“Have you eaten rice?”It’s one of the most frequently used greetings in Korea, where the staple has long been considered a synonym for a meal. Even amid the rise of western food and snacks, rice continued to be appreciated as the prime source of sustenance and a symbol of the country’s traditional food legacy.But recent health trends increasingly consider rice -- and carbohydrates in general -- to be the main culprit of obesity and all sorts of other modern lifestyle dise

A 28-year-old Oh Hye-jin’s day begins with drinking a 125 milliliter pack of non-sweet soy bean milk, mixed with powdered oats. On a strict diet, she prepares her breakfast after a morning exercise. Her option is normally pancakes made of whole grain, drizzled with date palm syrup. Oh has been cutting back on refined carbohydrates for the past three months. She says white flour is the main culprit behind her love handles.If she has time, she cooks and packs her lunch, but she recently began buyi

Police on Friday requested a court warrant to arrest a female model suspected of having secretly taken a photo of her male colleague, while he was posing nude for a drawing class, and then distributing it online without his consent.　The suspect, only identified by her surname Ahn, was arrested without a warrant Thursday. She was initially considered a witness, but later was investigated as a key suspect after it was revealed she deliberately threw away one of the two cellphones she had used, acc

A Korea Aerospace University student is being probed for sharing a sex video with the whole group of Aviation Operation majors via the country’s dominant chat app Kakao Talk, authorities said Friday. According to the university, the 21-second video was uploaded on Tuesday onto a group chat that had 276 students and clearly showed the man and woman’s faces. The video went viral through the school’s online community, where students can post anonymously.  (Korea Aerospace University-YouTube)Univers

Samgwangsa Temple Lantern FestivalSamgwangsa Temple holds an annual lantern festival, attracting over a million visitors each year. It is known for displaying some 3 million lanterns of various types. The lanterns bear hope and sincere love toward Buddha and create spectacular views as the wave of lanterns lighten up the dark sky with their brilliant colors.The event is open to visitors of all ages, and will be held until May 22.Call the travel hotlines at 1330 for more information in Korean, En

US President Donald Trump announced Singapore as the location for his unprecedented meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un next month, raising speculations over why he chose the Southeast Asian city state over other symbolic venues. White House Spokesman Raj Shah said Friday that the island nation was chosen because it could ensure the security of both leaders and provide neutrality. US President Donald Trump (left) and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (right). (Yonhap)Experts also picked “

South Korea said Friday it will look closer into the circumstances surrounding the arrival of a dozen North Korean restaurant workers in 2016 after a television report suggested some of the women might have been brought to the South against their will. Unification Ministry spokesman Baik Tae-hyun did not provide a clear answer on whether the women could be returned to North Korea if it‘s confirmed they didn’t want to come to South Korea. Seoul had previously said it sufficiently confirmed the wo

US President Donald Trump appears open to lowering the bar for a big deal in denuclearization talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, though he's not considering moving the goal post itself, a well-known pundit here said Friday.In their summit to be held in Singapore on June 12, Trump apparently believes sticking to an agreement and attaining a nuclear-free peninsula is more important than setting a tight deadline, according to Jun Bong-geun, chief of security and unification studies at the

Kwon Min-jeong, 36, a freelance translator, recently stopped eating carbohydrates believing it‘s the best way to lose weight.“Although I feel dizzy sometimes due to hypoglycemia, I don’t think I will change my diet because I want to stay slim.” Kwon is one of many who don’t eat carbs in Korea, where the nutrient is increasingly being singled-out as a culprit leading to obesity. Books, commercials and news articles are churning out stories claiming carb intake needs to be reduced to stay healthy,

South Korean ruling and opposition parties are gauging the possible impact of the upcoming summit between the United States and North Korea on local elections as the meeting will be held just one day before the poll.US President Donald Trump tweeted Thursday that his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will be held in Singapore on June 12, the first-ever summit between sitting leaders of the two nations.The parties appear to think the timing of the summit will not much affect the local

South Korea‘s economy is on a recovery path, although industrial output and investment are facing adjustments, a government report said Friday.A weaker job market and rate hikes in the United States pose downside risks to Asia’s fourth-largest economy, the finance ministry said in its monthly economic assessment report.“The overall recovery pace is being maintained,” the ministry said. “Industrial output and investment faced correction in the first two months of the

A Seoul appellate court on Friday finalized a four-year prison term for a former high-ranking prosecutor charged with corruption and bribery, after the top court ordered a retrial on some of his charges. Jin Kyung-joon, an former senior official at the prosecution and the Ministry of Justice, was indicted in 2016 for receiving 950 million won ($889,000) in stocks and cash from his college friend, Kim Jung-ju, founder of major online game publisher Nexon, from 2005 to 2014. The 51-year-old was al

K-pop act Seventeen will hold a special exhibition to celebrate their 3rd anniversary since debut. The band’s management agency Pledis Entertainment released an official poster for the exhibition titled “17’S CUT – The Shining Moments of Seventeen and Carat for the Past 3 Years.” Carat is the nickname for Seventeen’s fans. Seventeen (Pledis Entertainment)The exhibition will take place at Teamwork Design at Seongdong-gu, Seoul from May 26 to June 3. A total of 11 groups of visitors will be permit

Character designer Kim Boo-kyoung paints big picture for Pucca

City barbeque at Grand Hyatt SeoulPoolside Barbeque, an outdoor buffet restaurant at Grand Hyatt Seoul Hotel, recently reopened. The restaurant will present a unique gourmet experience, only on summer nights. On the side of the emerald-colored outdoor pool, buffet stations are prepared, filled with varieties of fresh salad, grilled dishes and desserts. Grilled dishes -- from meat, vegetable to seafood -- are immediately cooked upon order over charcoal. An unlimited beverage package, including be