Authentic ‘osechi’ cuisine at The Ritz-Carlton, SeoulHanazono, the Japanese restaurant at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Seoul, will be serving traditional osechi New Year cuisine as part of its special lunch and dinner menu from Jan. 1 to 7. The set meals will include miniature, single-serving osechi, in which each dish has a special meaning of its own, as well as sashimi, jorim (a boiled-down soy sauce dish), stew, glutinous rice and dessert. The osechi consist of prawns cooked in a special sauce, b

FoodDec. 27, 2013

MEMPHIS, Tennessee (AP) ― This Mississippi River city is proud of its barbecue, its fried chicken, its soul food. But the food scene here is often stereotyped because of it. Those foods are what tourists typically obsess over, standing in line at Central BBQ for smoky ribs or Gus’s Fried Chicken for juicy drumsticks. When told that there’s a place in Memphis that makes standout Korean food like soups and noodle dishes with meat and seafood, some may scoff. But Crazy Noodle is real, and it might

FoodDec. 27, 2013

Saeu mandu, as the name suggests, is a variation of Korean dumplings made with shrimp as the main ingredient. This recipe is simply made with shrimp and some vegetables, but you can mix in some ground pork or beef for another layer of flavor and texture. I’m also showing you how to make homemade dumpling wrappers. It’s really not that hard to make wrappers at home. All you need is good old all-purpose flour, salt and water. Homemade wrappers are more resilient and durable to work with, and taste

FoodDec. 27, 2013

South Korean big leaguer Choo Shin-soo will hold his foundation’s first charity event at home early in the new year, the player’s management company here said on Friday.An official with IB Sports said the newest member of the Texas Rangers and his Choo Foundation will join Child Fund Korea on Jan. 6 in a charity event for underprivileged children and children from multicultural families. The official added that up to four sick children who previously couldn’t afford medical services will receive

PeopleDec. 27, 2013

PeopleDec. 27, 2013

Hyundai Motor Co. kicked off its 2014 “wish ball” event in Seoul on Friday. Sixty large balloons have been installed along the U-street near Gangnam station. Pedestrians may leave New Year messages on the balls from Friday until Dec. 31. On Dec. 31, Kim Tae-woo, Lee Seung-hwan and 2AM will perform on M-Stage near the subway station. National soccer team manager Hong Myung-bo, rhythmic gymnast Son Yeon-jae and other celebrities will send video messages.Pianist Kim Nam-geol, 17, will play a solo r

PeopleDec. 27, 2013

The monster newbies of EXO are continuing to pile on to the group’s endless list of accomplishments as one of the nation’s most popular boy bands and have become the first in 12 years to enter into the elite “1 million club,” selling more than a million copies of “XOXO (Kiss & Hug),” its debut album.According to a statement released by SM Entertainment, as of Friday EXO had sold approximately 471,570 copies of “XOXO (Kiss & Hug),” which was released in June, and around 536,007 copies of the grou

PerformanceDec. 27, 2013

The Pony Chung Foundation awarded scholarships to 30 students in a ceremony in Seoul on Friday. The students will receive a year of tuition fees and benefits including overseas study trips and connections with mentors.The foundation also awarded research grants to two scholars, each of whom will receive 40 million won in research expenses and 10 million won in publication subsidies for a year. Those who have acquired doctoral degrees within the past five years are eligible for research support f

PeopleDec. 27, 2013

Thursday marked 10 years since the then five-member group TVXQ made its official entrance into the K-pop scene, performing the single “Hug” on a TV showcase for BoA and Britney Spears. The two remaining members of TVXQ reminisced about their most memorable moments during a press conference held at the Kintex in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province, Thursday, hours before taking the stage for an anniversary concert. “In the 10 years that we have been holding concerts in Korea and Japan, we have been told tha

PerformanceDec. 27, 2013

Oakwood Premier Coex CenterServiced Residence/World Wide/Oakwood Premier COEX CenterThe Oakwood Premier Coex Center Seoul aims to upgrade its sophistication and luxury with the extensive renovation of its apartments. The serviced residence has undertaken a renovation project 11 years after opening. With the first phase just completed, giving a fresh look to the rooms, the second phase is expected to finish by April 2014 and will transform the overall ambience of the residence from classic to chi

TravelDec. 26, 2013

The lobby of Imperial Palace SeoulOn top of being a landmark in the city, Imperial Palace Seoul aims to offer the best environment and services for working professionals from home and abroad. The hotel celebrates its 24th anniversary this year.Located in the central business and cultural district of Gangnam in southern Seoul, the property, known as one of the best business hotels in Korea, contains 430 guest rooms and suites including the Royal Suite as well as two-storied duplex suites. Each gu

TravelDec. 26, 2013

Back in April, as we were wandering the L.A. neighborhood in which he was raised, Walter Mosley mentioned “Parishioner,” a novel that he had published as an e-book original. If you don’t know it, that’s not surprising; it was a small book, sneaked out (if such a thing is possible) in the months leading up to the release of the Easy Rawlins-resurrecting “Little Green.”When I asked why he’d chosen to do it as an e-book, he gave a little shrug. “Oh, you know,” he said. “I write so much, I write so

BooksDec. 26, 2013

DrawingsBy Sylvia Plath(Harper)The most striking thing about the 44 images reproduced in Sylvia Plath’s “Drawings” may be how unpopulated they are.Produced during the two years the poet spent on a Fulbright fellowship at Cambridge ― the same period in which she met and married (secretly, at first) Ted Hughes ― this material evokes a world bound almost entirely by objects: boats, shoes, rooftops, all of it detailed, shadowed, but at the same time more than a little bit removed.That’s not entirely

BooksDec. 26, 2013

Roth UnboundBy Claudia Roth Pierpont(Farrar, Straus and Giroux)If you’ve been tempted to dismiss Philip Roth as a misogynist, a self-hating Jew or simply an old white male dinosaur, Claudia Roth Pierpont’s “Roth Unbound: A Writer and His Books” makes a strong argument for giving the novelist another chance.At a minimum, Pierpont’s lucid book, intelligent but not academic, makes the case that “The Ghost Writer,” “Sabbath’s Theater” and “American Pastoral” are compelling works of fiction worth rea

BooksDec. 26, 2013

“A poem is not so much read as navigated,” Nikki Giovanni writes in “Chasing Utopia.” “We go from point to point discovering a new horizon, a shift of light or laughter, an exhilaration of newness that we had missed before. Even familiar, or perhaps especially familiar, poems bring the excitement of first nighters, first encounters, first love ... when viewed and reviewed.”That’s a pretty good description of what Giovanni is up to in this book, marked by her signature blend of toughness and acce

BooksDec. 26, 2013