[Weekender] Traditional liquors diversify, enrich tastes in Korea

Before the colonial Japanese government imposed its liquor tax law here in 1909, the country’s alcohol scene was varied and vibrant, with local breweries concocting their own beverages.Korea’s rapid, centralized modernization in the postwar years produced a handful of drinks -- soju, beer and makgeolli in particular -- that quenched the thirst of industrialists and salarymen alike. Korea’s traditional liquors, including takju (opaque, coarsely fermented drinks), yakju (filtered rice wine), soju

Nov. 11, 2016

$1m in gold coins from 1715 shipwreck on the market

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- A New Orleans investment firm has begun marketing gold coins from a 300-year-old shipwreck discovered off Florida’s coast.Blanchard and Co. is one of two dealers offering the coins from an area where 11 treasure-laden ships of a Spanish fleet were smashed onto reefs by a hurricane on July 31, 1715. The other dealer is California-based Monaco Rare Coins.John Albanese, a New Jersey-based coin expert who brokered the sales, said in an interview Friday that most of the 295 coins

Nov. 8, 2016

[Herald Review] Lee Woo-jae mesmerizing as evil fairy godmother in ‘Sleeping Beauty’

For the first time in over a decade, the Korean National Ballet will perform Rudolf Nureyev’s “Sleeping Beauty.”The KNB first introduced Nureyev’s rendition of the classic fairy tale to local audiences in 2004.For this performance, they invited former Stuttgart Ballet prima ballerina Marcia Haydee to take charge of the choreography. The roughly three-hour-long ballet got off to a slow start during the full-concert press rehearsal at the Seoul Arts Center on Wednesday. However, that all changed t

Nov. 3, 2016

Florence recalls its 'Angels of the Mud' 50 years later

FLORENCE, Italy (AFP) -- Fifty years after the river Arno burst its banks with devastating consequences, Florence will this week remember the “Angels of the Mud” who came to save the Italian city's artistic treasures.The army of cultural rescue volunteers came from all over and, half a century later, the events of Nov. 4, 1966 and its aftermath still burn bright in the memory of Antonina Bargellini.“There is not one Florentine who is not moved when the subject of the disaster comes up,” recalls

Nov. 3, 2016

Lebanon's national museum reveals long-hidden treasures

BEIRUT (AFP) -- Beirut’s National Museum has opened its basement of ancient treasures for the first time in four decades to show the public its stunning array of funerary art, including the world’s largest collection of anthropoid sarcophagi.The new exhibition‘s 520 pieces range from the Paleolithic period to the Ottoman Empire. They include Phoenician stelae and rare medieval Christian mummies along with the anthropoid coffins, which display a human face on the sarcophagus and were long a stand

Nov. 2, 2016

Louvre could house treasures from Iraq, Syria: Hollande

LENS (AFP) - French President Francois Hollande on Tuesday said the Louvre could house threatened treasures from Iraq, Syria and other war-torn countries at a secure site in northern France.The precious items could be placed in safekeeping at a conservation facility due to open in 2019 in Lievin, 200 kilometers north of Paris, he said.“The prime mission of the Lievin site will be to house the Louvre Museum’s stored collection,” Hollande said at a ceremony to unveil a plaque marking the site.But,

Nov. 2, 2016

[Foreigners Who Loved Korea] Mary F.B. Scranton: Fostering education for women

Mary F.B. Scranton was born to a Methodist Episcopal minister’s family in Massachusetts in 1832. She married William Talcott Scranton in 1853, only to lose him at the age of 40. In 1885, she was dispatched as the first female missionary to Korea by the US Methodist Woman’s Foreign Missionary Society, and dedicated her life toward raising the status of Korean women.Establishing values through missionary workProtestant missionary work emphasized education, medical care and welfare. Early Methodist

Nov. 1, 2016

Jeju’s women divers close to UNESCO listing

The culturally iconic “haenyeo,” or female divers, of Jeju Island will most likely be listed as Korea’s next Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of UNESCO, according to the Cultural Heritage Administration on Monday. “Currently Korea has 18 Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of UNESCO listings, so if Jeju’s haenyeo becomes inscribed, then it will give the country its 19th cultural heritage listing,” said the government agency, adding that it is very confident of this happening. The Cu

Nov. 1, 2016

Culture Ministry to probe disputed projects

The Culture Ministry will review projects that were allegedly carried out under the influence of TV commercial film director Cha Eun-taek.The ministry, mired in controversy following allegations that President Park Geun-hye’s close confidante Choi Soon-sil and Cha were behind several ministry projects, announced Monday it would “thoroughly investigate” any illegalities or private gains that may have arisen over the course of the disputed projects.The statement followed the ministry’s previous st

Oct. 31, 2016

75 and loving it: Wonder Woman has complicated place in pop culture

This is an unparalleled time for women in American history.The polls are predicting the first female president. Narrowing the wage gap has become part of legislative agendas. Activists are battling against sexual assault and for abortion rights with a fervor not seen in decades and the glass ceiling is looking more fragile every day.It is also the 75th anniversary of Wonder Woman.Coincidence? Perhaps not.The creation of Dr. William Moulton Marston, a psychologist with broad-minded views on sexua

Oct. 31, 2016

Culture Ministry denies being ‘taken over’ by Choi, Cha

The Culture Ministry on Saturday refuted allegations that Choi Soon-sil, President Park Geun-hye’s confidante accused of influence peddling, had masterminded some of the ministry’s major projects.In a press statement, the ministry denied knowledge of the documents reported to have been in Choi’s possession. It also rebuffed suggestions that Cha Eun-taek, an ad film director and close acquaintance of Choi, had led many of the ministry’s key initiatives.Last Thursday, local daily Chosun Ilbo and c

Oct. 30, 2016

AfreecaTV unveils new profit-sharing plans after stock plunges

AfreecaTV, South Korea’s biggest video-streaming platform, has pledged to offer a fair profit-sharing scheme to streamers after its shares plummeted. The move came after four of its top streamers decided to leave AfreecaTV in favor of YouTube over profit-sharing issues. Investors took the departure of heavyweights as a bad sign. Shares of AfreecaTV went down by as much as 14 percent over the past two weeks to trade at 25,150 won in early Friday trading on the KOSDAQ. AfreecaTV lost about 44 bill

Oct. 28, 2016

Actor Namgung Won receives national order for cultural contribution

Veteran actor Namgung Won, one of the most prominent Korean film stars from the 1960s to ’80s, on Thursday received the Order of Cultural Merit, Silver Crown, the second highest medal awarded to those who have significantly contributed to the cultural development of the country.“I am proud that I was able to devote my youth to acting during the 1960s, a time when Korean popular culture and film blossomed. I miss those times,” Namgung told The Korea Herald ahead of the awards ceremony, held Thurs

Oct. 27, 2016

Israel unveils ‘oldest’ Hebrew mention of Jerusalem

JERUSALEM (AFP) -- Israeli archaeologists Wednesday unveiled a seventh century B.C. text they said contains the earliest mention in Hebrew of Jerusalem outside the Bible, prompting officials to stress the Jewish connection to the city.“For Israeli archaeology, this is the first mention in Hebrew of the city of Jerusalem outside the New Testament,” Amir Ganor of Israel’s antiquities authority told AFP as the papyrus was presented in Jerusalem. The antiquities authority said the papyrus, found nea

Oct. 27, 2016

Last Emperor's nephew puts Chinese history on show

BEIJING (AFP) -- His uncle was the last emperor of China, reigning over the Middle Kingdom from the Forbidden City. Now Jin Yulan scours the antique shops of Communist-ruled Beijing for trinkets that might once have belonged to his family.The Qing dynasty ruled over China for 268 years until it was deposed after the 1911 revolution. But interest in the past is growing, and when Jin opened an exhibition of his artifacts this week dozens of enthusiasts attended.A retired teacher dressed in a polo

Oct. 26, 2016