Suncheon, a scenic city in South Jeolla Province, will host an environmental festival next week. The Suncheon EcoGeo Festival will feature a variety of events ― music, arts and family activities ― along with some nature-themed events intended to raise environmental awareness. Suncheon is globally recognized for its ecological value with its wetland Suncheon Bay, home to migratory birds and species like mudskippers and mud crabs. The weekend festival, which runs from May 25-27, also aims to attra

Travel May 18, 2012

HONG KONG ― India has the Taj Mahal. In France, of course, it’s the Eiffel Tower. Russia has Red Square and South Africa has Cape Town’s Table Mountain. Each a treasure, and each reason enough for a pilgrimage.In Hong Kong, the sight to see is not a single monument or even a majestic natural vista. It is the city’s glittering homage to the modern skyscraper ― a breathtaking skyline with verdant Victoria Peak as the picture-postcard backdrop.Still, when I arrived in Hong Kong for a long weekend l

Travel May 18, 2012

 Veteran designer Lie Sang-bong: Collective power of fashion houses is more important than promoting top namesA veteran designer has taken on the challenge of unifying fashion designers here as part of an effort to connect different generations in the industry. “It’s about time. We have been talking about unifying the fashion sector since last year. Each designer has a role to play in the development of Korean fashion, but till now there has been no platform that allows us to play that role,” sa

Arts & Design May 14, 2012

HEXHAM, England ― A bone-chilling rain swept over the moors on the October day we hiked to the top of the ruins of Hadrian’s Wall, a few miles south of the Scottish border.Gusts of wind, scouring the tumble-down ruins of the Second Century Roman barracks built on the summit drove most sensible people indoors. But the dark clouds and lowering sky, pelting the armory, shrine and sleeping quarters with rain, set the mood as nothing else could have done. Shivering in my summer-weight parka ― a last-

Travel May 11, 2012

LONDON ― Between the Olympics and a certain queen’s Diamond Jubilee, expect plenty of airport delays here this summer. That could mean napping with the masses in the vast open seating areas of Heathrow.But here’s a tip. Tucked away in Terminal 4 is a futuristic little place called the Yotel, where for as little as 32 pounds, or $51, for a single, you can grab a few hours of blissful shut-eye and a hot shower in something that looks like a deluxe cabin on a federation starship.My wife and I flew

Travel May 11, 2012

Paintings from the cultural golden age of Joseon will go on public display at the Kansong Art Museum starting Sunday. It will be the first exhibition this year for the museum, a treasure trove of artwork including more than 10 National Treasures, which also marks the 50th anniversary of the death of its founder Jeon Hyeong-pil. Named after Jeon’s pen name, the museum holds only two exhibitions a year, each free of charge and lasting two weeks. The doors and the windows at this venerable institut

Culture May 10, 2012

Quartet describes the album as ‘buffet’ of different genresUlala Session, the winner of the nation’s famous TV audition program “Superstar K3,” has made their professional debut with their first mini album on Thursday.  “We are so overwhelmed by the release of our debut album. The mini album is the start of our journey in our music career,” said the group’s leader Yim Yoon-taek at a news conference on Wednesday. The quartet, which consists of Yim, Kim Myung-hoon, Park Seung-il and Park Kwang-sun

Performance May 9, 2012

Photographer captures anxiety of soldiers standing in the middle between ‘we’ and ‘I’One photographer, well-known for portraits capturing the anxiety in individuals, had never taken portraits of men as they are not good at revealing their inner selves. But captivated by the instability and anxiety he saw in young soldiers, Oh Hein-kuhn began to document them as “middlemen” who are isolated from the outside world and caught in the middle of conflicts between the individual and the collective in t

Culture May 8, 2012

Experts question legitimacy of ownership on valuable text on Korean alphabetThe legal owner of the missing text of Korea’s writing system Hangeul handed over ownership to the government on Monday.The state-run Cultural Heritage Administration said it hoped the ownership transfer could lead to a breakthrough in finding the missing piece as officials need to have the full rights to investigate without getting consent from the owner. “I decided to donate my ownership of Hunminjeongeum to retrieve t

Culture May 7, 2012

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico ― The walls around Old San Juan are tall and very imposing.They are as tall as 42 feet and as thick as 45 feet at the base, 2 feet at the top. The muralla or city wall features two walls of sandstone blocks, filled with sand, mortar, limestone and water.The walls served San Juan well, thwarting pirates and foreign invaders for hundreds of years. That includes the English, the Dutch and the Americans.Slaves began building them in 1630 and continued for 150 years. The walls f

Culture May 4, 2012

The legendary Japanese rock band L’Arc-en-Ciel will meet long-waiting Korean fans at a concert on Saturday in Seoul, making the city the 10th stop on their grand world tour. Celebrating its 20th anniversary, the band embarked on a 14-city world tour, expecting to attract a total of 450,000 fans.“I really thank our fans. Their love and cheers have driven us to keep doing what we have been doing,” said the bassist Tetsuya at a news conference on Friday in Seoul. “I feel so lucky because there are

Performance May 4, 2012

Singer Lee Hyo-ri renewed her soju model contract with Lotte Liquor, becoming the longest-serving soju model. She signed her first contract with the company in 2007. Lee signed her 9th contract for the brand’s signature soju “Like the First Tim,” in a deal that is renewable every six months. “Lee has made sensational soju of her own like ‘twister soju’ and ‘Hyori soju’ throughout our campaign ‘Shaking the Soju Bottle,’” said a Lotte Liquor official. According to the company, Lee has contributed

People May 2, 2012

 New format may fail to attract viewers; hard to beat other TV auditions for amateur singers MBC’s “I Am a Singer,” last year’s hit singing competition that pitted top performers against one another, kicked off its second season on Sunday amid high expectations from viewers. The show has a new format -- new competition rules, contestants, a live broadcast -- all orchestrated by producer Kim Young-hee, who has been reinstated for the new season after being replaced following last season’s public

Television May 2, 2012