Mexican lawmakers form Korea friendship group

A handful of Mexican lawmakers formed a parliamentary friendship group on Tuesday to promote bilateral exchanges with Korean legislators. Thirteen deputies of the lower house of the Mexican legislature held a ceremony in Mexico City, Tuesday, to launch the group, Yonhap News reported. “Korea is an important country we can benchmark,” Gabriel de Jesus Cardenas Guizar, a deputy of the National Action Party (PAN), who will head the group, said in the ceremony. “The group will strive to make contrib

PeopleSept. 25, 2013

Korean mudflat-inspired garden finds permanent home in France

A garden by award-winning Korean garden designer Hwang Ji-hae is on permanent display in the French city of Lons le Saunier. The mudflat-themed 800-square-meter garden was unveiled in the French town Tuesday as the fourth Korean garden on permanent exhibit in France. Existing gardens include a Seoul garden created in 2002 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of friendship between Seoul and Paris and another garden to celebrate the 120th anniversary of diplomatic relations between South Korea and

CultureSept. 25, 2013

Busker Busker’s latest sweeps charts

Busker Busker released its long-anticipated second studio album Wednesday, nabbing the top spot on numerous music charts in a matter of hours. The three-member band features Jang Beom-jun on vocals and guitar, Kim Hyung-tae on bass, and Brad Moore on drums. Soon after the album’s release, all of its nine tracks were ranked No.1-No.9 on most major online music services including Naver, Bugs, Melon, and Mnet. Title track “Love, At First” took the top spot on all of the charts. While Busker Busker’

PerformanceSept. 25, 2013

Senior actor in hot water over pay at tourism agency

Senior actor in hot water over pay at tourism agency 　Veteran actor Baek Il-seob came under fire on Wednesday for allegedly lining his pockets in the name of working for the Korea Tourism Organization as a nonexecutive director. The main opposition Democratic Party claimed that Baek got away with 77.4 million won ($71,800) in monthly pay and meeting expenses even though he did not attend a single meeting at the KTO since 2012. The 69-year-old actor strongly denied any wrongdoing. “It is a false

TelevisionSept. 25, 2013

Rihanna selfie with rare Thai primate gets locals arrested

BANGKOK (AFP) ― Thai authorities on Monday said two men had been arrested on suspicion of possessing a protected primate after pop star Rihanna posted a picture of herself online holding the creature.The singer posed with the tiny, large-eyed slow loris on a night out in the tourist resort of Phuket on Friday, posting a picture on Twitter and Instagram, without apparently realizing that the use of the animal as a prop for tourist snaps is illegal.The image ― captioned “Look who was talkin dirty

PeopleSept. 24, 2013

Kwon named Korea Coal CEO

Kwon Hyuk-soo, 64, was appointed as the new CEO of Korea Coal Corp.According to the state-run coal mine operator, Kwon, who joined Korea Coal Corp. in 1975, served as a vice president between 2006 and 2008, and then worked for state-run Kangwon Land Corp. as an outside director. Industry watchers said the biggest task ahead of Kwon was to develop a restructuring plan to lower the company’s debt level. Korea Coal Corp. gained the poorest score in the 2013 financial standing evaluation of 22 state

PeopleSept. 24, 2013

N.Z. photographer retraces steps of Hamel, Winchester

When Simon Winchester wrote his travelogue “Korea ― A Walk through the Land of Miracles” in 1988, he was retracing the steps of Hendrick Hamel, a Dutchman who became one of the first Westerners in Korea when he was shipwrecked on Jejudo Island in the 1600s.Now that path has been trodden again, this time by New Zealand photographer Blair Kitchener, who has made a photo booklet of his journey, called “Korea from the Road.”The route starts on Jejudo Island and winds up the western side of the penin

Expat LivingSept. 24, 2013

10-minute play fest returns to Seoul

Seoul Players will be holding its third annual 10-Minute Play Festival starting Friday, with 16 plays by expats and overseas writers.Eight 10-minute-long plays will be performed on Friday and Saturday at Spazio Luce in Itaewon, with the audience voting for the best four on both days.Those eight will go through to the final the following Saturday, when the audience will choose the winning play.The plays were chosen in early summer after about eight months of receiving submissions. Seoul Players t

Expat LivingSept. 24, 2013

Equestrians begin horseback journey from Jeju to Gwacheon

About 50 equestrians kicked off a cross-country horseback ride from Jejudo Island to Seoul on Monday in a bid to promote equestrianism.Organized by a national association to promote the horse industry and a local club of horse riders, the journey started at Jeju Race Park on the southern island of Jejudo and will end at Seoul Race Park in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, the equestrian ground nearest to the nation’s capital, on Oct. 3.The 11-day tour will mobilize about 60 horses for 490 kilometers

PeopleSept. 24, 2013

MU:CON Seoul gears up for second global music conference

Music executives from around the world will soon flock to Seoul to attend the second annual three-day MU:CON global music conference and showcase from Oct. 10-12. The MU:CON conference has invited a number of key international and local figures in the music industry who will come together to discuss topics such as creative global cooperation and communication in the Asian music market as well as having the opportunities to attend showcases that highlight various Korean music acts. “MU:CON is abo

PerformanceSept. 24, 2013