Children play in an alleyway. Women wash clothes by a stream. Girls carry their baby sisters and brothers on their backs. These are the scenes from the lives of ordinary Korean people in the 1950s and ’60s captured in the paintings of artist Park Soo-keun. Fifty major paintings by Park depicting life immediately after the Korean War are on display at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza in an exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of the artist’s death. Park is one of Korea’s first generation of W

Culture May 5, 2015

Kim Ah-young, director of the Center for Islamic Studies, often finds herself in the middle of a tug-of-war between Christianity and Islam.As a devout and open-minded Christian who seeks deeper understanding of Islam, her action is sometimes branded as “dovish” by hawkish Christians. Muslims don’t always find her stance convincing and trustworthy either, given centuries of hostility between the two religious groups.But her mission is clear ― to bring the two religions closer together through mut

People May 4, 2015

Lee Seung-hun’s career story is filled with failures. But when he looks back and adds all those failures up, Lee said, it equals success.He is now living his dream, working as a creature technical director at the world’s biggest special effects movie company, ILM, with his family in San Francisco. “Star Wars” producer George Lucas founded ILM, which is currently part of the Walt Disney Company.“Be tenacious, commit and execute. It’s really hard, but that’s the best advice I can give to the young

People May 4, 2015

Koo Kyo-seong has a lot on his mind these days.Whether riding his skateboard during lunch hour or sitting at his office desk surrounded by animated figurines, all Koo thinks about is how to make “MapleStory” more visually engaging and entertaining.As the chief concept artist for MapleStory, Nexon Korea’s fantasy adventure multiplayer online role-playing game, he is faced with the heavy burden of making the company’s all-time favorite PC game sustainable in this rapidly-changing mobile environmen

Culture May 3, 2015

Korea will be featuring its best dishes at the 2015 Milan Expo in Italy until Oct. 31.Under the global expo’s theme of “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life,” the 3,990-square-meter Korean Pavilion will introduce a variety of healthy Korean dishes, ranging from bibimbap (mixed rice and vegetables), galbijjim (beef rib stew) to Japchae (sweet potato noodles) and bibim-myeon (mixed noodles).These signature dishes will be offered at restaurants in the three-story, moon jar-shaped pavilion, the Milan

Food April 30, 2015

After one live performance and just one email, the life of English teacher Micah Hein took a dramatic turn. A little over a year ago, the 24-year-old American theater major arrived in Korea ― traveling abroad for the first time ― to teach English through performing arts. Little did he know that in this alien country, he would realize his dream of becoming a professional actor and debut with a title role.It all started when the theater lover found himself crossing off what is on the to-do list of

Culture April 26, 2015

The economies of South Korea and the Middle East are inseparable.Korea depends on the Middle East’s abundant energy resources to fuel its manufacturing sector, while the region has counted on Korea’s construction workforce to modernize its infrastructure since the 1970s and 1980s or the “first Middle East boom” era.The two economies now seek to expand their partnership beyond energy and plant construction to health care, information technology and food as they seek a second Middle East boom in t

April 24, 2015

At a cozy restaurant in the multicultural district of Itaewon, Eid serves one of its staple dishes ― bibimbap, a bowl of rice mixed with red chili paste and a variety of vegetables.It is accompanied by side dishes of kimchi, stir-fried anchovies, salad and cabbage soup.The food may look like any other served at Korean restaurants nationwide. But it’s not. Eid cooks its meals, including samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup), bulgogi (marinated beef) and grilled fish, with ingredients and techniques i

Food April 24, 2015

Experience German tradition, customsGermany is known for its strong manufacturing industry consisting of high-tech small and medium enterprises that drive its economic growth. It holds also one of the biggest consumer electronics fairs called IFA in Berlin.But the German National Tourist Board seeks to make other parts of its country well-known beyond technology by launching a tourism campaign, enabling Koreans to experience its tradition and customs.Germany will offer tourism programs enabling

Travel April 24, 2015

Throwback ’70s theme in BoseongKorail will offer a tourism program in front of Deukryang Train Station in Boseong County, South Jeolla Province, where both the old and the young can play games and visit stores of the ’70s. Boseong is renowned for green teas.The rail operator has remodeled the station, and will open ’70s coffee and barber shops to take visitors back in time and reminisce about the good old days.Korail’s Cosplay Festival, which will be held from May 2-31, will also allow tourists

Travel April 17, 2015

The PGA Tour on Friday launched an organizing committee for the 2015 Presidents Cup golf tournament in Songdo, Incheon, on Oct. 6-11.Roy Ryu, chairman of Poongsan Group, will head the committee, which has 13 other members, including Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Kim Jong-deok and PGA Tour deputy commissioner Jay Monahan.It will be the first time the 18-hole biennial golf tournament has been held in an Asian city.  Roy Ryu (second from left), chairman of the 2015 Presidents Cup’s organizin

Golf April 17, 2015

This is the first installment of a four-part series introducing Korea’s springtime tourist destinations. ― Ed.With the cool breeze of winter behind us and the start of Korea’s prime spring season, many people want to break free from their daily lives and visit hot tourist spots.But for quick weekend getaways, a long line of cherry blossoms on sidewalks aren’t the only things to see when the young finish their rigorous school exams and older citizens file their last business documents.The Korea T

Travel April 15, 2015

The International University Sports Federation and the 2015 Gwangju Universiade Organizing Committee has held heads of delegation meetings in Gwangju over the past three days to assess progress for the preparation of the sports gala. Gwangju Universiade’s heads of delegation inspect the Nambu University International Aquatics Center on Sunday. Gwangju Universiade Organizing CommitteeSome 110 officials of the Summer Universiade from 51 countries participated in forums and events in the city to ex

More Sports April 15, 2015

South Korea’s Gangnam-gu Office in the affluent southern district of Seoul will further revamp the streets of Cheongdam-dong to recreate them as streets of hallyu, or the Korean Wave, as part of efforts to attract foreign tourists.The renovation of the streets called the “K-Star Road,” modeled after the Hollywood Walk of Fame, has entered its second phase of construction, the district office said. Its first phase involved developing local stores where Korean singers and artists regularly visited

April 12, 2015