• East Asia

    Girls’ Generation in crisis

    Scandals reveal management loophole, cracks in unity Is Girls’ Generation in crisis? Will it disband in the near future? Eight years have passed since the nine-member K-pop girl group burst onto the domestic music scene. During that time, it has grown up as undisputed K-pop kingpin adored by scores of…

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  • Guidebook gives tips for going abroad

    ‘Students, parents should be careful not to make mistake’ More than 200,000 students who left Korea to study abroad at a young age have come back, but many have had difficulties, especially due to a lack of preparation. Jeon Yong-hoon, 31, a professional counselor working at a counseling center in…

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  • Boys to take charge of K-pop in second quarter

    While the first few months of the year in K-pop may have been dominated by girl groups, the boys appear poised to capture the lion’s share of the headlines in the months ahead with new albums and singles scheduled for release. One of the most anticipated will come from EXO,…

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  • Designing hangeul

    Calligrapher promotes beauty of hangeul Few may readily identify Kang Byung-in, but his calligraphic writings have donned popular items such as soju labels and TV drama titles. Calligrapher Kang, 52, has written titles for popular dramas the “Woman Who Marries Thrice” (2014), “Faith” (2012) starring hallyu star Lee Min-ho, “The…

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  • Streak interrupted

    Hollywood blockbusters halt Korean films’ local dominance After dominating the local box office for most of 2012 and 2013, Korean films are off to a slower start this year with moviegoers showing more love for Hollywood films. According to the Korean Film Council, Korean movies combined for a 48 percent…

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  • Korean authors arrive for London Book Fair

    The “Korea Market Focus” of the London Book Fair, a major publishing trade event, opened Tuesday with the attendance of several major Korean literary figures. The Korea-centric event, which aims to highlight the Korean publishing industry, is being held under the theme, “Books opening the mind, doors opening the future.”…

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  • Amhaeng-eosa: secret royal inspector in Joseon Kingdom

    These days, news of a modern version of the “amhaeng-eosa” or secret royal inspector prevails throughout the country. There was a story about a military unit that introduced an undercover system to unearth internal problems in its barracks. Meanwhile, undercover election observers have reportedly worked against fraudulent and manipulated elections.…

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  • Eating vicariously?

    Food-centric TV shows becoming hot trend Yoon Hoo, the son of singer Yoon Min-soo, was catapulted to stardom by “eating voraciously” on MBC’s high-rating reality show “Where Are We Going, Dad?” Choo Sa-rang, the daughter of Korean-Japanese combat sports star Choo Sung-hoon, is winning the hearts of viewers mainly for…

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  • East Asia

    Dancing to the top

    Son enjoys breakthrough in Lisbon World Cup Rhythmic gymnast Son Yeon-jae, 19, wrapped up her most successful international competition on Sunday with four gold medals at the FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup in Lisbon. After winning Korea’s first title ever in the individual all-around with 71.2 points on Saturday, she…

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  • Throwing new light on old treasures

    National museum’s latest acquisitions highlight traditional Asian art The National Museum of Korea (NMK) has been ambitious in purchasing of Asian artworks since moving into its massive complex in Yongsan, downtown Seoul, in 2005. The museum’s new exhibition, “New Acquisitions of Asian Art,” provides the first glimpse into this expanding…

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