Bukeoguk is a soup made with dried pollack. Depending on the process used to dry the fish, dried pollack is usually called bukeo or hwangtae. You can use either one for this soup. Dried pollack keeps well for a long time and can be rehydrated very quickly by soaking it in warm water. Keep a bag of shredded bukeo (or hwangtae) in your pantry. It comes in handy for a quick soup or side dish. The unique flavor of the dried fish makes the soup very flavorful but not fishy. Dried pollack is a rich so

FoodJan. 17, 2014

 Winter oyster festival at Grand Ambassador SeoulGrand Ambassador Seoul’s restaurant Cafe de Chef is offering fresh oyster dishes for the winter season until Feb. 28. Set menus provide a variety of oyster dishes for both lunch and dinner. The Oyster Executive set (66,000 won) includes a choice of appetizers among fresh oyster, oyster cocktails and ginger buttered oyster, as well as an oyster cream soup, a main dish and dessert. The Oyster Dinner Special set (77,000 won) offers a choice of appeti

TravelJan. 17, 2014

A new Korean food show for the international audience has been unleashed.The program, titled “Korean Food Made Simple,” aired its first two episodes on Dec. 18 and 19 on MBC. According to a Mokpo MBC representative, the remaining episodes will air on Saturdays at 1:55 a.m. starting Jan. 18.“Korean Food Made Simple” will also be rolled out in around 81 countries including America and Europe starting this February, the program’s supporter, the Korean Food Foundation, stated.The show is, according

FoodJan. 17, 2014

There is good news for all those who experienced nostalgia from “Answer Me 1994” before the hit Korean television series came to a close last month. A live concert featuring its cast and singers from the soundtrack will be held on Feb. 15 at Kyung Hee University’s Grand Peace Palace in Seoul, organizers said. It will be held twice at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. The event will feature special appearances by the drama’s main cast Go Ah-ra, Jung Woo, Kim Sang-kyun and Min Do-hee as well as performances by ha

TelevisionJan. 17, 2014

The con-artist comedy “American Hustle” and the 3-D space odyssey “Gravity” lead the Academy Awards with 10 nominations each, with the historical epic “12 Years a Slave” trailing closely with nine nominations. The nominations announced Thursday set up a race between three very different films, all of which were nominated for best picture. The 86th annual Academy Awards will take place March 2. Mexican-born “Gravity” director Alfonso Cuaron and British-born “12 Years a Slave” director Steve McQue

FilmJan. 17, 2014

The cast of popular MBC comedy program “Infinite Challenge” will head to South America to root for the Korean national soccer team in the upcoming Brazil World Cup, the production team announced Friday.(MBC)“We decided to fly to Brazil, hoping for the Korean national team to win,” the production team said.The cast includes the nation’s top comedians Yoo Jae-suk, Park Myung-soo and Noh Hong-chul.The decision came amid heightened expectations of the comedy program’s special episode for the popular

TelevisionJan. 17, 2014

An original reel of a film from the 1960s dealing with the history of Korean pop music has been discovered, the Korean Film Archive announced on Wednesday.Titled “A Half Century of Korean Pop Songs,” the flick is said to chronicle Korea’s popular music history from the 1920s to the late 1960s. The archive will hold a special screening of the film for music specialists in March and show it to the public in May.  Directed by Kim Gwang-soo in 1968, the documentary film features color footage of som

FilmJan. 16, 2014

Nine years have passed since Chung Myung-whun took the helm of Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra. But his goal has not changed since the day he took over as music director. “The advancement of the orchestra ― that is my only goal,” the maestro said. “I ask one thing from all members ― be better every day.” That is tough, he admitted, but ceaseless efforts are the only way for the orchestra to advance to the global level. “World-class orchestras are still way ahead of us,” the pianist-turned-conductor

PerformanceJan. 16, 2014

LONDON (AFP) ― It’s been 26 years since the skinny girl from south London was spotted at JFK airport but Kate Moss, who celebrates her 40th birthday on Thursday, is still on top of her game.The British supermodel greeted the landmark birthday in typically rocking style by posing as a bunny girl for Playboy magazine in black stilettos and rabbit ears.She riled a few feminists but it was hard to deny that while the years may be rushing by, she’s still got it.Moss has recently fronted campaigns by

Arts & DesignJan. 16, 2014

MEXICO CITY (AP) ― Juan Gelman, a renowned Argentine poet and left-wing activist who was awarded the prestigious Cervantes Prize, has died in Mexico. He was 83. Argentine President Cristina Fernandez on Wednesday announced three days of mourning in his native country, where writers paid homage to him as one of the most brilliant writers in Spanish of the 20th century. “Gelman worked with words like they were plastic, he modeled them,” writer Vicente Muleiro told reporters. He was widely mourned

CultureJan. 16, 2014

Popular K-pop starlet Kang Ji-young of KARA will be leaving the group, following fellow member Nicole’s departure confirmed just a day before, according to a statement issued by her agency, DSP Media, on Wednesday.Kang, whose contract with DSP Media ends in April, has previously mentioned that she may leave the group in order to study abroad.DSP Media announced on Tuesday that only Nicole was leaving KARA as her contract expired on Jan. 16, but that Kang was still considering her options regardi

PerformanceJan. 16, 2014

Park Jin-young, one of the nation’s most successful music producers, has officially launched his new boy band GOT7 under JYP Entertainment, with the group’s public debut at a garage showcase held in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, Wednesday. Equipped with flips, tricks and stunts, the seven members of GOT7 ― leader JB and Jr., of the former JJ Project duo; Mark; Jackson; Bam Bam; Youngjae; and Yoogyeom ― took the stage with the group’s first lead single, “Girls Girls Girls.” The track was written and produ

PerformanceJan. 16, 2014

Ransom Riggs and Tahereh Mafi spend their days in Santa Monica, sitting side by side at a shared desk in identical chairs in their backyard office, wearing headphones, working at their laptops. Across a cool green expanse sits their Spanish-style house, hidden behind a vine-covered wall.“I really loved books about secret worlds, like ‘The Secret Garden’ and the ‘Bridge to Terabithia,’” says Riggs, whose young adult novel “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” was a bestseller in 2011. “St

BooksJan. 16, 2014

For decades, finding Spanish-language books in the U.S. was like tilting at windmills.Booksellers stocked few titles in the language of Cervantes, and those they carried came at a hefty premium. A paperback copy of “Don Quijote” in the original Spanish could easily cost triple the price of a deluxe hard-bound translation in English ― if it could be found at all.Retailers blamed the expense of importing books printed in Spain and Latin America. And U.S. publishers lost faith in the market after b

BooksJan. 16, 2014