chief

Nov 1, 2011

It maybe inevitable that public broadcaster MBC becomes a commercial channel due to stiff competition for advertising from new channels run by major newspapers which begin operation next month, former BBC chief Greg Dyke said Tuesday.Dyke, who was director-general of the BBC from 2000 to 2004, is most famous for standing up against Tony Blair’s Labor government after a 2003 BBC news report on how the government had “sexed up” the military capabilities of Iraq to justify going to war. The intelli