[Weekender] Around the hotel

Summer set menu at Park Hyatt SeoulPark Hyatt Seoul’s The Lounge is presenting a summer set menu until August. The set menu includes a bowl of bingsu, (ice flakes with various toppings), two smoked martinis and a snack dish. Guests can choose from four types of bingsus: Pat Bingsu, made with red beans and rice cake; Berry Bingsu, made with fresh berries, chocolate and nuts; Honey Bee-ingsu made with honeycomb, vanilla ice cream, apple puree and pecans; or Spicy Melon Bingsu, made with cantaloupe

July 11, 2014

Big companies continue to shape Korea’s image

Big companies like Samsung, LG and Hyundai continue to be the main image of Korea abroad, according to a survey released Wednesday. Asked to name the first thing that comes to mind when Korea is mentioned, 40 percent of the 280 foreign nationals who responded to the poll cited conglomerates, while 21.8 percent cited food. “A divided country” placed third at 8.9 percent. The survey, conducted annually by the privately run Corea Image Communication Institute, was administered online from June 24 t

July 9, 2014

Sacramento Zoo wants your yard waste

Sacramento homeowners struggling to stuff all their yard waste into the city’s green bins now have a new place to send it: the Sacramento Zoo.Two weeks ago, zookeepers started dropping off door hangers in nearby neighborhoods. The tags ask for donations of yard waste, and list the types of trees and shrubs that various zoo animals find tasty. Such green stuff is known in the zoo trade as “browse.”“We hope that it will take off so that donations can provide what we need instead of cutting on zoo

July 9, 2014

For musical fans, once is not enough

Ever wondered why the hottest stars in the musical scene are all men? Or who are the people raging frantic ticket wars for some shows, often leading online reservation systems to crash immediately after sales begin? A new survey offers some clues. The poll, conducted last month by Interpark, a leading ticket reservation site for musicals, on behalf of The Herald Business, a sister paper of The Korea Herald, found that only 12.6 percent of the nearly 3,000 musical fans who responded watch a show

July 6, 2014

[Weekender] Seoul’s eclectic, flourishing nightlife

The history of Korea’s nightlife is short. From 1945 to 1982, the authoritarian governments ordered Koreans to stay indoors between midnight and 4 a.m. Under martial law, the city lights were switched off and people were forbidden to go outdoors, except for those on official duties. Nowadays, those hours are primetime for Korean nightlife.People watch the rainbow fountain show at Banpo Bridge in Seoul. (Kim Myung-sub/The Korea Herald)The country has seen its night culture thrive since Chun Doo-h

July 4, 2014

[Weekender] Guide to Korean nightlife

While South Korea is known for its culture of binge drinking, the country also offers a lot of ways to have fun while staying sober.When they are not hitting the pubs and karaoke bars that stay open until sunrise, some Koreans choose to watch films in 24-hour cinemas, check out evening art exhibitions or enjoy bindaetteok ― Korean mung bean pancakes ― at a night food market.Here are some of the ways to have fun in Korea at night, from movies to the dance club scene in Itaewon.Classy Who says art

July 4, 2014

[Weekender] Distinctive culture adds color to Seoul’s nightlife

In the latest music video by K-pop sensation Psy, the rapper and his right-hand man Snoop Dogg drink round-the-clock at different venues, imitating the nightlife in South Korea. They down soju, beer and whatever comes their way.But drinking a copious amount of booze is not what all night activities are about here.From a pub equipped with a digital dating system to chimaek fiesta, new forms of night culture have become fresh recreation for Koreans and once-in-a-lifetime experiences for foreign vi

July 4, 2014

Designer emphasizes fun as mantra in life, business

Rattling off statistics about condom usage, Park Seo-won is completely at ease ― or perhaps he is trying to put me at ease by approaching the subject of condoms matter-of-factly. “Among the OECD countries, Korea’s rate of condom usage is at the very bottom. Japan has the highest rate. There, 48 percent of condom buyers are women,” said Park in an interview with The Korea Herald on June 16.No, Park is not some salesperson from a pharmaceutical company. He is the CEO of Big Ant, who, befittingly,

July 4, 2014

[Weekender] Calendar

Pop musicg.o.d. 15th Anniversary Reunion Concert: The newly reunited ’90s K-pop idol group g.o.d. will be embarking on a nationwide concert tour starting in July. After more than 12 years apart, the five original members of g.o.d. made a highly anticipated comeback in May with the single “The Lone Duckling.” The K-pop veterans are slated to hold two concerts, on July 12 and 13, at the Jamsil Sport Complex’s Auxiliary Stadium in Seoul, before moving on to Gwangju, Busan, Daegu and Daejeon in Augu

July 4, 2014

Older new dads savor wisdom that comes with age

Was I nervous about becoming a dad for the first time at age 40? You bet. But I was hardly the only guy intimidated by taking on what was by far the biggest responsibility of my life ― nothing else came close.“When faced with first-time fatherhood at 49, I didn’t know whether to celebrate with Champagne or hemlock,” author Len Filppu quips in “Prime Time Dads: 45 Reasons to Embrace Midlife Fatherhood” (Bright Lights Press). He wrote the book to sing the praises of being an older dad once it beca

July 2, 2014

‘Booze and brushes’ movement a masterpiece in community building

OAIKLAND, California ― The drink isn’t necessarily the draw.It may start that way for most, as it did for three friends during the recent Booze and Brushes evening at the San Jose Museum of Art. Jane Taheri of San Jose had come across the event notice online and thought it would make for a fun outing with her longtime pals, so they picked up some cocktails at the no-host bar in the museum’s lobby and joined about 25 others who were similarly sipping in a large classroom.Then art happened. Once b

July 2, 2014

Pyeongchang to launch winter classical music festival in 2016

Pyeongchang, the host city of the 2018 Winter Olympics, will launch a winter classical music festival from 2016, said organizers of an annual summer music festival there. Chung Myung-wha and Chung Kyung-wha, sisters and co-artistic directors of the Great Mountains International Music Festival & School, revealed the plan at a press conference in Seoul on Monday. “All I can share with you now is that it will start from 2016,” cellist Chung Myung-wha said.  Chung Myung-wha (left) and Chung Kyung-wh

June 30, 2014

[Weekender] Slow food movement catches on with Koreans

Some people say that dating and eating have one thing in common: They can be fully enjoyed when you take them slow.As far as eating is concerned, Koreans are beginning to discover the virtue of “slow food” ― sustainably produced foods that use regional ingredients adapted to the local environment. With this, locally produced foods are growing in popularity.Jung Sung-hoon, 27, is among those who recently started to take interest in foods that are produced with care and are made with local and sea

June 27, 2014

[Weekender] Calendar

Dance“Don Quixote”: Following the Korean National Ballet’s staging of “Swan Lake” this past April, the company is gearing up to present it latest production, a resurrection of Marius Petipa’s classical tale of humor, “Don Quixote.” Based on the eponymous novel by Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes, the ballet version first made its premiere more than 260 years ago and has since become one of the ballet world’s most beloved comical productions. “Don Quixote” will run from June 26-29 at the Seoul

June 27, 2014

Lost in translation?

The year 2011 was a great year for Korean literature abroad. Writer Shin Kyung-sook’s “Please Look After Mom,” originally published in Korean in 2009, achieved international acclaim, a first for a Korean literary work in translation. The following year, Shin received the prestigious 2011 Man Asian Literary Prize, the first Korean and the first woman to receive the prize, which recognizes the best work of fiction by an Asian writer in English or translated into English. After years of disappointm

June 26, 2014