TOPIK applications to open Monday

Applications to take the Test of Proficiency in Korean on Nov. 19 will open Monday.The test is available in two formats, TOPIK I, which covers levels 1 and 2, and the more challenging TOPIK II, which covers levels 3-6. The test costs 35,000 won for the TOPIK I and 40,000 won for the TOPIK II.  Korean Study materials for the Test of Proficiency in Korean (Paul Kerry/The Korea Herald)There are 47 test centers in Korea, covering all provinces and metropolitan cities except Ulsan and Sejong. The tes

Sept. 3, 2017

Finding common ground in diversity

New Filipino association aims to foster a better understanding of Korea’s growing diversity It’s just past noon and the stretch of road occupied by the Sunday Filipino Market in Hyewha-dong is already bustling. Amid clatter of conversations taking place in Korean, English and Tagalog, stall owners selling fresh, homemade and imported goods, try to draw in passersby with friendly smiles.“Hyewha-dong is very popular for Filipinos,” Jambo, 39, said while helping out at a friend’s stall. He arrived

Aug. 22, 2017

Vietnamese-Korean exhibition explores upheavals of modernization

Over a dozen Vietnamese and Korean artists and art groups have gathered for an exhibition looking at the rapid changes the two countries have experienced in recent decades. Hosted by the Korea Foundation to mark the 25th anniversary of ties, “Salt of the Jungle” examines the results of their sometimes destructive urbanization, industrialization and migration.The title of the exhibition is borrowed from the novel by the Vietnamese writer Nguyen Huy Thiep, in which it refers to a flower as white a

Aug. 22, 2017

48-hour film challenge taken nationwide

Filmmakers after a challenge will be in luck next month, when a 48-hour film event awaits them, hosted by the team behind the Korea Independent Expat Film Festival.KIX48 is designed similarly to the 48-hour Film Project, an international competition that Seoul filmmakers have entered in the past, but is a separate event. Like the other event, crews are given elements they have to include -- in this case, a line of dialogue, a prop and a type of location -- and a deadline for submission. (KIXFF)“

Aug. 22, 2017

KOTESOL gears up for international conference

Korea TESOL has opened registrations for its international conference in October.The conference is an annual gathering at which around 1,000 professionals in English education discuss issues and research in the field and develop their skills.Keynote speakers at this year’s conference will be Andy Curtis of Anaheim University and Nicky Hockly of Consultants-E, an online training and development organization. Curtis is an intercultural communications expert and the author of several books who will

Aug. 8, 2017

TOPIK applications to open Monday

Applications to take the Test of Proficiency in Korean will open Monday, ahead of the exam day on Oct. 22.The test is available in two formats, TOPIK I, which covers levels 1 and 2, and the more challenging TOPIK II, which covers levels 3-6. The test costs 35,000 won for the TOPIK I and 40,000 won for the TOPIK II. There are 46 test centers in Korea, covering all provinces and metropolitan cities except Ulsan and Sejong. The test is also available in 72 other countries. Tests outside Asia are he

Aug. 8, 2017

Cultural center hosts free movie screening

Seoul Global Cultural Center is hosting a free screening of the Korean film “Sunny,” with English subtitles, Saturday.The 2008 film is set during South Korea’s involvement in the Vietnam War.  Poster for "Sunny" (Showbox)The protagonist is Soon-yi, a young woman whose husband, Sang-gil, is a soldier who leaves his wife for his college sweetheart. After Sang-gil is sent to fight in Vietnam, Soon-yi decides to join a band heading there, performing as a singer with the stage name Sunny, to save her

Aug. 8, 2017

Daejeon brewery keeps local flavor on tap

DAEJEON -- It doesn’t get much better than a cool beer in the heat of the Korean summer. Maybe unless it’s brewed right in your city, just up the hill. Overlooking the Geum River, the Ranch Brewing Co. is Daejeon’s only microbrewery. It started producing craft beers in June. Manned by three people who are all proud to call Daejeon home, the company wants its beer to become a local fixture.“We want to increase the quality of (life of) the people of Daejeon by having better local beer. I believe l

July 25, 2017

Itaewon internet radio puts Korean underground on air

It is 9 p.m. on a weekday and most Seoul dwellers are looking to wind down after a long day of work or study. But in an obscure basement, the night is just beginning -- one of the city’s most in-demand DJs is dropping some “warm Tuesday night house” tracks, and thousands of listeners are tuning in via social media. Seoul Community Radio is an Itaewon-based audiovisual streaming platform dedicated to Korean underground music and culture. Artists play one- to two-hour sets at the studio for live F

July 25, 2017

North Chungcheong Province offers sponsored tour packages for foreign visitors

Foreign tourists in Danyang (North Chungcheong Province)North Chungcheong Province offers sponsored tour packages for foreign visitorsForeign visitors can have part of their vacation expenses sponsored for a trip to North Chungcheong Province. The North Chungcheong Provincial Office said it has earmarked 136 million won ($120,000) for its international tourism initiative.The province will work with local travel agencies to develop tour packages targeting foreign visitors. Those traveling in the

July 13, 2017

Theater festival to liven up kids’ summer

An international children’s theater festival starts next week in Seoul, with a varied schedule looking to arouse curiosity and imagination in young children Among those leading the ASSITEJ Korea International Summer Festival will be performances from Mexico, this year’s featured country. Tumaka’t Danza Contemporanea will be staging two shows, “Brins” and nonverbal performance “Tubos.” Both use dance as their main form of communication.“In ‘Tubos’ we use cardboard tubes to express that the discar

July 11, 2017

Age no barrier for English-loving seniors

On a hot June afternoon, a dozen expats met at Hannam Station Exit No. 1 and took a short walk over to Yongsan Senior Welfare Center to strike up conversations with the middle-aged men and women there. They are a diverse bunch. Some are on working holidays, drawn to Korea by a fascination with K-pop. Others are between jobs, keen to verify the depiction of the Korean War in their textbooks with the generation who experienced that period in history. Inside the teaching room, they stood in single

July 11, 2017

Animal enthusiast gives Jindo dogs a second chance

Lisa Crone relished being greeted by a cheery Jindo dog near her Damyang home each morning, until she suddenly stopped hearing its yelps as she approached the rice farm where it lived. The puppy that usually licked her so effusively had been struck by a car. Named Elsa, she was found barely able to move, paralyzed in her hind legs and with an arched spine. The 5-month-old’s owner had assumed she would die soon. She was a fighter though -- remaining alive but limp after a week. Crone made it her

July 11, 2017

Seoul Shakespeare Company to hold drama workshop

The Seoul Shakespeare Company will hold their “Shakesperiments” workshop on July 23. Actors perform scenes or monologues of their choosing and then receive constructive feedback from other attendees following their performance.   (Seoul Shakespeare Company)Although the workshops mostly focus on Shakespeare, performers may also select excerpts from other classic or modern texts. The event is free to attend but small donations of 1,000 to 5,000 won to cover venue hire are welcome. On July 16, ther

July 11, 2017

[Exclusive] Korea scraps mandatory HIV tests for English teachers

A controversial requirement for HIV testing of foreign language teachers has been scrapped, government officials confirmed to The Korea Herald on Thursday, almost 10 years after it was introduced.Testing for HIV and drugs began in 2007 in response to pressure from citizens groups angered partly by a website on which teachers bragged about debauchery and the news that pedophile Christopher Paul Neil had taught in Korea.The Justice Ministry confirmed that a revision to visa regulations on July 3 r

July 7, 2017

Gwangju theater group goes back to basics

In a move away from the “bigger is better” trend theater lovers have come to expect, a local performance company is taking things back to basics this summer. In “Counterparts,” Gwangju Performance Project is staging two one-act plays in a tiny black box theater with a minimalist set and only four actors between them. It’s a change of pace for the theater company that usually uses a large cast in its productions. For instance, last year, it employed elaborate sets and tightly choreographed ensemb

June 13, 2017

Gift drive organizer wins Michael Simning Award

Sarah Elizabeth Hale has taken this year’s Michael Simning Community Builders Award in recognition of her efforts as president of the Adopt-a-Child for Christmas initiative. The campaign, which began eight years ago, mobilizes the community to provide Christmas gifts to some of the 700 orphans in the Gwangju area. Last year, volunteers were able to buy, wrap and deliver presents, including padded vests and woolen-lined boots, to five local orphanages thanks to months of fundraising efforts spear

June 13, 2017