Friday, August 17, 2012

CNNGo.com

CNNGo.com


Every boyfriend's nightmare: Inside Seoul's new handbag museum

Posted: 16 Aug 2012 11:24 PM PDT

by Frances Cha

Seoul museums really need to get more creative with their names. Take the Korea Furniture Museum, for example. The name deters all semblance of cool, despite being one of the most beautiful spots in the city.

The same goes for the newly opened Simone Handbag Museum on Garosugil in Gangnam. It would take a very secure guy, for example, to be caught dead entering a museum with that name over its entrance.

However, the self-proclaimed world's first official handbag museum, which has been previewed in the New York Times and many a fashion magazine around the world, is actually an exquisite exhibition with more of historical contextual emphasis, rather a gaudy display of excessive luxury.

Context and concept 

The brainchild of Kenny Park, 57, the CEO of Simone Acc. Collection Ltd., a Korea-based supplier of handbags for labels including Marc Jacobs, Kate Spade and Tory Burch, the museum houses more than 300 European pieces in its permanent collection over two floors and reserves the top floor for special exhibitions.

Built over three years, the building itself cost US$3.53 million while another US$1.59 million was spent on securing pieces for the collection. 

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Artist finally finds use for old mooncake boxes, builds huge pagoda

Posted: 16 Aug 2012 10:51 PM PDT

by Zoe Li, Hong Kong Editor

William LimWhen asked whether he had to consume all the mooncakes for all 600 tins to make the pagoda, Lim did not answer directly. There's a Chinese pagoda made out of 600 mooncake boxes currently on display in Hong Kong as part of William Lim's solo exhibition.

Mooncakes are the traditional food eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival when Chinese people celebrate the full moon, the harvest and family.

Lim's 4.5-meter tower is made from layers of plywood and empty tin boxes for mooncakes collected from a recycling program. It is held together by nothing but the tension of four steel cables

The pagoda is born out of Lim's triumvirate of passions: art, architecture and Hong Kong culture. 

It's fun, simple and so Chinese.

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Gallery: Winners of the National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest 2012

Posted: 16 Aug 2012 08:46 PM PDT

The winners of the 24th annual National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest were announced this week.

The nice folks at the magazine have given us permission to publish the top 11 photos here -- 10 winners, plus one readers' choice shot.  

National Geographic Traveler says the 11 images were chosen from more than 12,000 entries submitted by 6,615 photographers from 152 countries.

We don't envy the judges in having to choose their favorites. These shots are incredible. 

All submitted photographs fit into one of four categories: Travel Portraits, Outdoor Scenes, Sense of Place and Spontaneous Moments.  

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Interview: PSY on 'Gangnam Style,' posers and that hysterical little boy

Posted: 16 Aug 2012 05:49 PM PDT

by Frances Cha

It's been a hell of a week for PSY, the K-Pop sensation of the moment.

From a hit music video, a spectacular concert stage fire in front of 33,000 people last weekend, a spontaneous 'guerrilla' gig at Gangnam Station on Tuesday, to flying to LA following a call from Justin Bieber's label, the comic hip-hop/rap star is riding one high-flying rocket to international stardom.

The 34-year-old rapper's "Gangnam Style" music video has gone mega-viral since its release a month ago -- clocking in at around 34 million YouTube hits as of the time of writing.

Thanks to PSY (real name Park Jae-Sang), the whole world is talking about Gangnam, Seoul's ritziest district, and wondering where -- or what -- it could possibly be.

And over on Facebook, feeds continue to be peppered with posts about the comic K-Pop singer-songwriter's frenzied "horse dance," which foreign media is calling "the second Macarena" because of its catchiness.

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'The Amazing Race:' Travel the ‘real China’ in 576 minutes

Posted: 16 Aug 2012 03:20 PM PDT

by CNNGo staff

"The Amazing Race" is not just another game show in China. The Chinese consider it an ingenious means to show the "real China" to the outside world.

"The show is not only promoting the local culture and customs but also the urban development achievement," said Ge Xiaowei (葛晓纬), one of the producers of the program's China edition, "The Amazing Race: China Rush" ("China Rush" in short).

A copyright cooperation between Disney ABC and the International Channel of Shanghai (ICS), "China Rush" has just wrapped up production of the third season and is set to air from this month.

The Amazing Race: China Rush -- inline 1Teams start out from Shanghai's landmark: The Bund.

The China even the Chinese don't know about

According to the show's production company ICS, season three covers a wider geographic range than the previous two seasons, spanning from the China-Russia border in the north to Yunnan Province in the south.

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Sleep is for wimps: World's 10 craziest party hostels

Posted: 16 Aug 2012 11:40 AM PDT

by Chantal Abitbol

Early-to-bed crew, stay away. These hostels aren't for the easily perturbed.

But if you're after a few nights of hedonism and late-night drinking sessions, then you're in luck.

Here's a list of some of the world's most-popular party hostels, famed on the traveling circuit for their raunchy displays of excess and debauchery.

The Pink Palace, Corfu, Greece

The worldFiddling while Rome -- or is it Greece? -- burns at The Pink Palace.

Forget about Greece's economic woes for a moment. No one seems to be crying about it into their ouzo at The Pink Palace on the Greek island of Corfu.

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IKEA to build 100 budget hotels across Europe

Posted: 16 Aug 2012 03:55 AM PDT

We adore IKEA for its affordable furniture, odd product names like the 'Grönkulla' and, of course, for its Swedish meatballs.

Will the same affection be reserved for its budget hotels?

Inter IKEA Group, which owns the IKEA trademarks, announced this week it will build 100 budget hotels across Europe.

The first will be built in Germany in 2014, though the company said it's too early to specify exactly where. Other potential locations include Belgium, Austria, the Netherlands, Britain, Poland and across Scandinavia.

But don't expect IKEA's signature flat-pack furniture or Grönkulla duvet sets. Nor will the hotels be named after the company.

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