Pyramids quiet on visit to crisis-hit Egypt

CAIRO (AP) ― The lone tourist bus curved through the desert past the limestone-topped Pyramid of Khafre, leaving the camel handlers and postcard sellers trudging through its dust. It rounded one last turn, then settled atop a plateau overlooking the pyramid and its two mammoth siblings.The bus door flapped open, unleashing a dozen Chinese tourists into the empty parking lot. They strolled toward the plateau’s edge, cameras and parasols in hand, just ahead of the vendors scrambling at the prospec

TravelSept. 13, 2013

Songpyeon (half-moon shaped rice cakes)

Chuseok is right around the corner. A must-have Chuseok delicacy is songpyeon ― small half-moon shaped rice cakes (tteok) that are stuffed with sweet fillings and steamed on a bed of pine needles. The name songpyeon stems from the use of pine needles (“song” in “songpyeon” means pine tree).Traditionally, short grain rice was soaked overnight and drained before being ground into a fine powder in a gristmill. These days, you can easily find bags of wet rice powder that is specifically made for mak

FoodSept. 13, 2013

Around the Hotels

Experience the ‘Taste of Walkerhill’Celebrating the hotel’s 50th anniversary, Sheraton Grande Walkerhill and W Seoul Walkerhill have planned special gourmet menus and events to appeal to food lovers. At restaurant CLOCK16, Michelin-star Italian chef Igor Macchia will organize an Italian menu prepared with locally grown ingredients paired with Luce & Frescobaldi wine for 200,000 won. A more affordable option available from Sept. 28 to Oct. 1 will allow guests to enjoy fusion dishes of Korean and

FoodSept. 13, 2013

Gourmet sandwiches in Bukchon

Sandwiches are the oft-unsung heroes of lunch-on-the-go. Two slices of bread slapped around a filling to be downed in transit, in front of the computer or on a park bench; convenient, simple and tasty, the hand-held meal can be found most anywhere and so can be just as easily taken for granted.One bakery-cafe, however, knows that a great sandwich can be much more than that.The Barn ― which first opened as a bake studio-cafe in Sinsa-dong before launching its second spot, a cafe-bakery in Seoul’s

FoodSept. 13, 2013

SMTOWN heads to Beijing for Oct. gig

S.M. Entertainment-affiliated K-pop artists are set to perform for the “SMTOWN Live World Tour III in Beijing” on Oct. 19 at Beijing National Stadium.The Korean artists will be the first to use the exclusive location that has not been opened to any foreign artist since the 2008 Olympics. The stadium, also known as the Bird’s Nest because of its unique design, is capable of holding up to 90,000 people at a time. “Only top Chinese stars like Jackie Chan, Leehom Wang and Andy Lau have been able to

Sept. 13, 2013

J.K. Rowling to pen new magic movie for Warner Bros

LONDON (AP) ― J.K. Rowling’s world of wizardry is coming back to the big screen ―but without Harry Potter.Film studio Warner Bros. announced Thursday that Rowling will write the screenplay for a movie based on “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” her textbook to the magical universe she created in the boy wizard’s stories.The story will focus on the book’s fictitious author, Newt Scamander, and is anticipated to be the first in a series.Rowling said in a statement the movie “is neither a p

FilmSept. 13, 2013

Creativity in nature and life

The Korea Herald is publishing an interview series on some of the world’s most creative minds who have been invited to Korea to share their design philosophies and vision during the Herald Design Week 2013, Oct. 7-11. ― Ed. It is not always easy to create. It is even more difficult to be creative in that process. Maggie Macnab, who teaches design theory at Santa Fe University of Art and Design, Institute of American Indian Arts, University of New Mexico and Santa Fe Community College, has been c

PerformanceSept. 12, 2013

Design thinking ― starting point for problem solving

A key concept in discussion of appropriate design is “design thinking.”The concept, which has been widely discussed internationally, has become the hottest trend in the field.So what is design thinking? How does it help us in the creation of appropriate technology and moreover, as its proponents claim, contribute to the world? Monika Hestad, designer & brand strategist at Brand Valley Design and associate lecturer at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London, says design thinking

Arts & DesignSept. 12, 2013

Changing lives: Design for all

This is the fifth installment in an eight-part series that examines the social role of design beyond its aesthetic aspect. The weekly series is a precursor to Herald Design Week 2013 from Oct. 7-11, which will be organized under the theme “Re-imagine the World.” ― Ed.In poverty-stricken states of sub-Saharan Africa, about 10 percent of people drink any water that is available ― at rivers, lakes and ponds. About 88 percent of people who die from diarrhea are thought to have consumed unhygienic wa

Arts & DesignSept. 12, 2013

Chinese developer declared new richest tycoon

BEIJING (AP) ― A billionaire Chinese real estate developer who bought one of the biggest U.S. cinema chains last year has emerged as the country’s new richest tycoon. The Hurun Report, which follows China’s wealthy, said Wednesday a surge in stock prices helped to boost the number of Chinese worth at least $1 billion by 64 to 315 this year, compared with none a decade ago. The top five saw their wealth double.  Wang Jianlin, whose Dalian Wanda Group Co. operates hotels, cinemas and department st

PeopleSept. 12, 2013

Kwon Gee-chan to receive Italian Order of Merit

Kwon Gee-chan, CEO of Wearfun International Co. and chairman of Opera Gallery Seoul, will receive the Italian Order of Merit, one of the highest honors given by the Italian government, for his contribution to introducing Italian fashion and art to Koreans. The award ceremony is scheduled to take place at the residence of the Italian Ambassador in Seoul on Saturday. Italian Ambassador Sergio Mercuri will give out the award on behalf of Italian President Giorgio Napolitano. Kwon, one of the leadin

PeopleSept. 12, 2013

SNU names first non-Korean administrative faculty member

A foreign national has been appointed an administrative faculty member at Seoul National University for the first time since the school opened in 1946.Bernhard Egger, a 38-year-old professor of computer science and engineering from Switzerland, was named director of information and international affairs of the college of engineering by its dean on Sept. 1.He received a combined bachelor’s and master’s degree in computer science from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich in 2001 and a

PeopleSept. 12, 2013

Going back to basics with landscapes

Artist Kong Sung-hun paints landscapes, which is considered a rather outdated genre by the contemporary art scene. He takes a traditional approach to painting: he takes pictures of images, draws the second images filtered through his inner self and paints on canvas. He prefers subjects surrounding him ― dogs in his front yard, artificial tree sculptures and love motels he sees on his way to his studio and the stormy sea. The traditional practice in painting, however, has been neglected amid incr

PerformanceSept. 12, 2013