Billboard puts YG head on leaders' list By Chung Ah-youngYang Hyun-sukYang Hyun-suk, founder and CEO of YG Entertainment, has been selected as one of the International Power Players by Billboard Magazine. The U.S.-based magazine said in its upcoming issue that the list includes Yang together with European Live Nation President John Reid, Syco Entertainment co-representative Simon Cowell, Sony Music President Nick Gatfield, and Masato Matsuura, better known as Max Matsuura, a Japanese record producer and president of Avex Group. Live Nation collaborated with YG for Big Bang and 2NE1’s world tours.The first Billboard list of movers and shakers in the music industry, compiled in cooperation with Midem, the yearly international music exhibition, conference and festival, is aimed at shedding light on leaders in the business who have contributed to changes in the global scene.Billboard described Yang as the K-pop star who made his debut in the iconic group “Seo Taiji and Boys,” and then reinvented the modern K-pop genre in 1992, turning himself into a music producer generating K-pop singers.Yang’s stable Jan 19, 2014
Messenger of elegance Hanbok designer Koo Hye-ja who was designated the Important Intangible Cultural Property No. 89 in needlework by the Cultural Heritage Administration in 2007 / Courtesy of Koo Hye-jaNeedlework master Koo delivers traditional beauty of hanbokPresident Park Geun-hye wears a yellow “hanbok,” or a Korean traditional dress, made by Koo Hye-ja, a needlework master in this June 2013 file photo. / Korea Times fileBy Park Jin-haiWhen President Park Geun-hye visits other countries or greets foreign heads of state, she wears “hanbok” or Korean traditional dress. Her traditional couture is seen as an attempt to show her so-called “hanbok diplomacy” to emphasize the “soft” side of her leadership as well as hospitality.“At a time when tradition gives way to modernity, the head of state wearing hanbok itself means a lot,” said Koo Hye-ja, 71, the designer who made Park's yellow hanbok for the June 2013 summit with China.Also, Kim Young-seok who learned needlework from Koo as an apprentice designed President Park’s inauJan 19, 2014By Park Jin-hai
Filipino furniture on sale at Maison Lebeige The ASEAN-Korea Center is holding a Filipino furniture and interior goods sale at Maison Lebeige, in Hannam-doing, Seoul through Feb. 21.Three furniture design companies from the Philippines will showcase goods. For interested buyers, the center can arrange meeting opportunities with participatingcompanies from the Philippines. The event is expected to promote further trade between the Philippines and Korea by providing an opportunity to introduce furniture and interior products of thePhilippines, and to establish business cooperative partnership between companies from the two countries. For business meeting inquries, call (02) 2287-1125.Jan 17, 2014
Hyeri of Girls' Day on recovery By Park Si-sooHaving passed out on stage on Thursday, K-pop girl group Girl’s Day member Hyeri is recovering very well, the band’s management agency said Friday.The 20-year-old fainted while performing on cable music channel Mnet’s music show “M! CountDown” on Thursday evening. She was immediately carried off the stage by her manager and taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.“She is now okay,” said a spokesman for the Dream T Entertainment. “Hyeri has got the flu. She is now resting after an immediate visit to the hospital. Fortunately, she will be able to carry on her schedule.”Girls’ Day’s sexy tune “Something,” released on Jan. 3, most recently hit No. 1 on MelOn’s real-time chart for the first time. Making its debut in 2010, the band released its digital single “Let’s Go” in October.Jan 17, 2014
'10cm' to hold concert in LA Korean acoustic folk indie band “10 cm” will perform in Los Angeles, Jan. 31. / Korea Times fileBy Park Si-sooA combination of hook-heavy electronic sounds and synchronized choreography seems unlikely to be the sole recipe for success that can help K-pop musicians into overseas markets.Korean acoustic folk indie band 10cm will hold a solo concert in Los Angeles on Jan. 31, playing its signature songs for audiences there. This will be the first concert hosted by a Korean indie band in the world’s biggest music market, indicating the diversifying appetites of overseas K-pop consumers.The venue for the concert, titled “Buruda Concert Ver.1 Hello 10cm,” is Club Nokia, a medium-sized concert hall where many renowned American musicians such as Eric Benet and Red Hot Chili Peppers performed, according to 10cm’s management agency. American entertainment company AEG LIVE takes charge of promoting the show, it said. Making their debut in 2010, the duo act ㅡ vocalist Kwon Jung-yeol and guitarist Yoon Cheol-jong ㅡ had a meteoric rise to famJan 17, 2014
Stage shows attract foreign tourists Musical “December” starring K-pop star Kim Jun-su is drawing foreign tourists from Japan and China. / Courtesy of NEWBy Chung Ah-youngYang Yo-seap, a member of B2ST, who starred in “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”“Three Musketeers” starring Kyuhyun from Super Junior and Jun. K from 2PMOnly 10 years ago, Korean performing arts were underappreciated both at home and abroad. Back then, musicals coming from Broadway or the West End used to sell out theaters but now K-pop stars in the shows are becoming the most important factor for drawing in audiences, particularly foreign tourists.Recently, “December,” a musical by theater and film director Jang Jin, based on the songs of the late singer Kim Kwang-seok, made waves among foreign tourists from Japan and China.Produced by Next Entertainment World (NEW), the musical now being performed at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts stars hallyu heartthrob Kim Jun-su, a member of the K-pop band JYJ, and Park Geon-hyeong, one of the country’s most sought-after Jan 17, 2014By Kim Ji-soo
MBLAQ in league of Bieber in Mexico K-pop group MBLAQThe five boys — Seungho, G.O, Lee Joon, Cheondung and Mir — of MBLAQ are enticing Mexican hearts.Local daily El Universal selected the K-pop group along with Beyonce, Justin Bieber and Muse as International Artists of 2013. MBLAQ stands for “Music Boys Live in Absolute Quality” and the group was created by singer Rain under his J.Tune Camp.The group’s hit song “Mona Lisa” (2011) topped the Mexican music charts for 40 days. Other songs such as “This is War” and most recently “Smoky Girl” were also received well there.The group started its “MBLAQ Global Tour Sensation” in Mexico in August last year, and about 10,000 fans attended the concert, which was supported by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency.Korean pop groups performed en masse in Chile in 2012 when KBS took its music program “Music Bank” there. Since then, groups JYJ, TVXQ, Super Junior, Beast and U-Kiss have performed in South American cities with great success. But MBJan 16, 2014
Lee Min-young to back on screen Actress Lee Min-youngActress Lee Min-young will be back on screen this month, ending an eight-year hiatus. The 38-year-old will star in SBS TV’s drama “My Only Dear,” which will begin airing on Jan. 20.In the program, she will play Go Eun-jung, a professional shoe designer of a prestigious brand who climbs up the corporate ladder against all odds.“I’m happy to return,” she said during a pre-release media briefing on Wednesday. “I’m still uncertain whether I’m able to act well. One thing I can tell you is I’m doing my best.” Lee married a popular actor in 2006, but fell victim to domestic violence the same year. They divorced and her ex-husband was sentenced to one year in prison with the term suspended for two years. Jan 16, 2014
NK movie to be screened in US The first co-production film between North Korea and the United States will be screened during the opening ceremony for the New Jersey Film Festival 2014, which kicks off on Jan. 24, according to the Radio Free Asia (RFA).The film, titled “The Other Side of The Mountain” was produced in 2012 and has since been screened in two international film festivals ㅡ Hawaii International Film Festival in 2012 and Peace On Earth Film Festival in Chicago last year, RFA reported.According to the upcoming festival’s website (www.njfilmfest.com), the movie is about a love story between a wounded South Korean soldier and a North Korean nurse. Bae Byung-jun, a Korean-American businessman, reportedly raised funds for the film and also created its story line. The film was recorded in several cities in North Korea, including Pyongyang, Gaesung and Shineuiju, and and all actors and staffers were North Korean.Jan 16, 2014
Let patients recover Korean way In the top photo, a patient is receiving moxibustion, a traditional medical practice that is proven to be helpful in relieving pain by burning small cones of dried herbs on certain designated points of the body. / Korea Times files Efforts needed to have domestic license recognized by other countriesBy Park Si-sooKorea is seeking ways to have its version of traditional Oriental medicine and related practitioners recognized and wanted in other countries.The campaign kicked off many years ago as complementary and alternative medical services were perceived as increasingly profitable. It recently gained further momentum when President Park Geun-hye pledged her full-fledged support for the growth of the medical services sector during her New Year’s news conference on Jan. 6.Calling it a “key” segment for consistent economic development, along with education, tourism, finance and software, the President unveiled a set of bold deregulation plans aimed at facilitating investment into the industries.Health ministry officials said the deregulation plan on the mediJan 16, 2014
