Busan to Host MICE Roadshow 2024 in Bangkok to Attract Thai Incentive Tourists

Travel

Busan MICE Roadshow 2024 poster (provided by Busan City)

Busan City and the Busan Tourism Organization are set to host the Busan MICE Roadshow 2024 in Bangkok, Thailand, from Oct. 5-7. This strategic initiative aims to promote the excellence of Busan’s MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions) industry and attract medium to large-scale incentive tourists from Thailand.

The roadshow will see participation from fourteen MICE companies based in Busan, including hotels, travel agencies, and convention centers. These companies will engage in business consultation meetings and promotional sessions to highlight Busan’s capabilities as a global MICE city. Over 100 key figures from major Thai companies and the travel industry, including MICE managers, are expected to attend the event.

Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, serves as a political, economic, and cultural hub in the Asia-Pacific region. It is directly connected to Busan by air, making it a strategic location for this roadshow. In 2023, Thailand ranked second in the market for incentive travel to Korea, underscoring the importance of this initiative.

The roadshow is part of a broader effort by Busan City and the Busan Tourism Organization to establish a close network with key players in the Thai travel industry. The event is expected to enhance Busan’s competitiveness in attracting incentive events and strengthen MICE tourism exchanges between the two cities.

Park Geun-rok, director of Tourism and MICE at Busan City, expressed optimism about the roadshow’s potential impact. “We hope this event will enhance Busan’s competitiveness in attracting medium to large-scale incentive events from Thailand. We will continue to focus on attracting Thai incentive travel groups and strengthening MICE tourism exchanges between the two cities,” he stated.

Thailand, particularly Bangkok, is a major player in the MICE industry within the Asia-Pacific region. Known for its hospitality, infrastructure, and strategic location, Thailand is a preferred destination for MICE events. The historical ties between South Korea and Thailand, coupled with the ease of travel between Busan and Bangkok, further bolster the potential for successful MICE tourism exchanges.

The sound of fear: How Goblin defined the movies of Dario Argento

Arts & Culture, Film & TV

(Credits: Far Out / Cineriz) Tue 5 November 2024 1:00, UK A good soundtrack is as essential to the film as the dialogue or the actors. It should say things that the characters can’t, add colour where the images do not, and make you feel things before the story explains why. Throughout cinema’s early days, music was used to intensify the mood of a film, to make a romance feel weightless or to make you grip your chair in panic during an action set piece. But by the 1970s, that was beginning to change. Directors started using music that was contradictory to the action on screen to disorient the audience or make them see things in the story that they hadn’t been expecting. Instead of holding the audience’s hand, the soundtracks threw them into the deep end of the cinematic experience so that they could come away with impressions rather than answers. Of these filmmakers, Dario Argento was a pioneer. The godfather of the Giallo genre, he is known for his lurid visual style, but it’s the music as much as anything else that makes his movies stick with you. To watch an Argento film is to be assaulted by gore and close-ups so extreme that they make objects as common as eyes and hands seem abstract. His colours are so vivid that it would take a powerful soundtrack to complement them, so he decided to take a different approach. The music in his most beloved movies is perfectly incongruous. Groovy, unnerving, and chaotic, it evokes a sense of derangement with flashes of sonic beauty, the perfect accompaniment to Argento’s visual style. The Italian prog-rock band Goblin is the group responsible for this essential element of the director’s work. Originally known as The Cherry Five, it has been composed of various members over the years, anchored by keyboard player Claudio Simonetti. The group changed their name to Goblin around the time they collaborated with Argento for the first time on 1975’s Profondo Rosso, marking the beginning of their iconic sound. Their involvement in the project was supposedly a lucky accident when the original composer, Giorgio Gaslini, dropped out due to creative differences with Argento. As a result, Goblin had limited time to put together a score, but what they produced became a breakout hit. The music in Profondo Rosso is not as constant a presence as it is in Argento’s later films, but the director learned quickly that Goblin was one of the ingredients to his success. The film centres on an English piano player in Turin who is trying to track down a serial killer who murdered his neighbour. The search leads him to folk horror tales, a haunted mansion, and a series of grotesque toys, and Goblin’s contributions are the perfect counterpoint to the gruesome weirdness and sadistic killings on screen. The soundtrack blends jazz, prog rock, and heavy metal to create a groovy, repetitive riff that creates tension while remaining smooth. An organ introduced later in the film brings it all to a fever pitch. Dario Argento (Credits: Far Out / MUBI)By the time Argento made Suspiria in 1977, he recognised how important Goblin had become to his trademark style. The soundtrack for Profondo Rosso had to be recorded in a matter of days, but the soundtrack for Suspiria had weeks to come to fruition. Speaking to FACT Magazine decades after the film’s release, Simonetti recalled coming up with the now iconic theme, saying that it never worked for the group to start from the script. They needed free reign to come up with their own sound. Argento told them that he wanted to make the audience feel the presence of the witches from start to finish, even if they aren’t on screen, so the musicians got to work with some unusual instruments. “We tried to use a lot of ethnic instruments like tabla and bouzouki, and we did a lot of recording of sounds that we created, because in 1977 we didn’t have any samplers,” Simonetti recalled. They also got their hands on a System 50 Moog modular system that was used by Emerson Lake & Palmer’s Keith Emerson. “I used it because I was a big fan of Keith Emerson,” Simonetti said. “Also because of the sequencer – of course, we didn’t use any computers.”To create the looming spectre of the witches, the group used whispered voices with a rough edge instead of the sweetly high-pitched children’s voices of other horror soundtracks. The results are mystical, psychedelic, propulsive, and chilling. Simonetti called it Goblin’s masterpiece, and it’s no coincidence that the film, which takes place at a dance academy that may or may not be home to witches, is considered Argento’s masterpiece, too. Suspiria is their most famous collaboration, but one of the film’s that the director and Goblin worked on together deserves greater appreciation. 1985’s Phenomena (not to be confused with the 1996 John Travolta movie Phenomenon) stars a young Jennifer Connelly as a young girl who attends a boarding school and discovers she can communicate with insects. It’s a departure for Argento. Drawing on the natural setting of Switzerland and a darker colour palette, its visual style is completely different from the colour-soaked visuals of his earlier movies. Goblin’s contributions to the film are arguably even more important here than in any other of Argento’s films because they provide intensity and eccentricity to a movie that is, at least for two-thirds of its run-time, more like an ethereal fairytale than the swampy dungeon lair filled with human remains that it becomes. Full of shimmering synths and heavy bass lines, Goblin’s music is not outshined by the additional tracks from Iron Maiden and Motörhead. Set against the backdrop of the lush scenery, it offers a more incongruous counterpoint than in any other Argento film, making the nighttime sequences disorienting and frantic rather than dreamy and mysterious.The word “auteur” gets tossed around liberally and is often (and correctly) applied to Argento. However, to view him as the sole creator of his distinctive style is an oversight. In their collaborations, Goblin is the obvious co-author, as necessary to the movies as Argento himself. This is most obvious when watching the director’s work, which doesn’t involve the group. Six of his films were scored by legendary composer Ennio Morricone, whose collaborators included Sergio Leone, Bernardo Bertolucci, Terrence Malick, and Quentin Tarantino. Their pairing included some of Argento’s best movies, but Morricone’s scores were too compliant for such a bombastic filmmaker. In Argento’s 1970 horror flick The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, for example, the composer drew on soft, breathy vocals and children’s voices to create a soothing, nursery rhyme-style soundtrack. It’s a classically unsettling formula for a horror movie, but there is nothing jarring about it. If the director is allowed to create jump-scares, Goblin makes the case that the music should keep you on your toes, too. Throughout their collaboration with Argento, the group helped establish music as not just another character in a horror movie, but an element that can push and pull at expectations, hurtle you headfirst into the story, and tap you on the shoulder like a witch in the night, inviting you to shift focus and see the movies in a new light. [embedded content][embedded content]Related TopicsSubscribe To The Far Out Newsletter

Business leaders, give your employees paid time to vote

Business News

Support unbiased journalism in Connecticut. Join CT Mirror’s members today and make an impact.

Create more original, in-depth, non-partisan journalism for Connecticut.During NewsMatch, your gift will be MATCHED!

As the President and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut, I want to affirm our commitment to the principles that sustain a vibrant economy: the rule of law, a robust democracy, and the stability that fuels our region. These foundations empower American innovation and enterprise, maintaining our role as a global leader.

To this end, the Chamber supports the following fundamental principles:

Safe, fair, and secure elections where every eligible citizen can vote with confidence in the process and its results.

Respect for certified election outcomes, upholding the rule of law and democratic values.

The peaceful transfer or continuation of power at all levels of government, safeguarding the integrity of our institutions.

These principles are not abstract ideals; they are the very pillars of a thriving democracy and economy. Undermining them disrupts trust in our institutions and can hinder both social progress and economic growth.

In alignment with these beliefs, the Chamber encourages businesses to support their employees in exercising their right to vote by offering paid time off to do so. Voting is not only a personal right but a civic responsibility, and by facilitating this, we promote a culture of active and engaged citizenship that strengthens our community.

As an immigrant to this country many years ago, I remember in great detail how excited I was to vote for the first time. Having arrived at age 19 and waiting for over five years to become a citizen, I felt that I had fulfilled a long-awaited desire to finally become an American. It was an exciting moment that I remember fondly. I remember writing home to my parents to let them know that I had become a U.S. citizen. I expect that most immigrants feel likewise.

Today, however, hyper-partisanship and rising polarization threaten the unity and strength of our country. Not only do these divisions weaken our domestic stability, but they also leave us vulnerable to adversaries abroad. This issue affects everyone — not just the business community — and touches every aspect of our society, including economic opportunity and social cohesion.

Most Americans share the desire to transcend this polarization. We all want to live in a society where critical issues are addressed through respectful and constructive dialogue, free from intimidation or hostility. As business and community leaders, we understand that we must lower the intensity of rhetoric and eliminate actions that could lead to discord or even political violence.

CT officials are shipping out ___ for town clerks to place inside absentee ballot drop boxes.

Do you know the answer? Play this week’s news quiz to find out.

Respectful political debate is what separates this great nation from many others, where respectful dissent and open dialogue are met with retribution and even imprisonment. We must lead by example and return to a position of global leadership by showing that preserving democracy rises above all other priorities and party affiliation.

Our freedom to vote must never be taken for granted. I urge all eligible voters to cast their ballots, and I urge all businesses and institutions to encourage voting by facilitating this responsibility for all employees.

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Tony Sheridan is President and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut.

Hobart business group threatens elector poll over proposed CBD bike lane

Business News

A group of Hobart businesses is threatening to force an elector poll over a city bike lane trial, saying its concerns about the potential impact of removing parking places have been ignored.At a meeting of the Confederation of Greater Hobart Businesses (CGHB) last Thursday night, they resolved to ask the council to do more studies on the potential impact of the bike lanes in Collins Street.Hobart’s grand plan to reduce car congestion and become a cycling cityBy introducing bike lanes and hook turns for cyclists, Hobart City Council is making room for an influx of bike travel.At next Monday’s council meeting, Alderman Louise Bloomfield will move on behalf of the group the trial, which would replace about 50 parking spaces on Collins street with bike lanes for two years, be deferred indefinitely.Opponents to the project are also calling on the council to undertake an independent economic impact study on the trials potential effects to surrounding businesses.An artist’s impression of the proposed bike lane in Hobart’s Collins Street.

Bear hug: Bruce Springsteen embraces Jeremy Allen White on N.J. movie set

Arts & Culture, Film & TV

The Boss met The Bear on the New Jersey set of the Bruce Springsteen movie.Springsteen mingled with Emmy-winning actor Jeremy Allen White, who plays him in the upcoming film “Deliver Me from Nowhere,” in Bayonne Monday.The Jersey icon, who wore a red plaid coat to the set, hugged White, who plays 1980s Springsteen in the movie.The actor, star of FX/Hulu’s “The Bear,” wore a black leather jacket and black jeans to look like a younger Springsteen.The film is about the making of Springsteen’s 1982 album “Nebraska.”Jeremy Allen White, director Scott Cooper and Bruce Springsteen on the film set.Bobby Bank | GC Images via Getty ImagesOn Monday, the cast and crew worked on various time periods of the story — both Springsteen’s 1950s childhood and his ’80s “Nebraska” era. The more recent scenes took place at a used car dealership.Last week, Springsteen, 75, made a visit to the film set when the movie was filming in Rockaway Nov. 1.Springsteen and his younger self — White, 33 — were on set Monday with director Scott Cooper (“Gangs of New York,” “Snatch,” “This is England,” “Venom: The Last Dance”).READ MORE: See Bruce Springsteen on N.J. set of ‘Deliver Me from Nowhere’ movie with his onscreen dad“Deliver Me from Nowhere” is based on the 2023 Warren Zanes book of the same name. Montclair’s Zanes was on set with Springsteen, Cooper and English actor Stephen Graham last week.Graham plays Springsteen’s father, Douglas “Dutch” Springsteen, in the film.In Rockaway, Springsteen signed movie scripts for Graham and the crew working on the film. He also gave the actor a big hug.“Deliver Me from Nowhere” is set to film in New Jersey through early 2025.Director Scott Cooper and star Jeremy Allen White.Bobby Bank | GC Images via Getty ImagesThe title of the film and the book it’s based on comes from “State Trooper,” a song from “Nebraska” (listen below):“Hey, somebody out there, listen to my last prayer,” Springsteen sings. “Hiho silver-o, deliver me from nowhere.”The 20th Century Studios movie also filmed in Montclair last month.Weeks ago, an open call went out for background actors and extras needed for filming in November and December in Morris County, Asbury Park and the Meadowlands.Another Emmy winner, “Succession” star Jeremy Strong, plays Springsteen’s manager, Jon Landau.Cooper, the director of “Deliver Me from Nowhere,” with Springsteen.Bobby Bank | GC Images via Getty ImagesJohnny Cannizzaro (Nick DeVito in the film adaptation of “Jersey Boys”), plays E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt.Paul Walter Hauser (“Richard Jewell”), yet another Emmy winner, plays Mike Batlan in the film.Batlan, a guitar tech, set up the recording equipment in the bedroom of the Colts Neck home Springsteen rented while recording “Nebraska.”Odessa Young (“The Staircase”) plays Springsteen’s love interest and Harrison Sloan Gilbertson (“Oppenheimer”) plays Springsteen’s friend Matt Delia.Thank you for reading. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription.Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at [email protected] and followed at @AmyKup.

Vettaiyan OTT release date: Where to watch Rajinikanth film in Hindi and Telugu

Arts & Culture, Film & TV

Vettaiyan, the recently released Tamil film starring actor Rajinikanth in the lead role, is all set to make its OTT debut very soon. As reported earlier, the post-theatrical streaming rights of the film have been bagged by Prime Video. The film is all set to release on the digital platform on November 8. The Tamil film will be available in Hindi and Telugu as well.Vettaiyan OTT release date: Where to watch Rajinikanth film in Hindi and TeluguRajinikanth, TJ Gnanavel, and Amitabh Bachhcan at Vettaiyan location.The Tamil film, starring Rajinikanth, is written and directed by TJ Gnanavel, who earlier made the critically acclaimed film Jai Bhim. Vettaiayn released in theatres on October 10 and following its theatrical run, will be soon available on the OTT platform. As reported earlier, Prime Video has bagged the post-theatrical streaming rights of the film.Vettaiyan will premiere on Prime Video on November 8. For those who would like to watch the film in Telugu and Hindi, the film will be available on the streaming platform in the respective audio languages.The film revolves around a strict cop Athiyan (Rajinikanth), who is known to be an encounter specialist, and called to finish off notorious thugs. One such assignment includes him hunting down perpetrators who use government school classrooms to store drugs, after he is tipped off by teacher Saranya (Dushara Vijayan). While he carries out the assignment, it leads to a series of circumstances that make Athiyan question his choices as a policeman.
More on VettaiyanAmitabh Bachchan and Rajinikanth in the Vettaiyan deleted scene.Vettaiyan is backed by Lyca Productions and features a star ensemble including actors Amitabh Bachchan, Fahadh Faasil, and Rana Daggubati, the film also stars Manju Warrier, Kishore, Ritika Singh, Dushara Vijayan, GM Sundar, Abirami, Rohini, Rao Ramesh, Ramesh Thilak, Rakshan, and others in important roles.The film has music scored by Anirudh Ravichander. Vettaiyan opened to mixed reviews upon its release.

Appudo Ippudo Eppudo locks its OTT platform: Where to watch the Nikhil film

Arts & Culture, Film & TV

Appudo Ippudo Eppudo OTT platform detailsAppudo Ippudo Eppudo is set in London and follows a young man who dates women for money, only to find himself in serious trouble due to a small mistake. Now, it has been confirmed that the makers have locked in the OTT deal for Appudo Ippudo Eppudo.According to the latest update, the film will be available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video in the last week of November 2024. Nikhil plays a strong role in the film, with promising twists and turns that will keep the audience on the edge of their seats.
Appudo Ippudo EppudoWe’ve learned that producer BVSN Prasad secured a solid OTT deal with Amazon for an early digital release of Appudo Ippudo Eppudo. So, regardless of its box office outcome, the film will be available on OTT just three weeks after its theatrical release.The visuals featuring Nikhil and Rukmini Vasanth have created a decent buzz around the film. Following the success of Sapta Sagaralu Daati, Rukmini has gained popularity in Telugu cinema, and the makers are banking on this.Appudo Ippudo EppudoInterestingly, not many were aware that Appudo Ippudo Eppudo was in production. BVSN Prasad produced the film, which was entirely shot in London. Viva Harsha appears in a key role, while Divyasha Kaushik stars as the second lead. The film is a romantic drama, written and directed by Sudheer Varma, who is under pressure to prove himself after a series of box-office flops.Meanwhile, Nikhil also needs a hit following the disappointing performance of his last film, SPY. The trailer has set a promising tone for the film’s release, and Nikhil has been actively promoting Appudo Ippudo Eppudo to keep it in the spotlight. Watch this space for more updates on this project.