Seoul certifies tour products to improve travel experience for foreigners

Seoul aims to prove that the city has much more to offer beyond the usual travel routines through palaces, shopping districts and barbecue restaurants. The Seoul Metropolitan Government launched a tour product certification system last year that rates the quality of group tour programs in an effort to ensure that foreign tourists leave the country satisfied and consider coming back again. The certification has selected nine tour products that satisfy standards of the certification, which include

TravelDec. 6, 2013

Oyster rules

Oyster expert John Stewart makes shucking look like a breeze. Here in Korea to train the guys at The Oyster Bar, a restaurant opening Monday in Seoul’s Yeouido, the 56-year-old consultant definitely knows his way around a shell. “I like opening my oysters from the hinge,” the Hong Kong-based pro said while swiveling the knife into the pointed end of the oyster and opening the shell. Stewart then slid the blade underneath and deftly flipped the oyster over so that its plump underbelly lay face up

FoodDec. 6, 2013

Miyeok guk, (Sea vegetable soup)

Miyeok guk is a soup made with dried miyeok (also known as wakame), which is a sea vegetable. It is a mild and tasty soup typically made with beef or seafood (such as clams or mussels). Here, I made it with mussels. Soak the dried miyeok in water to soften it, cut it into bite-sized pieces and saute with sesame oil before adding the water and mussels. Sesame oil is a must for miyeok guk. It adds a nutty flavor with a hint of sweetness to the soup. More so than other Korean dishes, this soup has

FoodDec. 6, 2013

Around the Hotels

Christmas Eve art package at InterContinental Seoul CoexInterContinental Seoul Coex is offering a one-day special Christmas Art Lounge Package for a romantic and meaningful Christmas Eve. The package includes two tickets to the Christmas Art Lounge, where guests will be able to enjoy champagne, wine and finger food while reading various Assouline Boutique art books. At 7 p.m. guests can enter the Maria Callas Hall to watch a performance featuring jazz quartet The Prelude. Complementary gifts suc

FoodDec. 6, 2013

‘Mamma Mia!’ returns with British cast

The globally popular hit musical “Mamma Mia!” has returned to Seoul, this time starring a British cast from the original London production. Written by British playwright Catherine Johnson, and based on songs by ABBA ― the famous Swedish pop group, active from 1972 to 1982 ― including “Dancing Queen,” “Money, Money, Money” and “Thank You for the Music,” the musical offers a hilarious tale of a young bride-to-be’s search for her unknown father. The musical premiered in 1999 in the West End at Prin

PerformanceDec. 6, 2013

Korea, U.S. celebrate close ties, friendship

The Korea America Friendship Society commemorated the military alliance forged between the United States and South Korea 60 years ago and their enduring friendship by hosting some 200 business, military and community leaders in a dinner reception in Seoul on Thursday.Han Chul-soo, president of the organization, hosted South Koreans and Americans who have worked hard to maintain the alliance and build genuine friendships between U.S. armed forces stationed here and locals, including Leslie A. Bas

PeopleDec. 6, 2013

[Photo News] Musician of the year

PeopleDec. 6, 2013

[Photo News] Vehicle donation

PeopleDec. 6, 2013

Ancient beliefs spirited away in the shift to modernity

Shamanistic practices were considered an aspect of Korea that needed to be stamped out in its shift to industrialization and modernization. In the 1970s, the government-initiated New Year’s campaigns, promoted in newspapers, stressed that people must build their own fortune by working hard, rather than depending too much on shamanistic fortunetelling. A few practices have survived despite the government’s attempt to break away from old customs, but most of them are remembered through research an

PerformanceDec. 5, 2013

Assyrian relic taken in war returned to German museum

MINEOLA, New York (AP) ― A 3,000-year-old gold Assyrian tablet stolen from a German museum during World War II and later possessed by a Holocaust survivor ― who may have gotten it in a trade with Russian soldiers for some cigarettes ― is being returned to Berlin, a New York judge said Wednesday.Smaller than a credit card and weighing about one-third of an ounce, the relic known as the Ishtar Temple Tablet had been the subject of a New York legal battle over its ownership.Last month, the state’s

CultureDec. 5, 2013

National library to open in Sejong City

In line with the second phase of the central government administration’s relocation to Sejong Metropolitan Autonomous City in late December, the National Library of Korea, Sejong branch, will open to the public on Dec. 12. Aiming to become the hub of administration information in the country, the 21,077-square-meter library, located at the tail of the city’s long administrative complex building, will eventually store more than 3.3 million books and an even larger amount of digital information. “

CultureDec. 5, 2013

Ringing in the holidays with K-pop carols

For those looking to celebrate the Yuletide with K-pop rather than traditional Christmas carols, there will be no shortage of new releases to choose from by the end of the year. In honor of the holiday season, many K-pop artists have or are scheduled to release special season’s greetings-inspired tracks to usher in Christmas and the New Year. The artists of Cube and A Cube Entertainment came together as Cube United for the collaborative holiday single “Christmas Song” ― not a variation of Mel To

PerformanceDec. 5, 2013

Book reconnects Buenos Aires slum residents to their city

ShantytownBy Cesar Aira (New Directions)The Argentine writer Cesar Aira is a master of dark and forgotten places. Like his late countryman Jorge Luis Borges, he writes narratives that feel like fables. He is the author of 80 books, most of them novellas, only a handful of which have been translated into English.At a slim 128 pages, “Shantytown” recounts a story set in a slum, or “villa miseria,” as they’re known in Buenos Aires. I lived within earshot of such a Buenos Aires shantytown not long a

BooksDec. 5, 2013