• 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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  • Culture

    Muslims In Panama City Celebrate Last Day Of Ramadan

    Muslim children participate in a prayer during the celebration of the last day of the fasting month of Ramadan, in Panama City, capital of Panama, on Aug. 19, 2012. <Xinhua=Mauricio Valenzuela> news@theasian.asia

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  • Culture

    Oh Ji-ho: shrewd actor hidden behind dimples

    Ask any Korean entertainment fan about heartthrob actor Oh Ji-ho and you would most likely receive an answer related to his signature smile. The singular focus on his facial expression — as well as his even more famous dimple — has been a mixed blessing. His good-guy image led him…

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