There‘s a gap between what the holidays should be and what they can be and the real holidays we live, a U.S. pediatrician says. Pediatrician Dr. George Askew said there is a big difference between the holidays people experience and the expectations we carry in our minds. “If we can’t do in our real holidays what we‘ve come to believe we should do, what then? If you have 10 holiday must-dos, and you can’t do all 10, shorten the list,” Askew said in a statement.“When you give yourself some room to

Hallyu has become the representative image of Korea thanks to K-pop, Korean drama and Korean cuisine. In a survey of 3,600 foreigners living in nine countries conducted between October and November, the first thing that the respondents came up with when they thought about Korea was Korean food, followed by TV drama, K-pop and electronic goods, all included in the broad concept of hallyu. When asked about the main attraction of hallyu, 56.1 percent of the respondents said, “being new and differen

Inje Institute for International Human Resources’ International Korean Adoptee Program is accepting applications for its 2013 spring semester. The program is designed to help Korean international adoptees learn more about the culture and language of the country of their birth. Spring semester is 16 weeks long starting March 4, and classes are approximately 15 students in size and taught in English. Students will live on campus with a Korean roommate, attend classes, participate in weekly English

For those still searching for a place to be on Christmas Eve, Seoul Players is hosting a Christmas party in Haebangchon.Guests are encouraged to bring their ugliest Christmas sweaters, or alternatively don their pajamas. The worst sweater will win a prize.Entertainment will include food, quizzes and carols, as well as screenings of Christmas animations and films.There will also be a 10,000 won Secret Santa.The party will be held from 8 p.m. on Dec. 24 at Camarata Music Studio. Admission is 10,00

Seoul International Hikers Club will take a walk through the center of Seoul on Saturday, giving walkers the chance to look at and hear about the secret culture and stories of the city. The group will start at Jongno-3ga Station passing through a back-street alley, visit Seoul Fortress and end up at Hyehwa Station in the Daehangno area. Although it is a city hike, participants are advised to wear proper hiking footwear and bring light snacks and water with them.To attend, contact sihclub@gmail.c

The Busan Foundation for International Activities is running a winter solstice event as its monthly cultural activity. Participants will learn about how Koreans traditionally marked “dongji,” the winter solstice. They will also get to try red bean soup, and make a Korean lucky bag to welcome in the New Year.The event will be held at the Busan Global Center on Dec. 21 from 4 to 5 p.m.Those interested should email the center with their name, nationality, gender and mobile number to bfiabgc@gmail.c

As a paying guest at Mihwangsa, there’s no need to book a morning wake-up call. It’s provided well before sunrise, at 4:00 am to be precise... and it isn’t optional.Instead of a phone call ― none of the rooms have phones ― guests are roused by a monk walking past their rooms, knocking on a wooden block to call them for a round of pre-breakfast chanting and meditation.The dozen guests who make their sleepy way to the temple’s main hall ― clad in identical grey loose-fitting outfits ― are all taki

PARIS (AFP) ― A French auction house Monday sold a historic Chinese seal for 1.1 million euros ($1.4m) despite threats of legal action alleging it may have been stolen from Beijing’s Forbidden City in 1860.The green jade seal, which dates from the Qianlong period (1736-95) and had been expected to fetch up to 200,000 euros ($263,000), went for over five times that amount to an unidentified telephone bidder.The Association for the Protection of Chinese Art in Europe (APACE) had urged auction hous