BAENGNYEONGDO ISLAND ― Baengnyeongdo Island is approximately 226 km off the coast of Incheon, in Ongjin County and stands as the northernmost territory of South Korea. Located near the Northern Limit Line ― a demarcation line in the Yellow Sea separating the South and the North ― the remote island is actually north of the Demarcation Line and at its closest, is only a mere 13 km from North Korea’s mainland.On an island where the general population is outnumbered by the number of military station

TravelJune 21, 2013

Spa for men at Park Hyatt SeoulThe hotel presents “Park Club Spa for Men,” which includes a 60-minute full body treatment plus a 30-minute facial treatment. Highly trained therapists will provide customized treatments based on the guest’s physical condition and preferences. Facial treatment provides a deep cleansing to remove excess sebum and debris. Those who visit Monday through Friday before 8 p.m. will receive a complementary shirt dry cleaning and shoe-shine service. The package also includ

TravelJune 21, 2013

Mary Altman and John Pinson, though each traveling alone on business, savored some conversation with their barbecue last week as they sat together at one of 4 Rivers Smokehouse’s large picnic tables in Winter Park, Florida.The two discovered they both live in Jacksonville, Florida, so they chatted about their lives there.“When you’re by yourself, it’s nice to meet somebody and, coincidentally, to meet somebody from your own hometown,” said Pinson, a salesman in his 70s.Diners such as Pinson are

FoodJune 21, 2013

I know that a lot of people are intimidated about cooking octopus. If you’re one of them, I urge you to try cooking with baby octopus, “jjukkumi.” Baby octopus is naturally tender and easy to handle. If you prefer, you can also use small squid for this recipe. Here, they are marinated in a spicy gochujang sauce and seared quickly on the grill. Marinating helps tenderize the octopus, so give it sufficient time to marinate. You will have tender baby octopus with a burst of flavor in every bite!2 t

FoodJune 21, 2013

NEW YORK (AP) ― James Gandolfini’s portrayal of Tony Soprano represented more than just a memorable TV character. He changed the medium, making fellow antiheroes like Walter White and Dexter Morgan possible and shifting the balance in quality drama away from broadcast television.The passage of time since “The Sopranos” ended in 2007 brought all of that into sharp relief even before Gandolfini’s death of a heart attack while vacationing in Italy on Wednesday.Television characters certainly weren’

FilmJune 21, 2013

When it comes to Stephen King, I’m partial to the smaller efforts: novellas, short novels, experiments, the quieter, more interior stuff. It’s not that I don’t like his big books ― especially “The Shining,” which remains the scariest thing I’ve ever read, and the 1996 novel “Desperation,” an overarching consideration of sin and sacrifice and redemption, set in a Nevada mining town. Still, what makes King resonate for me is the detail work, the way he can get inside the most mundane situation and

BooksJune 20, 2013

Until She Comes HomeBy Lori Roy (Dutton)Lori Roy mixes lyrical prose, a noir approach and gothic undertones for an urban story set in 1958 about a community pulled apart by racism, fear and image in her second novel. As she did in her 2011 Edgar-winning debut “Bent Road,” Roy delivers a timeless story that gives shape to those secrets and tragedies from which some people never recover.Detroit’s Adler Avenue is the kind of neighborhood where a woman makes a roast beef dinner twice a month for the

CultureJune 20, 2013

On Sal Mal LaneBy Ru Freeman (Graywolf Press)In her rewarding new book, novelist Ru Freeman plunks readers “On Sal Mal Lane,” a tropical effusion of foliage and children growing up in Sri Lanka, the island off India’s southern tip. Colonialists once called the place Ceylon and prized its tea; Freeman, who grew up in the capital, Colombo, has something more pointed in mind.Her story moves chronologically toward July 1983, or “Black July,” when riots in Colombo ignited a civil war lasting nearly 2

CultureJune 20, 2013

The first in-depth examination of Korean monochromatic painting is being published by an American art history professor in July, shedding new light on the Korean modern artistic movement that shaped what people view as today’s Korean abstract art. “Contemporary Korean Art: Tansaekhwa and the Urgency of Method,” written by Joan Kee, an art history professor at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, offers a fresh interpretation of the movement’s emergence and meaning that sheds new light on the hi

CultureJune 20, 2013

GLOUCESTER, Virginia (AP) ― A farm field overlooking the York River in Tidewater Virginia is believed to be where Pocahontas interceded with her powerful father Powhatan to rescue English Capt. John Smith from death.On loan to archaeologists for more than a decade, these 23 privately owned hectares will be preserved forever under an agreement years in the making and to be officially announced Friday. The deal is important for Native Americans because they believe their story has been overshadowe

CultureJune 20, 2013

Members of Hanyang Philharmonic Orchestra gathered at the college Wednesday afternoon for practice ahead of the upcoming University Orchestra Festival. About 100 musicians practiced Beethoven’s “Egmont Overture, Op.84” and Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 “The Choral,” for which words were taken from “Ode an die Freude (Ode to Joy),” a poem by Friedrich Schiller.The members comprised of Hanyang University students have been practicing intensively for the past two weeks for the festival that ru

PerformanceJune 20, 2013

Young Chinese artists born in the 1970s and 1980s are often viewed as less politically engaged than their predecessors who experienced major political events such as the Cultural Revolution and Tiananmen Square. Although their works may seem to focus more on their emotions and feelings than their predecessors’ politically oriented art, their works are grounded in reality and bound to the problems the new generation faces. “There are more works that are embedded with artists’ personal opinion on

PerformanceJune 20, 2013

Comic books and cartoons have long been good friends to Koreans. From the early days of Lee Do-young, who satirized Japanese colonialists, to green dinosaur Dooly seeking his mother among mankind, and the latest webtoon by Yoon Tae-ho on the lives of office workers, cartoons have been a great source of fun, consolation and encouragement to many Koreans. According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, 1 in 3 people here enjoy cartoons or comics every week. Through Naver, the country’s l

CultureJune 20, 2013

A Dutch romance film about a man and his beautiful wife fighting breast cancer is hitting local theaters later this month.The film, titled “Stricken,” is an adaptation of celebrated Dutch author Ray Kluun’s novel of the same title. The writer wrote the 2003 novel based on his personal experience ― his wife Judith died of breast cancer in 2000, at the age of 36. The movie follows the life of its protagonist, Stijn, who seems to have it all. He is an accomplished advertising executive who lives wi

FilmJune 20, 2013

A new round of auditions have begun to find the country’s next K-pop superstar for the upcoming third season of the popular SBS singing audition program “Survival Audition K-pop Star.” This year’s show will also host international auditions in the U.S. in Los Angeles, Atlanta and Chicago, as well as accepting global YouTube auditions.  “K-pop Star” is a singing battle program that is judged by representatives from the nation’s top three agencies ― SM, YG and JYP Entertainment. The showed aired i

PerformanceJune 20, 2013

PeopleJune 20, 2013

Dozens of lawmakers on Thursday submitted two “Sunfull” bills to punish hateful speech based on race or birthplace. The idea for the bills, which are revisions of related laws, came from Min Byoung-chul, founder of Sunfull and a Konkuk University professor. Lawmaker Ahn Hyo-dae of the ruling Saenuri Party, who is also vice chairman of the Sunfull Politics Committee of the 19th National Assembly, motioned them jointly with about 50 other lawmakers of both the ruling and opposition parties.  The b

PeopleJune 20, 2013

Korean football star Park Ji-sung, 32, on Thursday confirmed his relationship with 28-year-old SBS presenter Kim Min-ji. He said at a news conference in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, that he first met Kim in 2011. Another SBS presenter had introduced her to his father, who then encouraged him to meet her, Park added. “It has not been so long since our first meeting. We have dated since May after I returned home from England.” Park plays for Queens Park Rangers in the English league. “In the beginnin

PeopleJune 20, 2013