CANNES, France (AFP) ― Asian stars flew into the French Riviera resort of Cannes at the weekend for the global music industry’s annual MIDEM pow-wow, in a state-backed bid to woo Western markets.Chinese authorities have sent one of the country’s biggest rising stars, Ruhan, to MIDEM to promote her debut album, “Time to Grow”, which features tracks sung in both Chinese and English.It is the first time that Beijing has brought an artist to the MIDEM fair.Taiwan also came to town with one of Asia’s

This month’s AXIS live story-telling event will take place on Feb. 19 in Itaewon. At the event participants get on stage and tell stories from their lives, without notes. To participate, send in a shortened (200 word) version of your story to axisstories@gmail.com. Once onstage, story-tellers get about 10 minutes to tell their tales.Organizers say the stories can be hilarious, moving, shocking, heartbreaking or just inappropriate, but that they have to be true, and have happened to you. The them

Seorae Global Village Center is offering a special class in English on Korean modern literature on Feb. 3.The class will give expats the chance to learn about 20th century Korean literature and better understand the Korean psyche and the country’s culture. Writer Shim Ah-jin will explain three short novels that have been translated into English and French. The three novels are “Spring Spring” by Kim Yu-jeong, “The Rainy Spell” by Yun Heung-gil and “Sword” by Lee Seung-woo.“We have offered other

Applications for the Test of Proficiency in Korean begin today.The TOPIK will take place on April 15 in Korea and April 14 overseas. The last TOPIK exam took place Sunday. In the past, applications have opened after the results of the previous exam, but results for Sunday’s test come out on Feb. 10. Applications for the April 15 test close on Feb. 14.The test is available in three grades. Beginner (levels 1 and 2) and advanced (levels 5 and 6) exams take place at 9 a.m. The intermediate exam for

The Korea Foundation will offer a lecture on Nobel Laureate Rabindrananth Tagore on Feb. 4.The lecture will explore Tagore’s internationalism and his lecture tours in East Asia in the early 20th century. It will take place at Korea Foundation Cultural Center Gallery in Jung-gu, Seoul from 2 p.m. The lecture is timed to coincide with the photographic exhibition “Pilgrimages to the East,” which is currently being held until Feb. 4.The speaker is Pankaj Mohan, a professor with the Academy of Korean

The Royal Asiatic Society’s Korea Branch is holding a lecture on the HMS House on Feb. 28.“The HMS House” is a Hanok restoration and conservation project. A traditional Korean house, which was the home of novelist Hahn Moo-souk in Myeongnyun-dong, Seoul, was restored by this project. The house is now a part of the HMS Memorial Museum of Literature designed to commemorate her.Cho In-souk of DaaRee Architect & Associates will display the procedure and the main points of the restoration.The lecture

PITTSBURGH (AP) ― The Pittsburgh Penguins milled quietly about their dressing room deep inside Consol Energy Center on Monday, slowly getting back to work following a welcomed few days off for the All-Star break.As the players chatted about their current seven-game winning streak, the spectacular play of center Evgeni Malkin and the prospects of catching the New York Rangers for the Eastern Conference lead, a familiar image flickered on a nearby TV. More than one player stopped to watch.There wa

WASHINGTON (AP) ― Derrick Rose scored a season-high 35 points, Carlos Boozer had 18 and Kyle Korver added 17 to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 98-88 win over the Washington Wizards on Monday night.One day after a four-point loss in Miami, the Bulls rebounded to improve their Eastern Conference-leading record to 18-5. They had lost two of their last three.Meanwhile, the Wizards have lost 16 of 20. Washington won two of its previous three games ― both against the woeful Charlotte Bobcats, who have th

BATA, Equatorial Guinea (AP) ― Sudan reached the quarterfinals of the African Cup of Nations for the first time in 42 years on Monday, beating Burkina Faso 2-1 to end an 11-game winless streak at the tournament and edge out Angola on goal difference.Mudather Tayeb scored both of Sudan’s goals at Estadio de Bata to deliver the nation’s biggest football moment since it won the African Cup on home soil in 1970. It was Sudan’s first victory in the four tournaments it’s played at since that triumph.M

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) ― Colts owner Jim Irsay says it’s time to focus on the Super Bowl ― not Peyton Manning’s future plans.Irsay told reporters Monday that he wouldn’t discuss the public spat that erupted last week and threatened to overshadow Indianapolis’ first Super Bowl, and he wouldn’t discuss a deadline to determine whether the Colts will pay Manning a $28 million bonus due in March.It’s a stark contrast from the public feud that broke out last week when the four-time league MVP complained ab