With its high-quality facilities, wide diversity and loosely enforced regulations, Seoul has some of the best nightlife in Asia.Nevertheless, limits do exist in these facilities and once people get tired of dancing and drinking, there isn’t much for clubs and bars to offer. For these souls left unentertained, they can familiarize themselves with an old Middle Eastern culture that has emerged as a new source of leisure for Seoulites: hookah. Also known as a water pipe or shisha, a hookah is devic

Finding your ‘lost cow’ through meditation just the cure for urbanites

As more Koreans explore Indian cuisine, restaurateurs offer wider choices of regional dishes

David Pong, chairman of the Korean-American Club, will host its year-end luncheon seminar at the Press Center in Seoul on Thursday. About 300 Koreans and foreigners have been invited to the seminar, whose topic is “Era of new leadership: The future of the Korean Peninsula?” Panelists are Park Chan-wook, professor of Seoul National University; Lee Jung-hoon, professor of Yonsei University’s Graduate School of International Studies; Yoo Ho-yul, professor of Korea University; and Peter Beck, the co

Pop singer Kim Jang-hoon and Korean publicist Seo Kyoung-duk, a professor at Sungshin Women’s University, put up a billboard advertising Korea tourism at Times Square in New York City on Tuesday. The poster, titled “Visit Korea,” contains a number of phrases highlighting Korea’s attractions: “9,000 miles of unspoiled coastline”; “3,000 islands of rare beauty”; and “Discover the unexpected charm of Korea.” The large picture shows an international yachting race held around Dokdo, the two easternmo

Choi Kwang-sun, an elementary school teacher, has received a special award from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology in recognition of her devotion to teaching North Korean refugees, the ministry announced.Choi, 52, from Seongchon Elementary School in Daejeon, has been working hard to improve and develop a curriculum for the young refugees and help them adapt to the new learning environment for the past four years, the ministry said.She received the award on Wednesday from Education

Believers of the Mayan calendar prediction that the world will end on December 21 have flooded into a small village in western Turkey, near the ancient Greek city of Ephesus.Some New Age spiritualists are convinced of a December 21 "doomsday" foretold by Mayan hieroglyphs -- at least according to some interpretations.Sirince, a village of around 600 inhabitants, has a positive energy according to the doomsday cultists, who say that it is close to an area where Christians believe the Virgin Mary

Helping Others Prosper through English is holding a fundraising drive and volunteering event to give kids at the Goodtree Area Children’s center in Seoul’s Nowon-gu some Christmas cheer.The center cares for 16 elementary-school children who have one or both parents missing or face other disadvantages.HOPE aims to raise 1 million won ($928) through the drive to buy gifts for the children to be given out on Dec. 22 at the center. “Some of them don’t have gloves and hats and things that we hope to

Probationary Theatre is bringing back its production of “The Santaland Diaries” by David Sedaris for a second run.The comedy is a one-man show presented by a disgruntled Christmas elf at Macy’s Department Store, who decides to cure the audience’s festive fever with a heavy dose of cynicism.The 60-minute show is based on Serdaris’ experiences as an elf for Macy’s New York, which he noted down in his diary. After reading his diaries on the radio in 1992, he was offered the chance to publish them a

Christmas concerts in Seoul and Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, will aim to combine a festive feel with donations to a worthy cause. The concerts at Itaewon’s Moon Night on Saturday and Bucheon’s Pub in the Park on Dec. 22 will raise money for Myungjin Children’s Welfare Center.Each night will feature nine solo acts that organizers hope will create a relaxing, holiday atmosphere.“We’re really trying to give the audience ― both foreigners and Koreans ― a real sense of Christmas, which is something th