Socially conscious thriller ‘The East’ taps into activist zeitgeist

When most filmmakers in Los Angeles feel frustrated by the movie business, they pick up a pen to write out their anxiety ― or pick up the phone and call their therapist.Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij took a different approach.Upset by a series of Hollywood rejections four years ago, the then-aspiring actress and would-be director decided to spend the summer train-hopping with a group of idealistic drifters they’d never met. For nearly two months, they criss-crossed America, encountering strange

FilmJune 14, 2013

Mexico’s Mazatlan is getting its mojo back

MAZATLAN, Mexico ― The atmosphere in the Plaza de Toros, hot in the afternoon sun, crackled like popcorn, leaving visitors wondering just how long the crowd, growing larger by the minute, would sit patiently and wait. But as late arrivals searched for the last free seats, their concerns melted away.Suntanned cowboys in big-brimmed hats spotted distant friends and waved. Vendors selling beer worked the aisles and ladies spread sunscreen on their children. Clean-shaven men, eyes hidden behind blac

TravelJune 14, 2013

Cruising Alaska? Alternatives to pricey excursions

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) ― It’s cruise season in Alaska, with more than 1 million cruise passengers expected between April and September in port towns from Ketchikan to Seward.Cruise passengers who sign up for shore excursions can spend hundreds of dollars, if not more in the case of families, in each port they visit. Taking a helicopter to see Juneau-area ice fields can easily run $1,000 for a family of four for a one-hour trip. A nature tour near the tiny town of Ketchikan can run $89 for adults an

TravelJune 14, 2013

Around the hotels

Unlimited draft beer and barbecue at Sheraton Seoul D Cube City HotelThe hotel’s lobby lounge bar presents two special promotions, “Golden Beer Time” and “L41 Barbecue Snacks.” The barbecue menus include sausages, nachos, chicken, chicken wings and drumsticks, grilled beef, and chicken and octopus skewers. “Golden Beer Time” runs until June 30, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. for 29,700 won per person. The price for “L41 Barbecue Snacks” ranges from 22,000 won to 27,500 won, available from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m

FoodJune 14, 2013

Buchu kimchi (garlic chives kimchi)

This kimchi made with garlic chives (buchu) is one of the easiest kimchi varieties to make. Buchu kimchi is a common summer kimchi that is especially popular in Korea’s southern provinces (Jeolla-do and Gyeongsang-do). Garlic chives are distinguished from regular chives by their flat leaves and distinct flavor that’s like a mild onion with a delicate garlic flavor. Korean garlic chives are thin and tender so they are great for making kimchi. Look for ones with thin and narrow blades. Buchu kimch

FoodJune 14, 2013

Philippine food seeks Korean palates

Filipino food is easy on those who try it for the first time. The style and cooking share elements with other cuisines such as Malaysian, Spanish, Chinese and American.“Food is very diverse in the Philippines because we were colonized by Spanish first, Japan and then the U.S. We have also Malaysian and Chinese ancestors. It’s hard to define what Filipino cuisine is about,” said Sau Del Rosario, executive chef of F1 Hotels and Resorts in Manila, in an interview with The Korea Herald during his fo

FoodJune 14, 2013

‘El Condor Pasa’ invited to Karlovy Vary Film Festival

A film directed by Korea’s art house favorite Jeon Soo-il has been invited to the upcoming Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, according to the film’s local production house.The film, titled “El Condor Pasa,” tells the story of a Catholic priest (played by Cho Jae-hyun) who gets involved with a rape and murder case of a teen who used to attend his church. The priest, whose last name is Park, feels extremely bad for the young victim and gradually forms a special bond with her grieving older

FilmJune 14, 2013

Korean Air’s Cho sues over ‘maternity trip’ comments

Cho Hyun-ah, Korean Air’s senior vice president, has sued three South Korean online users who posted allegedly malicious comments about her “maternity trip.”Seoul Gangseo Police Station said that Cho filed a formal complaint against the users, claiming that they made “humiliating“ comments over the fact that she delivered twins in the United States in May. Cho’s trip to Hawaii sparked speculation that she intended to obtain U.S. citizenship for her children.Cho, the eldest daughter of Hanjin Gro

PeopleJune 14, 2013

[Photo News] Zhang Ziyi arrives in Korea

Zhang Ziyi arrived in Korea Friday, kicking off her visit to participate in the Chinese Film Festival in Seoul.The actress arrived through Incheon International Airport on Friday afternoon. Zhang is to participate in the opening ceremony of 2013 Chinese Film Festival on Sunday. Chinese actor Tony Leung and acclaimed Chinese director Wong Kar Wai will also take part in the festival.Zhang and Leung are starring in Wong’s martial arts film “The Grandmasters,” which has been selected as the opener o

FilmJune 14, 2013

[Newsmaker] The human face to digital scandal

Edward Snowden, the whistleblower who exposed routine mass collection of communications records by the United States government, has resurfaced for the first time since Monday.Speaking to the South China Morning Post, he insisted that he was not in Hong Kong to avoid justice. “I would rather stay and fight the U.S. government in the courts, because I have faith in HK’s rule of law,” he said.He said this, though while effectively in hiding. His whereabouts has not been known since he checked out

Expat LivingJune 13, 2013

Korea, Japan quarrel over stolen Buddhist statue

A Japanese mayor is set to visit South Korea next month to urge the return of an ancient Korean Buddhist statue amid concerns that such a move could deepen friction between the two countries over the ownership of the artifact.According to Kyodo News Agency, Tsushima Mayor Yasunari Takarabe plans to visit Korea’s Cultural Heritage Administration in Daejeon to request that Korea return the Geumdong Gwaneum Bosal statue stolen from Kannonji Temple in Tsushima, Nagasaki prefecture, last October. The

CultureJune 13, 2013

[Graphic News] Seoul 27th-cheapest city for luxury night out

A lavish night stay in Seoul costs $304 (340,000 won) on average, according to data released by TripAdvisor on Wednesday.Seoul ranked the 27th-least expensive city to stay overnight among 49 cities worldwide. The cost includes a one-night stay at a four-star hotel for two persons, a dinner with a bottle of wine, cocktails at a five-star hotel and taxi fare traveling 6.4 kilometers. At $158, or half of the cost of Seoul, Bulgaria’s capital Sofia was found to be the least expensive city for a luxu

TravelJune 13, 2013

Peter Hessler details rapid change in China

Between 2001 and 2010, Peace Corps volunteer-turned-New Yorker writer Peter Hessler delivered three entertaining, richly detailed books on China told through his interactions with everyday people.Hessler left China several years ago, moved to Colorado and now lives in Cairo, but his new book, “Strange Stones: Dispatches From East and West,” is a compilation of ground-level short stories mostly about the Middle Kingdom. Fans of his New Yorker work will find most of these dispatches familiar, tho

BooksJune 13, 2013

Julia Sweeney keeps it light, even amid family and personal tragedy

I had spent all of six minutes with Julia Sweeney when I brought up adult braces.They’re the worst, I said. I had them for two years, I said. They’re the worst, I said again ― this time with feeling.It’s an odd thing to say to a person you barely know. Especially a person who lived through cervical cancer, recently lost a brother to alcoholism and nursed another brother through non-Hodgkin lymphoma, which eventually killed him.Adult braces are, quite obviously, not the worst.But Sweeney had offe

BooksJune 13, 2013