The following is part of a series exploring unique museums, collections and the passionate collectors behind them. ― Ed.The monstrous leaps that technology has taken and continues to take today have an immeasurable impact on daily life. These advancements in technology and telecommunications are what open up the doors to a future of endless possibilities, inventions and seamless productivity. Like a scene straight out of a sci-fi movie, the SK Telecom Ubiquitous Museum (T.um) is a visual splendo

Feb. 5, 2013

A rugged young hunter stands with one leg on the root of a large tree stump, a deerskin and rifle slung over his shoulders as if to show off his hunting skills. This scene of “A Huntsman and Dogs” portrayed by Winslow Homer, one of the most admired American painters of the late 19th century, reflects the sense of accomplishment Americans felt during the years of expansion of the railroad and industrialization, as well as one of the era’s most popular pastimes.  Observations of people’s emotions

Feb. 5, 2013

An X-rated website where embittered lovers anonymously post semi-nude pictures of their former partners was sued by its victims, according to American news outlets. ABC News reported that 17 women whose pictures were posted on Texxxan.com filed a lawsuit against the website and its hosting company for invasion of privacy. The plaintiffs’ representative John Morgan said dozens more had joined the suit in the last two weeks. The website allows “revenge porn,” where people can upload revealing phot

Feb. 5, 2013

A Florida man who picked up a portion of a beer case because it was fish-shaped said he flipped it over and saw the image of Jesus.Fred Truluck of Bradenton said he picked up the piece of cardboard from a Corona beer case while walking with his dog because of the religious symbolism of the fish, WWSB-TV, Sarasota, reported Monday.Truluck, who described himself as a devout Christian, said the religious symbolism became even more apparent when he took the cardboard fish home and flipped it over.“I

Feb. 5, 2013

An Auckland church billboard bringing together Jesus and homosexuality been considered not offensive. The St. Matthew-in-the-City billboard featured baby Jesus in a manger against a rainbow-colored background with the words: “It’s Christmas. Time for Jesus to come out.” The complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority said the words on the billboard were “akin to hate speech.”However, the authority said the Auckland church’s billboard is not offensive as it did not speculate about Jesus’ sex

Feb. 5, 2013

RICHMOND, Virginia (AP) ― Using modern technology, a Virginia museum is working to unwrap the story behind one of the earliest surviving Egyptian mummies.The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond partnered week with a medical imaging center to complete a CT scan on Tjeby, its 4,000-year-old mummy, in hopes of piecing together more information about the mummy itself and better understanding the early history of the mummification process.While it isn’t the first time a mummy has gone under the

Feb. 4, 2013

Poet Ko Un will begin a lecture tour in Europe next month as part of the government’s project to promote prominent Korean authors abroad. The lectures, sponsored by the state culture agency Arts Council Korea, will be held in Venice, Milan, Rome and Paris from March to June 30. The celebrated Korean poet is also expected to receive an honorary doctorate from Ca’ Doscari University of Venice, where he will spend four months writing poems and researching. Apart from his European tour, Ko will part

Feb. 3, 2013

Lunar New Year is an important holiday in many of the countries that provide Korea’s more than 1 million expats, such as China and Vietnam. China’s longest and most important holiday, Lunar New Year sees the whole country flushed in bright red as windows and doors are festooned in red paper decorations and people wear red clothes, decorate poems on red paper, and give their children “hong bao” (luck money) in red envelopes.Celebrated in China and other places with Chinese populations including H

Feb. 1, 2013

The boundaries between retail stores, art galleries and concert halls are being blurred by a new breed of multi-concept culture spots in Seoul. With everything just a click away in the age of smartphones, more places strive to provide a variety of experiences in one spot. Known as “multi culture spots” in Korean, the multi-purpose places enable visitors to shop for clothes, get a haircut, eat, view art and listen to music all in one place. Many places also serve as networking venues that bring t

Feb. 1, 2013

Pop music“Soul Play: Brown Eyed Soul”: Soul and R&B group Brown Eyed Soul is holding its third concert titled “Soul Play.” The four-member group came back after a two-year break with the release of its third album and will be touring in seven cities in Korea including Seoul from Feb. 15-16 at the Olympic Park Gymnastics Stadium starting at 8 p.m. on the first day and 6 p.m. on the second day. Tickets range from 88,000 won to 132,000 won. For more information, call (02) 515-5880 or visit www.inte

Feb. 1, 2013

Younger and older U.S. adults show less empathy, but middle-aged adults report more empathy, with women in their 50s the most empathy, researchers say. Sara Konrath, Ed O‘Brien and Linda Hagen all of the University of Michigan, Daniel Gruhn at North Carolina State University analyzed data on 75,000 U.S. adults from three separate large samples of American adults, two from the nationally representative General Social Survey.“Overall, late middle-aged adults were higher in both of the aspects of e

Jan. 31, 2013

The Upo Wetlands are currently on the Tentative List for UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The enlistment acknowledges Upo’s contribution to the local biodiversity as being a site of natural conservation. It is now one of the most visited spots for ecotourism. The listing as a World Heritage Site is therefore supported by many Koreans. The wetlands have played an important role, both naturally and culturally. Alongside hosting local biodiversity, they connect people with nature. Upo is a source of na

Jan. 30, 2013

In the far southern region of Changnyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, is a spread of wetlands ― Upo, one of the most visited natural sites in the country. In early morning, the wet fog on the wetland’s surface creates a misty and mysterious atmosphere, while during the day, the greens accentuate the primitive nature. At sunset, the sun smudges the sky and creates a spectacular scene ― if you are lucky you may observe troupes of migratory birds flying across the setting sun. At night, the insects

Jan. 30, 2013

TIMBUKTU, Mali (AFP) ― “They are not Muslims, they are bandits!” raged Mohamed Elher Ag Abba, whose house flanks a famed archive in Timbuktu where retreating Islamists burnt priceless ancient books and manuscripts before fleeing.There was outrage around the world at the last defiant act of vandalism by the radicals in this fabled city as they fled a French-led offensive on their northern bastion that ended their 10-month occupation.The pickaxes and shovels wielded time and again by militants fro

Jan. 30, 2013

A British facial mapping expert says some may be born leaders because most agree leadership and success is equated with certain facial features. Senior lecturer in physics and a facial mapping expert Dr. Chris Solomon and his research team at the University of Kent‘s Canterbury campus in England asked 100 people to rank 100 faces in order of their perceived business acumen and leadership qualities.In men, success and leadership were equated to a rectangular face with angular features, focused ey

Jan. 30, 2013

Being in a position of power makes people happier, and people who feel powerful in any context tend to be more content, researchers in Israel said. Yona Kifer of Tel Aviv University in Israel and colleagues hypothesized that holding a position of authority might enhance subjective well-being through an increased feeling of authenticity.In their first experiment, the researchers surveyed more than 350 participants to determine if internal feelings of power are associated with subjective well-bein

Jan. 30, 2013