Most Popular
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Russia sent more than 165,000 barrels of refined petroleum to N. Korea in March: White House
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Key suspects grilled over alleged abuse of power in Marine death inquiry
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S. Korean children, teens grow taller, mature faster than before: study
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[Graphic News] Number of coffee franchises in S. Korea rises 13%
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Some junior doctors are returning: Health Ministry
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Army takes group action against Hybe for neglecting BTS
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Marine Corps commander summoned by CIO for questioning on alleged influence-peddling case
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[Robert J. Fouser] AI changes rationale for learning languages
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Woman dangling from power lines rescued by residents holding blanket
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Ador CEO's request for exclusive right to terminate NewJeans' contract with Hybe refused in February
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Korean edition of Playboy to be launched in June
US magazine “Playboy” will start issuing a Korean version from June, a South Korean magazine publisher said Tuesday.Playboy Enterprises, the owner of the magazine, has signed a contract with Korea’s Kaya Media Corp. to publish the 63-year-old magazine here. Kaya Media also publishes fashion magazines Marie Claire and Esquire.The Korean edition will cover a wide range of topics including celebrities, social and political issues as well as lifestyle. The US magazine was launched in December 1953 b
Jan. 11, 2017
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Korean poet Ko Un to be honored by Italy's Fondazione Roma
Poet Ko Un will receive an award from Italy-based Fondazione Roma, Changbi Publishers said Wednesday.According to the publisher, the poet was chosen as the recipient of the annual award presented to an international poet at the foundation’s “Ritratti di Poesia” international poetry festival. Ko Un (Changbi Publishers)Previous laureates include Carol Ann Duffy of the UK, Jacobo Cortines of Spain and Adam Zagajewski of Poland. Ko will receive the award at a ceremony to be held Feb. 3. The poetry
Jan. 11, 2017
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Julia Baird's biography gives the English monarch a beating heart
“Victoria the Queen: An Intimate Biography of the Woman Who Ruled an Empire” by Julia Baird; Random House (696 pages, $35)Queen Victoria dominated an age and inspired a word, “Victorian,” to capture the spirit of her time. We tend to see her as a prisoner of that age: dour, unsmiling, repressed; in short, rather Victorian. Julia Baird wants to liberate her from that straitjacket.In her zestful biography, “Victoria the Queen,” Baird, an Australian journalist and columnist for the International Ne
Jan. 4, 2017
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David Bowie interview collection shows man behind legend
Tributes lie beneath a mural of singer David Bowie by artist Jimmy C in Brixton, south London on Jan. 12, last year. (AP-Yonhap)“David Bowie: The Last Interview and Other Conversations” by David Bowie; Melville House (208 pages, $16.99)The introduction of “David Bowie: The Last Interview and Other Conversations” begins: “David Bowie gave a lot of interviews ... until he didn‘t.”Quirky, well-spoken and charming, the iconic music legend who died of cancer in January at 69 left behind a trove of in
Jan. 4, 2017
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Beloved bookstore opens after 14 years, but it isn’t the same
Standing six stories high at the center of downtown Seoul, Jongno Books was Korea’s first multilevel bookstore, established in 1907. It was a haven for writers and thinkers, offering not only Korean books of every kind but also English and Japanese publications, rare in Korea at the time. Stationery and music albums lined a corner of the fourth and fifth floors. It was also the first place to offer fixed prices for books. Businessmen from nearby offices and students would browse for hours; frien
Dec. 28, 2016
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Korea’s oldest bookstore to relaunch in Seoul
Korea’s oldest bookstore will be brought back to life 14 years after its closing, local publishers said Thursday.Jongno Books, more commonly known as Jongno Seojeok, will relaunch Friday at Seoul’s Jongno intersection, according to book publishing officials. Under a different mother company and management, the new store will replace the Jongno Tower branch of bookstore chain Bandi & Lunis. A former executive of Youngpoong Bookstore, a Korean bookstore chain, will take the helm of the new store.
Dec. 22, 2016
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Books for for the bookworm in your life
I‘m ready to give the book the nine-lives prize. How many times has it been ruled obsolete? And yet, people are buying and enjoying print books more than ever.I’ve used an e-reader on occasion, but when it comes to the gift books featured below, there‘s nothing like the printed page for displaying their superior graphics, gorgeous illustrations and well-organized information. There’s something for everyone here, from the lighthearted (“The Aloha Shirt”) to the sublime (“Fireflies”). Browse this
Dec. 21, 2016
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Marquette University adds to Tolkien collection
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Marquette University is adding to its J.R.R. Tolkien Collection. The university says it has acquired a first edition, first printing of “The Hobbit.” The book is one of 1,500 such copies published in 1937. “The Hobbit” is recognized as a classic in children’s literature. The first printing sold out before the end of 1937 and includes artwork drawn by Tolkien himself. No purchase price was disclosed.Marquette’s Tolkien collection includes the original manuscripts of “The Hobbit”
Dec. 21, 2016
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After techno and street art, Berlin tackles graphic novels
BERLIN (AFP) -- Better known for its electronic music and street art, Berlin is now also home to a budding graphic novel scene in a country that has treated illustrated stories as children‘s literature.Hardly seen in bookstores just a few years ago, German-produced graphic novels now have their dedicated shelves, as not only homegrown artists but also foreign ones find inspiration in Berlin. “It was when I moved here that I felt a need to write,” said Spanish author Alberto Madrigal, who moved t
Dec. 19, 2016
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Russian translation of 'Toji' released
The first-ever Russian translation of "Toji (Land)" written by the late South Korean writer Park Kyung-ni was published in October, a cultural foundation revering Park said. The Toji Cultural Foundation said on Friday the Russian version of the first volume of part one of "Toji" was released by a Russian publishing house in late October, increasing the number of the epic saga's foreign-language versions to six. The five other languages are English, German, French, Chinese and Japanese. Th
Dec. 18, 2016
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Phil Collins, pop star and self-deprecating dad, on his new memoir
“Not Dead Yet” (Crown Archetype, $28)Phil Collins is arching an eyebrow on the cover of his new memoir, as if to let you know he’s in on the joke. The book is called “Not Dead Yet,” a rather wry declaration from one of pop music’s most buoyant hitmakers, who’s not exactly wizened at 65.“Well, my health seems to have been the subject of much speculation in certain parts of the press,” Collins told the Times, alluding to his hearing loss and the chronic upper-body pain that has left him walking wi
Dec. 14, 2016
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‘The Girl Who Escaped ISIS’
“The Girl Who Escaped ISIS” by Farida Khalaf and Andrea Hoffmann, translated from German by Jamie BullochAtria Books (240 pages, $24)Amid the endless war news streaming out of Syria, the need for moral clarity in the conflict is running high.Farida Khalaf’s story offers it explicitly. Khalaf was a math whiz and a soldier‘s daughter who was 19 years old when she was captured and sold into sexual slavery by the Islamic State extremist group in 2014.Her first-person account, narrated in “The Girl
Dec. 14, 2016
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Change is a sign of health, not corruption, in language
“Words on the Move: Why English Won’t -- and Can’t -- Sit Still (Like, Literally)” By John McWhorter Henry Holt and Co. (272 pages, $28)John McWhorter’s breezy “Words on the Move” is the umpteenth attempt to put to death the stubborn misconception that language change is a sign of intellectual laziness and cultural rot.It’s not even McWhorter’s first attempt -- his “Myths, Lies and Half-Truths of Language Usage” remains a go-to reference -- but this time the Columbia University linguist alights
Dec. 14, 2016
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Cartoonist shares untainted love of childhood
Exuding youthful exuberance and expectations, American cartoonist Jeff Kinney decided to make a living sketching comics while in college. Majoring in computer science at the University of Maryland, Kinney’s inner soul was tilted toward the stuff of children, the wondrous imagination of a kid growing up in a small town in Maryland.He started drawing comic strips for a college newspaper, and after graduation, sent submission packets to cartoon syndicates. Jeff Kinney, author of children’s classic
Dec. 14, 2016
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Award-winning novelist, Shirley Hazzard, dies at 85
NEW YORK (AP) -- Shirley Hazzard, an award-winning novelist who wrote of love affairs disrupted and intensified by age, distance and war, has died at age 85. Hazzard had been in failing health and died Monday at her home in Manhattan, according to her friend Frances Alston. The Australian-born Hazzard had lived in New York City for decades, but also had spent time in Hong Kong, Britain, New Zealand and Italy, an international perspective shared by her characters. She was a writer of predigital t
Dec. 14, 2016
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Top translators awarded for promoting Korean literature overseas
The Literature Translation Institute of Korea has announced the winners of translation awards that recognize their role in the promotion of Korean literature worldwide. The awards, which will be given out during a ceremony Thursday, include the LTI Korea Translation Awards, the LTI Award for Aspiring Translators and the LTI Korea Outstanding Service Awards.The translation awards went to Deborah Smith, an English translator and joint winner of this year’s Man Booker International Prize, for her w
Dec. 7, 2016
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Murakami's new novel set for release in Japan in February
TOKYO (AP) -- Haruki Murakami’s new novel is set for release in Japan in February -- and that’s about as much as his fans are being told.Publisher Shinchosha Publishing Co. made the announcement Wednesday. The book’s title, theme and exact date of release remain a mystery.The publisher showed two blank white books on its website with the message, “Haruki Murakami’s new novel coming soon in February 2017.”Murakami’s longer novels have been released in multiple short volumes in Japanese.A very str
Dec. 1, 2016
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Spanish author Mendoza wins 2016 Cervantes literature prize
MADRID (AP) -- Spanish novelist Eduardo Mendoza has won the 2016 Cervantes Prize, the Spanish-speaking world’s highest literary honor, for bringing a “new narrative style to Spanish fiction.”Education and Culture Minister Inigo Mendez de Vigo announced the prize Wednesday, saying that beginning with Mendoza’s 1975 novel, “La Verdad Sobre el Caso Savolta (The Truth about the Savolta Case),” the author had reinvented Spanish fiction. He said Mendoza’s books are “full of subtlety and irony.”Several
Dec. 1, 2016
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'Napoleon's Last Island,' by Thomas Keneally
“Napoleon's Last Island” By Thomas KeneallyAtria Books (423 pages, $30) Australian Thomas Keneally, author of “Schindler’s List” and 2013’s brilliant “The Daughters of Mars,” is one of the finest living English-language writers. His sprawling new novel tries to do what he has done well so many times -- set real and fictional characters in a real time and place and use their story to illuminate the era. This time, he has chosen a titan -- Napoleon -- and set him in a miniature world, the remote A
Nov. 30, 2016
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Lead-up to day of infamy
“Countdown to Pearl Harbor: The Twelve Days to the Attack” By Steve TwomeySimon & Schuster (416 pages, $30) As Hollywood regularly reminds us, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on Dec. 7, 1941, was an act of duplicity so monstrous that President Franklin D. Roosevelt called it a “day which will live in infamy.”Japanese warplanes appeared without warning early that Sunday, sinking or disabling 16 US battleships, cruisers and other warships. The sneak attack killed more than 2,400 Amer
Nov. 30, 2016