World‘s oldest person dies at 116

The world‘s oldest person has died in the United States at the age of 116, CNN reported.Besse Cooper passed away on Tuesday in Monroe, Georgia, her son Sidney told the television network.Cooper “had a long, good life. She went very easy,” he said.Guinness World Records gave Cooper the distinction of being the oldest living human in January 2011. She was born August 26, 1896 in Tennessee.When asked for her secret to longevity, Cooper once said: “I mind my own business and I don’t eat junk food.”S

Dec. 5, 2012

Seoul’s own winter wonderland

Following is part of a series exploring unique museums, collections and the passionate collectors behind them. ― Ed.For 20 years, Oh Ran-hee has dedicated her life to one thing ― ice. As an ice sculptor and general manager of the Ice Gallery in Seoul, Oh has made it her mission to offer people an opportunity to enjoy ice more than just one week out of the year. “It used to be if you wanted to see ice sculptures, you would have to go abroad, really far away,” she said. “But now, you can see ice

Dec. 4, 2012

Restoration work revealed at Deoksu Palace

The Cultural Heritage Administration on Monday unveiled the ongoing restoration of Deoksu Palace’s Seokjojeon building, the Western-style building that served as the residence of the Korean royal family in the early 20th century. The building is to open to the public in the latter part of 2013 as the Daehan Empire History Museum. “The project that was initiated in 2008 is near completion. We have gathered information from all over the world and have managed to do the ceiling and most of the floo

Dec. 3, 2012

Harvard approves kinky sex club on campus

Harvard University said its recognition of a new club for students who are interested in kinky sex doesn‘t mean the Ivy League school endorses such practices.Harvard this week approved Harvard College Munch, a low-profile adults-only group that will be allowed to use university meeting rooms and post notices on campus.School spokesman Jeff Neal told CNN the club went through normal approval channels and, like any of the other approximately 400 student groups on campus, is not officially endorsed

Dec. 3, 2012

Sarah Chang holds Korea recital tour

For a long time, violinist Sarah Chang has been the “golden girl” to Koreans. At the tender age of 8, the Korean-American was playing with Zubin Mehta and Riccardo Muti and studying with Dorothy DeLay. It seems that Chang still has the world under her spell: She has performed with nearly all acclaimed orchestras and musicians around the world and has a 20-volume CD set honoring her 20 year-contract with EMI classics. She received the Avery Fisher Prize in 1999, was selected as one of the 20 fema

Dec. 2, 2012

Switzerland best place for baby to be born

In 1988, the United States was ranked at the best place for a baby to be born, but today Switzerland is ranked No. 1 among 80 countries, researchers say. The Economist Intelligence Unit, a sister company of The Economist, used a quality-of-life index that links the results of subjective life-satisfaction surveys -- how happy people say they are -- to objective determinants of the quality of life across countries. The researchers used data from 2006, collected by the Gallup Poll, and conducted a

Dec. 1, 2012

Party ideas for holiday season

Holiday year-end parties in Korea are not something that everyone looks forward to, as they often involve binge drinking and not much variety. An online survey of more than 1,000 employees conducted in December last year found that about 70 percent said they are tired of the traditional binge drinking culture. And only 8.6 percent said they looked forward to such drinking. This year doesn’t have to follow the same old routine ― endless rounds of drinks and visits to karaoke joints or other drink

Nov. 30, 2012

Calendar

Theater“Assassins”: Film and theater actor Hwang Jeong-min (“Happiness,” “Dancing Queen”) is making his debut as a musical director this month. The show is the Korean adaptation of American musical “Assassins.” The five-time Tony Award winner features the real-life men and women who attempted to assassinate U.S. presidents. The figures include John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Lincoln, and Sara Jane Moore, who attempted to assassinate President Ford. Hwang stars as Charles Guiteau, President J

Nov. 30, 2012

‘New TV channels are niche, not gold mine’

Koreans have appeared indifferent toward the four new general programming channels launched on cable last year, with overall viewer ratings marking less than 0.5 percent, far behind terrestrial TV broadcaster MBC’s 4 percent.Also notable is the viewing trend. According to AGB Nielsen Media Research’s study on paid-TV subscribers from Dec. 1 last year to Nov. 18, the two most watched programs among the four channels were matches by the Korean national soccer team that were exclusively aired on JT

Nov. 29, 2012

New cable channels far below expectations

When four new cable channels launched on Dec. 1 last year, licensed to broadcast all types of programs ranging from news to entertainment, sports and dramas, expectations were high that it would pave the way for the birth of global media here. But just one year later, the majority of the channels, referred to as “general programming channels” here, are suffering dismal viewership ratings. Low-quality program content and the channels’ conservative image contributed to the weak start, insiders say

Nov. 29, 2012

Exhibition tracks down 3,000-year history of glass

Glass has always been one of the most used materials for arts. Over 7,000 years, its ingredients, production methods and style may have changed, but glass has managed to attract people from around the world with its fragile but transparent beauty. Chinese writer Wang Wei once said, “You embrace the light but has nowhere to hide it. You hold the cleanness but seem empty,” praising the abstruseness of the material. The National Museum of Korea’s new exhibition, “History in Glass: 3,000 years of gl

Nov. 28, 2012

Korea's 16th-century guns unearthed in southern waters

A rare find of guns from the 16th century has been discovered in South Korea’s southern waters, along with stone bullets and celadon pieces from the Goryeo period, officials said Wednesday.The National Research Institute of Maritime Cultural Heritage conducted an underwater survey off Jin Island and found three guns believed to have been used by Korea‘s naval forces led by Admiral Yi Sun-shin during the Japanese invasion of Korea in 1592, the research institute said.The discovery is all the more

Nov. 28, 2012

Walking down the streets and alleyways of post-war Korea

Following is part of a series exploring unique museums, collections and the passionate collectors behind them. ― Ed.The mid-20th century was a turbulent era for Korean culture and history.The suffering of Japan’s 35-year colonial rule was followed by the chaos of the Korean War, which resulted in the death of 5 million soldiers and civilians. After the three-year war ended in 1953, the nation was ravaged by widespread poverty and famine.For those who have ever wondered what it was like walking

Nov. 27, 2012

Lang Lang to go ‘grand but warm’

There’s no doubt that Lang Lang is the man of the hour in classical music. The Chinese pianist has sold out tickets for concerts around the world; performed at the 2008 Beijing Olympics opening ceremony and in front of international dignitaries; and has been under constant media limelight, rare for a classical musician. And now, the celebrated pianist is ready to woo his Korean fans with his Beethoven concertos on Wednesday. He will perform Beethoven’s Egmont Overture Op. 82, piano concerto No.

Nov. 27, 2012

Study: More Facebook friends, more stress

The more social circles or Facebook friends a person has, the more likely social media can become a source of stress, Scottish researchers say.The more groups of people in someone‘s Facebook friends, researchers at the University of Edinburgh Business School reported, the greater the potential to cause offense, particularly if employers or parents are included.Stress rises when users present a version of themselves on Facebook that is unacceptable to some of their online “friends,” the researche

Nov. 27, 2012