ANAHEIM, California ― As we walked across the broad, brick-paved plaza, a burst of music swelled, the strings rising to cinematic heights amid a pounding of kettle drums. A man in a crisp white shirt waved and beamed. Perfectly manicured flowers swayed in the breeze.It felt, for a moment, that we had accomplished something greater than simply walking out the gates at Disneyland in Southern California.But that is the trick of Disneyland, I learned after a recent trip to the “Happiest Place on Ear

Travel Sept. 14, 2012

A group of nine provincial governments and a private “micronation” created a regional tourism network this week to promote diverse travel programs in different provinces in Korea. Nine mayors of provincial governments and the CEO of the Republic of Naminara, a privately owned island in Chuncheon, Gangwo n Province, launched the travel consortium The United Nations of Imagination to promote regional tourism.“Nami Island declared itself a micronation in 2006; it has become a famous tourist destina

Travel Sept. 14, 2012

Latin American art is the highlight of this year’s Korea International Art Fair featuring a large number of Latin American artists and art galleries. The Latin American art exhibition also celebrates the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Latin American countries. The fair, being held at COEX in Samseong-dong, Seoul, from Sept. 13-17, features the works of 84 Latin American artists including some big names such as Fernando Botero, Carlos Cruz-Diez and Jesus Rafael S

Culture Sept. 13, 2012

It has been said love needs no translation, but for a Mexican and Korean chef couple, love sometimes needs a dictionary, Google Translate and, of course, body language. Han Jo-eun, pastry chef of Millennium Seoul Hilton, and Montserrat Pineiro, former executive chef of Hilton Airport Mexico City, met briefly for about three weeks in 2010 and another three weeks in 2011 for a Mexican food promotion event in Seoul. Over the next three years, they developed a relationship through email.“When I got

People Sept. 12, 2012

South Korean rock guitarist Shin Joong-hyun will perform his hit songs for a U.S. audience at a record label’s anniversary concert in Los Angeles at the end of September. “Shin has been invited to perform at a concert that celebrates the 10th anniversary of the record company Light in the Attic,” said a marketing official of Guitarnet, a Korean guitar importer and distributor, which is handling Shin’s concert in the U.S. in collaboration with the record company.  U.S. label Light in the Attic re

Performance Sept. 11, 2012

  Two Korean artists Moon Kyung-won and Jeon Joon-ho and Japanese artist Motoyuki Shitamichi have won the Noon Award, an art award given by the Gwangju Biennale Foundation. The foundation selects an established artist and an emerging artist whose works share an experimental and creative nature of the biennale event. The Korean team’s collaborative video project “El Fin del Mundo (The End of the World)” has been acknowledged for portraying the survival of two artists in a post-apocalyptic environ

People Sept. 10, 2012

Asia’s largest art event invites citizens, visitors to become part of artworkThe city of Gwangju has again turned itself into a huge contemporary art exhibition that experiments with and showcases the latest trends in the art world. The 9th Gwangju Biennale, opened Thursday, offers a variety of artworks not only at the main exhibition hall, but also at sites such as a Buddhist temple, a local market and a theater. Titled “Round Table,” this year’s exhibition features about 300 artworks by 92 ar

Performance Sept. 7, 2012

SARASOTA, Florida ― It is a still, hot day on Sarasota Bay as we slide our kayaks into the water. Too lazy to use our oars, we drift a little and watch the mullet jump while we wait for the last members of our tour to arrive. Suddenly a pelican swoops down and grabs a silvery fish, startling us.We set off a few minutes later, seven of us with little or no kayaking experience. Kelly, our guide, points his oar in the direction he wants us to go, then stays in the middle of our disorganized pack, s

Travel Sept. 7, 2012

Art exhibition commemorates the 100th birthday of Korea’s beloved poet Baek SeokPaintings inspired by Korea’s beloved poet Baek Seok will be on display at Tong-In Auction Gallery in Seoul, which will open with a poetry reading on Thursday. The exhibition, organized by The Daesan Foundation and Tong-In Auction Gallery, will feature 33 paintings by 10 of Korea’s well-known painters including Kim Duk-ki, Lee In, Kim Sun-doo and Oh Won-bae to commemorate the 100th birthday of the poet Baek Seok (19

Performance Sept. 5, 2012

Travel agencies offer exclusive, customized services for very rich foreign travelersWhen Jessica Alba was spotted at a night club in Gangnam earlier this year, everyone wondered why the Hollywood star was in Korea. Photos taken at major tourist attractions in Seoul proved she was travelling with her family. Behind Alba’s stay in Seoul was a private travel service company, which arranged a private guided tour for her and her family. The service came with tour guides equipped with language skills

Travel Aug. 31, 2012

Korea should upgrade the quality of its travel services in order to attract more tourists and develop the travel industry, according to Jiny Jung, head of Cosmo.Jin Tour, a company which offers premium travel services to elite travelers. “More people from other parts of the world travel long distances to come to Korea as our national status rises. Amidst this trend, we should look back at our travel service quality and think about how we can improve it to draw more people to the country,” said J

Travel Aug. 31, 2012

SAN DIEGO ― Maybe you’ve always suspected that there was more to San Diego’s North County than beach towns, rolling hills, expat giraffes and a walled kingdom of brightly colored plastic. But frankly, they had me at beach towns.I always figured the rest ― even the two marquee attractions, Legoland in Carlsbad and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park near Escondido ― was just gravy. Or icing on the cake. Or maybe, given San Diego’s love of beer, the chaser after the pint.But now I’ve spent several days

Travel Aug. 31, 2012

Inaugural exhibition focuses on artistic efforts to create renaissance of Korean artAn art exhibition has unveiled the famous bull painting by Korean modern artist Lee Jung-seob to the public this week after it made brief public appearance at an auction two years ago. The painting, purchased by a pharmaceutical company CEO and art collector Ahn Byung-gwang, is the highlight of the inaugural exhibition of Seoul Museum, which was founded by Ahn. About 70 other paintings by modern Korean artists, w

Performance Aug. 29, 2012

Over 120 works by established Korean and foreign artists on the blockArtday, a subsidiary of the Herald Corporation, presents a special selection of modern and contemporary art this week, aimed at both novice and seasoned collectors. It features about 120 paintings by Korea’s modern and contemporary artists ― from established figures such as Kim Hwan-ki, Sa Suk-won, Lee Sook-ja and Kang Ik-joong to young artists Kim Dong-yoo, Lee Gil-woo and Bae Yoon-hwan. Japanese contemporary artists Yayoi Kus

Performance Aug. 28, 2012