The Norway Tourism Organization in Seoul recently kicked off its latest “Powered By Nature” campaign to encourage more travel to the country, which boasts breathtakingly scenic Nordic views ― views that may remind some of a particularly popular animated movie. As the box-office smash “Frozen” continues to take the world by storm, the Norway tourism agency has decided to latch onto the country’s undeniable obsession with the Disney flick, which recently became the highest-grossing animated film i

TravelMarch 14, 2014

It was late Saturday morning and still smoggy when we left Seoul on an express bus for Gunsan. We were going to this west coast port to reach a nearby island famous for its sunsets, though with all the fine-particle dust the possibility of a sunset was still up in the air. The atmospheric conditions were unchanged by the time we’d arrived and caught a taxi. The talkative driver, wearing black faux-leather pants, a puffy black jacket and black sports sunglasses, said that Gunsan was the hardest-h

TravelMarch 14, 2014

Harvest Namsan, a semi-posh restaurant with a wholesome bent and casual attitude, marries a prime mountainside perch with executive chef Im Sung-gyun’s tasty, innovative fare. Come mid-April and the restaurant will kick out its veranda seating, for what chef Im promises to be a more casual affair that will feature housemade sausages, terrines and pate along with barbecue. Then Harvest Namsan will be in full spring swing, giving patrons the option of enjoying the scenic view outdoors as well as i

FoodMarch 14, 2014

Special dinner package at Park Hyatt SeoulPark Hyatt Seoul’s signature restaurant The Lounge is presenting a special dinner package for couples looking for a romantic night out together. The “Special Moments at the Park” package features a three-course dinner for two and half a bottle of premium champagne prepared at a special window table decorated with flowers and candles. Upon request, a personalized letter can be placed inside the menu as a special surprise for someone. The package also incl

CultureMarch 14, 2014

Kongnamul muchim is one of the most frequently served vegetable side dishes in Korean homes. You can almost always find it among the array of side dishes served at Korean restaurants. It’s also one of the common vegetables in bibimbap. Sometimes, this dish is mildly seasoned to savor the natural nutty flavor of the soybean sprouts. Other times, it’s made spicy with gochugaru (red chili pepper flakes). Here, I am showing you both ways. Do not open the lid while cooking until the sprouts are cooke

FoodMarch 14, 2014

Booking tickets for K-Pop concerts is now easier for foreign fans thanks to a new reservation website for Korean pop and cultural performances. The new website, created by the Korea Tourism Organization jointly with Interpark, one of Korea’s largest online shopping malls, enables visitors to browse current and upcoming concerts and performances, as well as choose seats and buy tickets by credit card.  Concerts available for booking on the website (www.kperformance.org) range from K-Pop and music

March 14, 2014

New York-based singer-songwriter Diane Birch will stage a live concert in Seoul this month, returning to South Korea for the first time in four years. Birch was raised by conservative missionary parents in Zimbabwe and Australia, where she was exposed to only classical and church music. After moving to the United States at 13, Birch began listening to English rock bands such as Joy Divison, The Cure and The Beatles and preparing for a career as a musician.  The singer-songwriter was noticed by P

PerformanceMarch 14, 2014

One of Hollywood’s most famous rock-and-roll landmarks is displaying a guitar owned by a South Korean rock musician, the artist said Thursday.Kim Se-hwang, a 42-year-old guitarist with South Korean rock band “N.E.X.T.,” said his treasured electric guitar has recently become one of the memorabilia items displayed in the flagship Guitar Center store’s front windows in the heart of Hollywood.The music store hosts Hollywood’s RockWalk, a hall of fame honoring musical artists. Kim is the first Korean

PerformanceMarch 13, 2014

NEW YORK (AP) ― Rob Thomas knew he might make movie history by using Kickstarter to crowd-fund his “Veronica Mars” film. But he wasn’t prepared for the posters. Of all the prizes offered to donors of “Veronica Mars” ― everything from a digital copy of the script for $10 to a walk-on cameo for $10,000 ― the most taxing was autographing the cast-signed posters promised to more than 5,000 backers. It took several hand-cramping days and constant shuttling of boxes from one signee to the next. “We’ve

FilmMarch 13, 2014

Jeonju International Film Festival on Thursday announced its lineup for this year’s Korean competition section, consisting of 11 films including three documentaries. Among them, nine will be screened as world premieres. A total of eight feature films have been included in the lineup, including Yang Ji-eun’s “Sook-hee,” a film about female sexuality with an unusual narrative, and “Monkeys,” which deals satirically with Korea’s independent film scene.  Jang Woo-jin’s “Fall Break” tells the story o

FilmMarch 13, 2014

Tension and anxiety are sometimes crucial factors that drive modern individuals to deal with the increasingly competitive world. But they also leave them and society at large in great distress. An exhibition in Seoul shows artistic interpretations of such distress or “aches” that prevail in Korean society. Titled “Momsal,” or body ache in Korean, the exhibition examines modern society and how individuals respond to social phenomena in relation to the body. Curated by the museum’s five young inte

PerformanceMarch 13, 2014

Girls’ Generation’s latest music video became the first K-pop video this year to hit 10 million views on YouTube.The video of “Mr. Mr.,” the title song of the group’s fourth EP of the same title, topped the 10 million viewer mark Wednesday night, 13 days after it was uploaded on the video sharing site.No other K-pop music video has surpassed the milestone this year.The track has been well received on iTunes and local online music services since it was released online on Feb. 25. “Mr. Mr.” is the

March 13, 2014

HONG KONG (AP) ― Jackie Chan is transforming himself from action film superstar to K-pop band manager.The group named JJCC plans to release its debut album March 24 in South Korea, before promoting it in China. JJCC has five men in their early 20s. Four are South Korean, while one is Australian-Chinese. Sha-sha Lee, CEO of the Jackie Chan Group South Korea, said Chan was involved in auditioning the band members and will manage the group personally. The band name is a tribute to Chan as well as h

March 13, 2014

G-Dragon and CL, the leaders of popular K-pop groups Big Bang and 2NE1, respectively, are featured on a track of the upcoming album by Grammy-winning American dubstep producer-DJ Skrillex.The collaborative single “Dirty Vibe” ― made available Tuesday on SoundCloud ― is included on Skrillex’s new 11-track album “Recess,” which will be formally unveiled worldwide on March 18.A collaborative effort by Skrillex, the two K-pop stars, YG head producers TEDDY and CHOICE37 as well as renowned DJ Diplo,

March 13, 2014

Black HorizonBy James Grippando (Harper) Through his 21 novels, James Grippando has found new ways of telling stories about the intricacies of Florida, drawing inspiration from real events.In “Black Horizon,” Grippando explores a disaster that has affected Florida in the past ― a devastating oil spill ― and creates an intriguing political spin by showing how this could affect relations between the United States and Cuba. But Grippando also ladles a love story and the ever-reliable theme of greed

BooksMarch 13, 2014

Kinder Than SolitudeBy Yiyun Li (Random House)Across two story collections and two novels, each stellar, Yiyun Li has mapped out the cultural clashes between her native China and her current home in the United States. Her raw materials are big splits: political restraint versus cultural freedom, childhood innocence versus careworn maturity. Yet her understated writing also excels at revealing our more intimate internal anxieties. She’s a master at capturing emotional disconnection, and how obliv

BooksMarch 13, 2014

“I developed a phobia of Los Angeles,” says David Grand.That could have been a problem for the 45-year-old author, whose novel “Mount Terminus” (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $26) is set in early 20th century LA. But it was the book ― which he spent more than a decade writing ― that estranged Grand from the city where he grew up.“I couldn’t deal with the sensory overload I experience when I’m there,” he says from the safety of his Brooklyn walk-up. “Whether it’s the light or the landscape or transiti

BooksMarch 13, 2014