Ingredient-focused, fresh suppers at Sanok

When Sanok chef Kim Jeong-ho decided to strike out on his own, he zoomed in on the ingredients, turning to the bare bones of cuisine for inspiration. Kim explained how he, as a father cooking for his child, found himself increasingly interested in the provenance and cultivation of ingredients that made their way to his table. This newfound focus influenced his role as chef of the newly-minted bistro, Sanok, which, Kim explained, means “four types of greens” in Korean. “It signi

FoodOct. 11, 2019

[Eye Plus] Racecourse Park in Gwacheon

Gwacheon, just south of Seoul, is South Korea’s horse-racing capital. At the Racecourse Park Subway Station, the compound of the Korea Racing Authority, the country’s sole race administrator, boasts the nation’s largest thoroughbred flat tracks with a 450-meter home stretch and two grandstands accommodating over 70,000 people. Originally built for the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, it covers more than 1.1 million square meters, with two artificial sandy tracks, sable areas for

CultureOct. 11, 2019

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Joker(US)Opened Oct.2Drama, mystery & suspense Directed by Todd Phillips A clown-for-hire by day, Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) aspires to be a stand-up comic at night. But finds the joke always seems to be on him. Caught in a cyclical existence between apathy and cruelty, Arthur makes one bad decision that brings about a chain reaction of escalating events in this gritty character study. Crazy Romance (Korea)Opened Oct.2RomanceDirected by Kim Han-gyeolJae-hoon (Kim Rae-won) is hu

FilmOct. 11, 2019

[Around the Hotels] Promotions and packages

Grand opening at Nine Tree Premier Hotel InsadongNine Tree Premier Hotel Insadong, a business hotel property under Parnas Hotel, opened to the public Wednesday.Located in Insadong, central Seoul, the newly-minted hotel offers 301 rooms from the fifth to the 14th floors, restaurants for all-day dining, a rooftop bar, a rooftop garden and conference rooms. Its room portfolio is diverse, ranging from bunk beds to three-person rooms for family guests. The hotel is equipped with self-service locker r

FoodOct. 11, 2019

[Travel Bits] Festivals, sights across Korea

Everland ‘Horror Club: Fear the Night’ festivalEverland theme park is presenting a horror-themed party “Horror Club: Fear the Night” on each Saturday of October.The event, held as part of its annual zombie-themed festival “Blood City,” will feature DJs like Bequz and Cream, along with performance by rock band Devil’s Rock.Around 100 staff will be dressed as zombies, clowns and monsters, creating a Halloween vibe. Photo spots will be set up at various pla

TravelOct. 11, 2019

Olga Tokarczuk, Peter Handke win Literature Nobels

Polish writer Olga Tokarczuk on Thursday won the 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature, which was delayed over a sexual harassment scandal, while Austrian novelist and playwright Peter Handke took the 2019 award, the Swedish Academy said. Tokarczuk, considered the most talented Polish novelist of her generation, was honoured "for a narrative imagination that with encyclopaedic passion represents the crossing of boundaries as a form of life".Her books portray a polychromatic world perpetually

CultureOct. 10, 2019

[Herald Design Forum] Breathing new life into used plastics

Plastic can be a valuable material if effectively upcycled, argued Dutch designer Dave Hakkens in his speech, “The Power of an Open Source” at the Herald Design Forum 2019 held at Grand Hyatt Seoul in Yongsan-gu, central Seoul on Thursday. “Less than 10 percent of the plastics (used around the world) get recycled. For companies, it’s just easier to buy new plastic. The plastic waste is burned, sent to landfills or to the ocean,” he said. Hakkens said, he started to

Arts & DesignOct. 10, 2019

Alex Mustonen talks about breaking prejudice about architecture

Alex Mustonen, co-founder of New York-based studio Snarkitecture, talked about breaking some of the biased perceptions that people have about architecture at the Herald Design Forum 2019 on Thursday.“A lot of time, we think of architecture as something quite serious. I think the same limitations that people have with art can also be applied to architecture. They are seen as something that has to be looked at and not necessarily something that they can engage with,” Mutonen said. &ldq

CultureOct. 10, 2019

[Herald Design Forum] Changing old neighborhoods with new thinking

While the construction of a building or a house may be a familiar concept, establishment of a neighborhood or a community is a relatively new notion. Assemble is a London-based multidisciplinary collective that builds neighborhoods, responding to the actual needs of the community. More than just renovating a building, it rejuvenates the whole area, working across the realms of architecture, design and art.Maria Lisogorskaya, one of the founding members of Assemble, took the podium at the 2019 He

Arts & DesignOct. 10, 2019

[Herald Design Forum 2019] Astronomer Ribas stresses importance of preserving our ‘Pale Blue Dot’

Finding another planet with a hospitable environment for humans has been a long-cherished wish for mankind. Astronomer Ignasi Ribas, a leading expert in that field, however, stresses the importance of preserving the Earth’s environment, pointing out that migrating to another planet is science fiction, at least for now. “Can another planet be a possible second home (for humans to live in)? The answer is no, and if it is possible, it would take forever to get there,” said Ribas,

Arts & DesignOct. 10, 2019

Herald Design Forum asks world: ‘Do we need another planet?’

In an era some are calling the “Anthropocene,” marked by significant human impact on Earth’s geology and ecosystems, mankind may be facing an imminent decision about the future of this blue marble. Global warming, exhaustion of natural resources and worldwide pollution may be spelling out an inconvenient truth necessitating interstellar travel for solutions.The annual Herald Design Forum opened Thursday with a rather provocative question: “Do we need another planet?&rdquo

CultureOct. 10, 2019

BTS' J-Hope becomes 1st BTS soloist to land on Billboard singles chart

J-Hope, a dancer and rapper of K-pop superband BTS, has become the first of the band's seven members to land on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart with a solo song, chart results showed Thursday.J-Hope's "Chicken Noodle Soup," featuring American diva Becky G, a fashionable revival of American musician DJ Webstar and rapper Young B's street hip-hop song of the same name in 2006, landed at 81st on the Hot 100 for the week of Oct. 12, according to Billboard's website.The feat was achieved

PerformanceOct. 10, 2019

[Herald Design Forum 2019] Daimler art director puts spotlight on empathy in future mobility

Alexander Mankowsky, art director at leading German carmaker Daimler, said Thursday that empathy should be the priority in future mobility so that companies can roll out innovative automated vehicles capable of interacting with pedestrians.“If we have to talk about ethics, we need to talk about what is human. What are we humans? How would you like to be? That process is always for people. We need to see what we are and what do we want to be,” Mankowsky said at Herald Design Forum 201

Arts & DesignOct. 10, 2019

Michael Govan emphasizes importance of cultural diversity

Michael Govan, director of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, on Thursday talked about the importance of cultural diversity when managing an art museum, at the Herald Design Forum 2019.“To survive in an increasingly globalized society, we need to understand each other’s cultures,” Govan said. “We have arts of all time and places. We have 150,000 objects for our collections and one and a half million people come to see this. We also have 4,000 education programs to show

CultureOct. 10, 2019

[Herald Design Forum 2019] Shaping environment friendly future with creativity

Dutch designer Daan Roosegaarde believes that it may be possible to turn space waste into light in the near future. The artist leads projects that use technology to raise awareness on environmental issues while maintaining esthetics. Based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, the artist is the leader of Studio Roosegaarde, a social design lab comprising 20 engineers, designers and artists.Taking the podium at the Herald Design Forum 2019 on Thursday at Grand Hyatt Seoul, Roosegaarde delivered a lectur

Arts & DesignOct. 10, 2019

[Herald Design Forum 2019] Actress, model, environmental activist Gong Hyo-jin opens up about inner conflict

Award-winning South Korean actress Gong Hyo-jin, who has also made a name for herself as a popular fashionista, shared her inner conflict as an environmentally conscious fashion model, encouraging the public to take small steps every day to save the environment.“I have a nickname, ‘fashionista.’ Part of my job as a model is to convey, ‘Isnt’ this pretty? Would you like to purchase one?’ But since I saw this data, I have been experiencing an inner conflict, inn

Arts & DesignOct. 10, 2019

BTS' pop-up store to entertain fans in Seoul this month

K-pop world stars BTS will open a pop-up store in southern Seoul this month to entertain fans with artworks and fan merchandise, the band's management agency said Thursday.The pop-up store, "House of BTS," will open at a four-story building in Seoul's posh district of Gangnam next Tuesday, according to Big Hit Entertainment. It will run for 80 days till Jan. 5. The fan event, an upgraded version of what Big Hit operated on the sidelines of BTS' world tour concerts in Los Angeles, Chica

PerformanceOct. 10, 2019

Bong Joon-ho and 'Parasite' are coming for you

NEW YORK (AP) -- Even as it's just hitting US theaters, Bong Joon-ho's "Parasite'' is already a major award-winner and a box-office smash."Parasite'' will open in theaters Friday having already amassed $70.9 million in Bong's native South Korea, where the film notched one of the country's best opening weekends ever. In May, "Parasite'' won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, a first for a Korean film. Jury president Alejandro Inarritu said it was a unanimous decision. At a

FilmOct. 10, 2019

Trio Owon celebrates 10th anniversary with Russian elegy release

Chamber music ensemble Trio Owon is celebrating its 10th anniversary with the recent release of a new album of Russian elegies. Trio Owon, consisting of cellist Yang Sung-won, pianist Emmanuel Strosser and violinist Olivier Charlier, released its latest album on Oct. 1, including Tchaikovsky’s Piano Trio in A minor, Op. 50, Shostakovich’s Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor, Op. 67 and Weinberg’s Piano Trio, Op. 24. Philip Bullock, a professor of Russian literature and music at the Uni

PerformanceOct. 9, 2019

Hangeul celebrated on its birthday

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will hold a wide range of events Wednesday to celebrate the 573rd Hangeul Day in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul.Hangeul is the writing system for the Korean language, consisting of 24 letters. King Sejong the Great (1397-1450) led the invention with a team of scholars and Hangeul was promulgated in 1446.  This year’s event, “Hangeul Opens the World” (unofficial translation), is expected to attract more than 10,000 attendees -- studen

CultureOct. 8, 2019