Samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup)

Samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup) (Korean Bapsang)Samgyetang is a chicken soup made with a small, whole chicken and ginseng. It’s an iconic summer dish in Korea. As strange as it sounds, Koreans eat this boiling-hot soup to beat the heat and stay energized during the summer. In my house, it’s a nourishing comfort food that we enjoy all year around.Typically, samgyetang is made with a young chicken, which is known as a Cornish hen in the U.S., for its tender and tasty meat. If you need to feed mo

FoodAug. 29, 2014

Around the hotel

Chuseok package at The Grand Hilton Seoul The Grand Hilton Seoul presents three Chuseok holiday packages, available from Sept. 5-10. Package 1 includes a one-night stay in a deluxe room and two movie tickets. Package 2 comes with breakfast for two at the buffet restaurant. Package 3 includes a one-night stay in an executive room, two movie tickets and happy hour for two adults. Package 3 also includes free access to the Executive Floor Lounge, which offers breakfast and happy hour finger food an

FoodAug. 29, 2014

YG to launch new boy band battle show ‘Mix & Match’

One year after top K-pop talent agency YG Entertainment aired its hugely popular “WIN: Who Is Next?” the agency announced that it would soon launch its newest trainee boy band survival program, “Mix & Match.” In the hopes of giving fan favorite trainees B.I. and Bobby, along with the rest of the members of last year’s runner-up Team B, an opportunity to possibly make their debut. Officials at YG have only announced small details about their upcoming reality TV show plans, which are said to inclu

Aug. 29, 2014

Sunny: “SNSD uses triple in-shoe heel inserts”

Girls’ Generation’s Sunny revealed that group members have been using heel inserts to look taller.On an episode of KBS’ TV show “Happy Together Season 3” that aired Thursday, Sunny said some members have used even three heel inserts at a time.“I once twisted my leg when I was dancing on the stage. Even tall members use heel inserts to look better.“Then the real problem began,” she added. “If tall members used one heel insert, members of medium height started using two, then short members like me

Aug. 29, 2014

Han Ye-seul chased by paparazzi in New York

Korean actress Han Ye-seul was targeted by paparazzi in New York as she dropped by a cafe for a cup of coffee.Han recently visited New York for a photo shoot for the 2014 fall/winter line of a clothing company. An entertainment source said, “Han has managed her schedule perfectly and all the staff was satisfied with her attitude.”In the photo, Han holds her cellphone in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other, enjoying her day out in New York. Han flaunted natural-style long, wavy hair in a bl

Aug. 29, 2014

2PM’s Sept. 15 comeback confirmed: JYP

 K-pop boy band 2PM will have a comeback performance on Sept. 15, its agency JYP Entertainment said Friday.“2PM will have comeback with a full set of members on the 15th next month, a week after Chuseok,” JYP Entertainment said in a statement.“Since this is a return after 15 months, (2PM) will be carrying out lots of music and television entertainment activities,” the music label added, asking for fans’ support. The boy band originally sought to stage a comeback showcase in April, but delayed it

Aug. 29, 2014

Super Junior unleashes 7th album online

K-pop boy group Super Junior released its seventh album “MAMACITA” on Korea‘s major music online portals at midnight on Friday, three days before the album would go on sale in stores.The long-awaited album came two years since the previous, as members Leeteuk and Hee-chul have returned from military duty. MAMACITA includes 10 tracks of various genres, including title track “Ayaya” that takes on the urban genre new jack swing, backed by strong beats with Indian percussion. In addition to the albu

Aug. 29, 2014

Yoo Seol-ah marries Woongjin Group chairman’s son

Actress Yoo Seol-ah and actor Noh Min-woo attend the press conference for television rom-com series “Full House Take 2” on Oct. 18, 2012. (OSEN)Actress Yoo Seol-ah recently married the second son of Woongjin Group’s chairman, the conglomerate confirmed on Friday. Yoo, 30, tied the knot with Yoon Sae-bom, the 35-year-old son of chairman Yoon Seok-keum, in Seoul on Aug. 22. After debuting in 2006 through film “Mentor’s bliss,” Yoo gained popularity as one of the four lead characters of SBS Plus’ “

Aug. 29, 2014

Prosecution suspends indictment of singer for abusing insomnia drug

Prosecutors said Friday they have suspended the indictment of a singer who attempted suicide last year by taking a common prescription drug that induces sleep.Son Ho-young, a member of popular boy band G.O.D., has been investigated on suspicion of taking zolpidem without prescription in May 2013 when he attempted to kill himself just days after the body of his girlfriend was found in his car along with an empty bottle of sleeping pills, a used briquette and a suicide note.The Seoul Central Distr

Aug. 29, 2014

Song Seung-heon‘s high school photo revealed

The high school profile picture of actor Song Seung-heon. (Weibo)Korean heartthrob Song Seung-heon revealed a high school profile picture on Weibo on Thursday.With the photo, Song wrote: “High school boy.” In the photo, youthful Song looks serious, beaming with his trademark pitch-black eye brows and clear-cut profile. The Korean actor is playing the lead character in Chinese movie “The Third Love” in Shanghai, China. Song Seung-heon in his latest Korean film "Obsessed (Joongdok)."The official p

Aug. 29, 2014

Small things add up to epic tale in ‘We Are Not Ourselves’

Matthew Thomas’ first novel, “We Are Not Ourselves,” is an epic of small events. By that I don’t mean its story is insignificant but quotidian: the particular struggles of the day-to-day. A family saga, spanning three generations, the book is centered around Eileen Tumulty, a daughter of the Irish working-class in Queens, N.Y. Eileen’s existence is summed up in the first two syllables of that last name ― tumult ― or more accurately, in the drive to push past her limitations, which have been impo

BooksAug. 28, 2014

‘Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!’ an eccentric, witty look at pop music history

The title suggests the folly of the endeavor: “Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! The Story of Pop Music from Bill Haley to Beyonce.” Really? The whole story? Yeah, that’s what Bob Stanley is going for here. Doo-wop, the Beatles, folk rock, Philadelphia soul, punk and post-punk, Prince and Madonna, grunge, hip-hop, Britpop and so many points in between. All woven together in a semilinear narrative.You can laugh if you want. Then you can try putting it down. Opinionated, digressive, quick to play favorites ― Stan

BooksAug. 28, 2014

Making wagonloads of money in pre-Civil War Independence

Merchants of Independence: International Trade on the Santa Fe Trail, 1827-1860By William Patrick O’Brien (Truman State University Press) Out in Independence, Missouri, the ornamental wagon wheel can still be seen in a few front yards.Whatever its currency as kitsch, its authenticity as a symbol of the community’s transportation-based past can’t be disputed.It was the overland transit of pioneer families (along the Oregon trail), prospectors (the California branch-off) as well as commercial frei

BooksAug. 28, 2014

‘I Can See in the Dark’ a well-paced tale narrated by a sociopath

I Can See in the DarkBy Karin Fossum (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)Over the years, I’ve read lots of Scandinavian crime fiction, but nothing from Norwegian novelist Karin Fossum. In retrospect, that was a huge oversight.Her books have sold millions of copies worldwide, and a few years ago she was named one of the 50 greatest crime writers of all time by The Times of London.After reading “I Can See in the Dark,” I understand why.This is a taut, well-paced book written totally from the point of view

BooksAug. 28, 2014

Art blossoms in heavily fortified area

CHEORWON, Gangwon Province ― Mount Soisan, a lowly hill just tens of meters across from a three-story building constructed by North Korea in 1946 as the Communist Party Headquarters, had a U.S. Army barrack and several secret bunkers that were used during the Korean War (1950-1953). Until 2001, civilians were prohibited from climbing the mountain as it was in the civilian control area adjacent to the demilitarized zone. “Underneath where you stand are bunkers used during the war. This mountain i

PerformanceAug. 28, 2014

Super Junior return as ‘real men’

More than two years after announcing they were sexy, free and single, 10 of the original 13 Super Junior members, including the group’s newly returned leader Lee Teuk, are officially back in action with the release of the group’s seventh studio album, “Mamacita.”Coming more than two years since the release of the group’s previous full studio album, “Sexy, Free & Single,” Super Junior finally unveiled the digital release of its latest album on Friday. Although last year the group released two J-p

Aug. 28, 2014

Megan Fox returns to Korea in a turtle franchise

Hollywood actress Megan Fox arrived in Seoul on Tuesday to promote the Korean release of action comedy film “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” Fox was joined by director Jonathan Liebesman and producers Andrew Form and Brad Fuller at the press conference on Wednesday at a hotel in Seoul. The 28-year-old actress plays April O’Neil in the film, an intrepid reporter in New York City who teams up with four teenage anthropomorphic turtles to fight against the evil villain Shredder and his organized crim

PerformanceAug. 28, 2014

‘Audition shows are about people’

This is the 14th in a series highlighting women and their accomplishments in the various facets of the Korean entertainment industry. ―Ed.Mnet show writer Kyung Hyun-ju has been in the game for a while. In her 13 years as a writer, she’s spent the last 10 at Mnet ― a place she says allowed her to grow as a writer.The first show she wrote for at the cable channel was a blind date program, which ended up running for four seasons. After just three, Mnet made her a main writer, something unheard of

Aug. 28, 2014

Batman or Birdman? Venice festival opens with superhero film

VENICE (AFP) ― The Venice film festival opened with a bang on Wednesday with a brilliant superhero dark comedy that delves into the cinema and theater worlds to explore the drug that is fame.The first flick to compete at the world’s oldest film festival, Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s “Birdman or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance,” stars Michael Keaton of “Beetlejuice” and “Batman” fame.In one of 20 films vying for the coveted Golden Lion award, Keaton plays a washed-up actor wh

FilmAug. 28, 2014

‘Supernova’ Sung-Je joins Army

Supernova member Sung-je entered military boot camp in Nonsan, South Chungcheong Province, on Thursday afternoon.After finishing basic military training for four weeks, he will serve in the military for about two years, working in a special PR unit for the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.As Supernova has been active mostly in Japan, about 1,000 of his fans visited Nonsan to see him off. The singer entered the camp after having a brief fan meeting.Sung-je is the second member of Supernova to joi

Aug. 28, 2014