Wild idea? Massage therapist says predators can ease PTSD

ORLANDO, Florida ― Kevin Rose doesn’t claim he can cure anyone, but he’s convinced he can teach people to manage their stress.“The animals,” he says, “are fantastic assistants for that.”Those animals include a black bear, three tigers, a cougar and two Asian black leopards. Abandoned by owners, the menagerie now lives at the CARE Foundation, a wildlife center in Apopka, Florida, that works with Rose and his fledgling business, Predatory Perceptions.Rose escorts clients through the center, stoppi

April 2, 2014

Tongyeong, unlikely home to contemporary music fest

TONGYEONG, South Gyeongsang Province ― The sleepy little fishing town of Tongyeong on Korea’s southeastern coast is suddenly awakened from its winter slumber when spring brings with it cherry blossoms, tourists, and busloads of music aficionados who come for the Tongyeong International Music Festival, a festival of contemporary music.The opening of the Tongyeong Concert Hall this year marks a milestone in the growth of the festival that traces its roots to the 2000 Tongyeong Contemporary Music F

March 31, 2014

London skeletons reveal secrets of Black Death

LONDON (AP) ― You can learn a lot from a tooth.Molars taken from skeletons unearthed by work on a new London railway line are revealing secrets of the medieval Black Death ― and of its victims. This week, Don Walker, an osteologist with the Museum of London, outlined the biography of one man whose ancient bones were found by construction workers under London’s Charterhouse Square: He was breast-fed as a baby, moved to London from another part of England, had bad tooth decay in childhood, grew up

March 30, 2014

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Classical Music“Bang on a Can All-Stars”: Renowned for its ultra-dynamic live performances and recordings of today’s most innovative music, the Bang on a Can All-Stars will hold their first performance here. Consisting of clarinet, cello, electric guitar, piano-keyboard, percussion and double bass, the New York-based ensemble will perform on March 29-30 at the Tongyeong International Music Festival in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, and on April 2 at LG Arts Center in Seoul. Its repertoire

March 28, 2014

Around the Hotels

Thai cuisine at JW Marriott Hotel SeoulJW Marriott Hotel Seoul’s all-day dining restaurant The Cafe is offering authentic Thai cuisine made by guest chef Somkiat Dongprateep from JW Marriott Bangkok from March 28 to April 13. Throughout the promotion period, Chef Somkiat will present a range of popular Thai dishes including hot chili and Thai herb salad, yellow curry chicken, traditional satay kebabs, tom-yum goong and pad thai. The special dishes will be available at the restaurant’s dinner buf

March 28, 2014

Classic stage works hit movie screens

More operas, ballets and classical music concerts are coming to movie screens in Korea, offering a chance to watch and listen to world-renowned artists at a fraction of the cost. Megabox, the nation’s largest cinema chain, is launching a new program Thursday, showing famed pianist Lang Lang’s solo recital held at the Royal Albert Hall in London in November last year. Arguably one of the most beloved living pianists, Lang Lang mesmerized the 5,300 audience members who filled the prestigious Briti

March 26, 2014

Revisiting Machiavelli

Niccolo Machiavelli’s “The Prince” is often described as a handbook for ruthless rulers. In the book, he famously wrote: “In the actions of men, and especially of princes, the end justifies the means.” An exhibition in Seoul aims to provide a reappraisal of Machiavelli, taking visitors to Italy 500 years ago. At the time, the country was going through political upheavals, and the author dreamed of a unified and independent Italy. “Machiavelli, Renaissance Man,” now running at the National Librar

March 26, 2014

Old rubber stamp maker Schwaab still making its mark

MILWAUKEE ― You might have thought rubber stamps and embossers had gone the way of buggy whips and common sense, but not so at Schwaab Inc., which has been making stamps and embossers for 133 years.The Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, firm, at one time the world’s largest manufacturer of watch fobs, has added a third work shift to meet the growing demand from Internet sales.The company once known for having a small army of door-to-door sales people now generates more than a third of its business from websi

March 26, 2014

In China, supersize menus are in order

BEIJING ― A Peking duck dinner might inspire a twinge of guilt about indulging in some decadent, fatty fowl. But health-conscious diners at the high-end Da Dong restaurant chain here in the Chinese capital can at least rationalize that they did a little weightlifting before their meal.That’s because the menus at Da Dong are heftier than a small gym dumbbell ― 2.4 kilograms, to be exact. Measuring 45 centimeters tall, 38 centimeters wide and more than 2.5 centimeters thick, the 140-page menu outw

March 26, 2014

Jeju’s female divers a dying breed

JEJU ― On a windy Tuesday morning, two elderly women are selling fresh abalone, conch, sea cucumber and sea squirt in plastic basins filled with seawater in front of the Haenyeo House on Saekdal Beach in Jungmun, southern Jejudo Island. A small plate of assorted seafood, cut up fresh to order, costs 20,000 won.The women are female divers, known as haenyeo or jamsu, selling their catch. “Right now is not a diving period. I will go into the water in a couple of days,” says one of the divers, who w

March 25, 2014

Public art on display in Anyang

Diverse art displays and programs will open to the public starting Friday in the city of Anyang, about 20 kilometers south of Seoul.Held every three years and hosted by the Anyang Foundation for Culture and Arts, the 4th Anyang Public Art Project (APAP) will take place at the newly-built Kim Chung Up Museum, the refurbished Anyang Pavilion and Anyang Art Park.As an internationally established public art event, the 4th APAP aims to reflect on the past decade of the project and explore solutions t

March 25, 2014

Pittsburgh exhibit features Negro League pictures

PITTSBURGH (AP) ― A new exhibit at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Museum of Art shows the vibrant world of Negro League baseball through the eyes of legendary black photographer Teenie Harris. The “Baseball in Pittsburgh” exhibit opened Saturday and runs through Sept. 22. It includes 25 pictures and 650 more are available for online viewing.Harris photographed legendary players such as Jackie Robinson but also captured fans of the era and even youth league hopefuls. “It wasn’t just famous people. It was

March 24, 2014

Embracing the alien spaceship

The alien spaceship that landed smack in the middle of Seoul opened its doors on Friday with much fanfare. And judging by the crowd that flocked to the cavernous belly of the Dongdaemun Design Plaza on the first two days of its opening ― more than 58,000 visitors on Friday and 168,000 on Saturday, according to its overseer the Seoul Design Foundation ― the latest Seoul landmark, often ridiculed as a “spaceship,” may win over the skeptics who argue that the “monstrous building” costing some 500 b

March 23, 2014

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Pop music“Travis Live in Seoul”: Scottish rock band Travis is returning to Korea with its first solo concert in Seoul in five years. Led by Fran Healy on vocals, Travis first formed in the early ’90s in Glasgow and made a name for itself as one of the most well-respected acts from the U.K. Although Travis has always seemed to float below the radar, without having joined the ranks of the most iconic rock bands, the rockers are still often credited with having influenced British bands such as Cold

March 21, 2014

Composer making name for himself

Given Korea’s thriving classical music scene, it is surprising how little support there is in Korea for composers. With little public interest in contemporary classical music and anemic financial support for composition, composers often struggle to make ends meet with the music they make. Ryu Jea-joon, however, is an exception. The 43-year-old is making a name for himself in the tough field, although he is more recognized overseas than domestically. With an album with Naxos, a leading classical

March 20, 2014

Dreaming ‘the ultimate hallyu’

Investing in a country’s image abroad can be a costly wager. While it requires a well-coordinated strategy on various levels and dimensions, an army of skilled and passionate country marketers, and most importantly, sufficient time and money, there is no guarantee of measurable success, given its elusive target: global citizens. Yet, Won Yong-gi, Korea’s chief PR man, has a clear vision and ideas to realize it. “In the past, we may have lacked the substance (to show to the world.) But now we hav

March 19, 2014

Old newspapers available via digital archive

Seven of Korea’s oldest newspapers have been made available to the public in an online archive run by the National Library of Korea, the state-run library said Wednesday. “A digital archive of old newspapers published from 1939-1949 is now searchable online,” it said in a press release. At www.dibrary.net, the archive covers a total of 146,736 articles printed in seven dailies ― Kukmin Shinbo, Dongnip Shinmun, Daehan Dongnip Shinmun, Dongnip Shinbo, Minjung Ilbo, Joseon Joongang Ilbo and Joongan

March 19, 2014

Students press professors to open minds to cheaper textbooks

SEATTLE ― In deciding which classes she’ll take every quarter, Alissa Ramberg often applies the textbook-cost-factor test: She figures out which professors require pricey textbooks, and avoids those classes.The University of Washington senior and student-government senator, who is majoring in political science, has also put off taking classes ― and even chosen alternative courses that still fill the requirement ― to try to control how much she must shell out for books.The price of college textbo

March 19, 2014