[Foreigners Who Loved Korea] Tang Jiyao, promoter of the Korean-Chinese International Alliance

Tang Jiyao was born in Huize County, Yunan province on Aug. 14, 1883. After completing his studies in traditional learning at a private school, he was selected to study abroad in Japan on a government scholarship in 1904 where he embraced modern learning at Tokyo Shimbu Gakko, or School for Promoting the Science of War. In August the following year, he registered with Sun Yat-sen’s Tongmenghui (Chinese United League) founded in Tokyo, and organized an Infantry Corps and Military Studies Society

July 25, 2016

Art with heart: Making children's health wards less scary

NEW YORK (AP) - For Dorkas Kaya and other young patients with HIV, seeing the walls of their residential treatment facility transformed with broad splashes of color and graffiti-like scribbles brought a singular reaction: “Whoa!”Artist Jose Parla spent several days last week decorating bedrooms, hallways and common areas of the Incarnation Children’s Center in his signature improvisational style, the latest project in a charitable effort that commissions top contemporary artists to make pediatri

July 25, 2016

U.S. to return Mayan artifacts to Guatemala

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Seven priceless Mayan artifacts looted decades ago from Guatemala are returning to the land of their creation after a representative for an antiquities collector grew suspicious of their origin and contacted the FBI. Experts called in by the agency quickly determined the limestone pieces, all more than a thousand years old, were removed illegally from two specific regions of Guatemala and sold to a California collector in the 1970s. “Four larger limestone pieces date to 400 t

July 24, 2016

VVertigo atop the Conrad Seoul

What was originally the Conrad Seoul Hotel’s outdoor garden terrace is now the city’s latest rooftop bar. The beautiful open garden space has been revamped into the VVertigo rooftop bar, a dining experience where visitors can enjoy stunning views with a great atmosphere, coupled with an equally excellent menu. The space was redesigned in May to create a rooftop bar hidden amid the forest of high-rise buildings in Yeouido. It was inspired by the sophisticated rooftop bars of Bangkok and New York.

July 21, 2016

Children’s theater festival celebrates ties with France

France is the focus of this year’s Korea International Summer Festival from July 20-31 and, as its organizer, the International Association of Theatre for Children and Young People (ASSITEJ), is marking the 130th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. “France played a leading role in founding the ASSITEJ world headquarters and takes initiatives in developing performing arts for children and young people,” said spokeswoman Lim Ju-hee.The festival caters to children and you

July 21, 2016

How millennial nostalgia fueled the success of ‘Pokemon Go’

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) -- The children who once dreamed of capturing real-life Pokemon starting in the 1990s are now the nostalgic millennials helping fuel the worldwide success of “Pokemon Go.”Take Bailey Richardson. Now 26, her grandest dream was once to set out in the world and capture and train the big-eyed, shrieking creatures known as Pokemon, originally numbering 151 in all.On a recent night, she was outside playing “Pokemon Go” when someone shouted that they had found Aerodactyl, a rare, p

July 21, 2016

Treasures of Versailles to go on display in Australia

SYDNEY (AFP) - Riches from the Palace of Versailles including a harp belonging to Marie Antoinette will travel to Australia, the country‘s national gallery said Monday, as part of a display never seen outside France.More than 130 paintings, tapestries, pieces of furniture, statues and other objects from Versailles, one of France’s grand museums, will be on display in the Australian capital Canberra from December.“The Palace of Versailles has never before lent a collection like this, drawn from a

July 19, 2016

Iraq marshlands named UNESCO world heritage site

BAGHDAD (AFP) - UNESCO has named Iraqi marshlands once ravaged by dictator Saddam Hussein as a World Heritage Site, a bright spot for a country where jihadists have repeatedly sought to wipe out history.The area named “is made up of seven sites: three archaeological sites and four wetland marsh areas in southern Iraq,” UNESCO said.“The archaeological cities of Uruk and Ur and the Tell Eridu archaeological site form part of the remains of the Sumerian cities and settlements that developed in sout

July 19, 2016

Must-visit summer festivals of 2016

For those adventure-seekers looking to combat the summer time humidity by basking in all its heat-sinking glory, look no further because the next few weeks will see some of the country’s most famed annual summer festivals. Undoubtedly high on the charts as one of Korea’s most highly anticipated summer outdoor fests, the Boryeong Mud Festival kicked off its mud-flinging-fun festivities on Friday. Attracting the largest number of international visitors of all the country’s top festivals, tens of t

July 18, 2016

Horseback library serves Indonesia's remote readers

SERANG, Indonesia (AFP) - Astride his white mare, a wide-brimmed hat shielding his eyes, Ridwan Sururi looks more cowboy than librarian as he winds towards the hilltop village, his horse Luna saddled with books.Their arrival sends ripples of excitement through Serang, a quiet hamlet fringed by rice fields and a volcano on Indonesia's main island of Java.“The horse library!” children shriek, sprinting towards the mosque where Luna is tethered. Slung over her saddle are two handmade wooden boxes f

July 18, 2016

Arlington, Holocaust Museum: Stop catching Pokemon here

The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and Arlington National Cemetery requested Tuesday that smartphone users refrain from “catching” Pokemon when they visit. Like many other landmarks, the museum and the military cemetery are featured in the popular new “Pokemon Go” game. Players can stumble upon Pokemon while wandering their grounds.The museum is a Pokestop -- a place where players can get free in-game items -- and online users say the cemetery also contains Pokestops. Museum officials are trying

July 13, 2016

Hidden angel mosaic at Bethlehem shrine sees the light

It was hidden for decades at the church on the site where Jesus Christ is believed to have been born until conservationists uncovered it -- an ancient mosaic of an angel.Since 2013, Italian restorationists have been working with the Palestinian government in a mammoth effort to restore the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank -- hailed by Christians as built on the site where Jesus was born.The roof and windows have been restored and mosaics that had become barely visibl

July 13, 2016