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Culture
Super Junior reigns supreme
Young K-pop fans may have killed for the chance that we’ve had: to walk backstage on M Countdown, a popular cable television music program. Stepping inside Thursday, we saw immaculately-styled Sung Min, a member of Super Junior, whiz by us. Then up ahead, in the room with a paper sign…
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Society
Psy most viewed Korean artist on YouTube
Singer of the moment Psy had no idea his music video “Gangnam Style” would go viral around the globe within a couple of months of its release. The 34-year-old rapper’s video has over 100 million views on YouTube as of Tuesday to be crowned the highest viewed Korean artist on…
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Culture
G-Dragon to release 2nd album
G-Dragon, a member of Korean boy band Big Bang, will release his second solo album 3 years after his first. According to YG Entertainment Monday, the 24-year-old rapper, whose real name is Kwon Ji-yong, “One of A Kind” will be available from various online music sites on Sept. 15. It…
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Culture
Ghost Month Festival Celebrated In Keelung, Taiwan
Celebrating the mid-summer Chinese Ghost Month Festival, paper houses burn at sea for offerings for the departed’s return home off Keelung, northern Taiwan, late Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012. Fourteen days into the seventh month of the lunar calendar, starting on Aug. 31 in 2012, marks the traditional Chinese Ghost Month…
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Society
Gangnam to make Psy honorary ambassador
Gangnam-gu, the southern district in Seoul featured in singer Psy’s hit song “Gangnam Style,” plans to invite the star to become an honorary ambassador, the district said Thursday. In gratitude for raising awareness of Gangnam, the district will award Psy with an appreciation plaque. The region became famous worldwide as…
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Society
Kim Ki-duk’s ‘Pieta’ in competition at Venice
It’s the time of the year again when the world’s finest film directors and stars flock to an island in north eastern Italy. The Venice Film Festival, the oldest event of its kind in the world, opened Wednesday on the island of Lido, and veteran director Kim Ki-duk will represent…
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Culture
How a chubby Korean man got the world to dance
If you thought the Oscars were too boring, try watching the Korean award ceremonies at the end of the year. Tied down by decorum, everybody forces themselves to stay serious and modest; actresses with plunging necklines remain buttoned up in demeanor. The same could be said about K-pop. The industry…
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Culture
Russia Joins WTO
A vendor waits for customers at a Moscow market, Russia, Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2012. On Wednesday Russia joins the World Trade Organization, 19 years after it first began negotiating entry into the group, which restricts import duties and subsidies in an attempt to create a truly level playing field for…
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Culture
K-drama leads ‘hallyu’
A variety of soap operas, from trendy shows to epic series, grace the small screen from morning till night. The popularity of Korean TV dramas has spilled over the nation’s borders since the late 1990s, igniting “hallyu,” or the Korean wave. The biggest hit of the first half of this…
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Culture
Muslims In Moscow Observe End Of Ramadan
Muslim men, bowing toward Mecca, perform Eid al-Fitr prayers that marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, Aug. 19, 2012. More than two hundred thousand Muslims gathered at Moscow’s mosques to celebrate the Eid al-Fitr. <AP/NEWSis> news@theasian.asia
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