The Korea Herald

Dickens Museum in London reopens after makeover

BooksDec 6, 2012

LONDON (AP) ― Charles Dickens’ London home has gone from “Bleak House’’ to “Great Expectations.’’For years, the four-story brick row house where the author lived with his young family was a dusty and slightly neglected museum, a mecca for Dickens scholars but overlooked by most visitors to London.Now, after a 3 million pound ($4.8 million) makeover, it has been restored to bring the writer’s world to life. The house reopens next week, and its director says it aims to look “as if Dickens had just
Arirang listed as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage

CultureDec 6, 2012

Chinese reportedly skip attempt to register regional version of folk song as their own cultural heritage
Hunger based more on perception than amount of food eaten: study

HealthDec 6, 2012

Hunger is more closely related to how people perceive their meal rather than the actual calories ingested, a new study suggested. Researchers from the University of Bristol in England claimed to have found that the people who think they have eaten a lot -- even when they have had an average-sized or smaller meal -- are less likely to be hungry hours later compared to people who think they had a smaller meal.In the study, 100 volunteers were first shown containers of either 300 ml or 500 ml of so
China registered Arirang on its national intangible assets list

CultureDec 6, 2012

Amid the celebration of Korea’s registration of Arirang on the UNESCO World Heritage list, it was recently exposed that China has put an organized effort to publicize it as its own national heritage. China designated Arirang as their national intangible asset last year. Ki Mi-yang, leader of the Arirang Association, pointed out several Chinese books that were revised in the last few months. “Pictorial of Yeonbyun Intangible Assets,” published last year by Yeonbyun Inmin publisher, had mentioned
Multiple media use linked to depression

HealthDec 6, 2012

People who use multiple media -- such as playing a computer game while watching TV -- have a higher risk of of anxiety and depression, U.S. researchers say.Lead investigator Mark Becker of Michigan State University said he was surprised to find such a clear association between media multitasking and mental health problems, but he is not clear why it occurred. “We don‘t know whether the media multitasking is causing symptoms of depression and social anxiety, or if it’s that people who are depress
'Arirang' makes UNESCO's intangible heritage list

CultureDec 6, 2012

Korea’s traditional folk song “Arirang” was added to UNESCO‘s intangible cultural heritage list on Thursday.The Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage decided to inscribe the song on the heritage list during its seventh meeting Wednesday, Paris time, at UNESCO headquarters, the U.N. cultural agency said.“Arirang” is not just one song but a variety of local versions handed down generation after generation in Korea. It is often dubbed a “second nationa
Hanwha slugger Kim Tae-kyun donates 100m won

PeopleDec 5, 2012

Hanwha Eagles slugger Kim Tae-kyun donated 100 million won ($92,000) to the Daejeon chapter of the Community Chest of Korea, the Daejeon-based baseball club said Tuesday.He asked the charity fundraiser to use the money to help underprivileged children.With the donation, Kim joined the Community Chest of Korea’s Honor Society on Wednesday. To be a member of the society, one should donate 100 million won or more, or pledge to donate that amount within five years.Kim is the first Korean baseball pl
How to throw off an opponent attacking with legs apart

HealthDec 5, 2012

You are confronting an opponent in front of you and the opponent has his or her legs apart in a steady stance as shown in the pictures below.Here is how you can quickly overtake the situation with this self-defense technique.1. Cover your face with both hands while lowering your body to level up with the opponent’s lower body. Be careful not to look at the ground, but to look forward to watch the opponent’s movements. If the opponent attacks with the knees or feet, be prepared to immediately def
Tea expert blends passion with Jane Austen

CultureDec 5, 2012

MINNEAPOLIS ― “The kettle is never turned off at this house,” said Julia Matson as she set her dining-room table with Wedgwood Blue Willow cups and saucers, perfectly round scones, strawberry-rhubarb jam and clotted cream.The aroma wafting in from the kitchen of her house in Plymouth was from her own blend of tea ― Indian, Sri Lankan and Kenyan _ brewing for precisely 4 minutes at 205 degrees. Four cups filled with loose tea leaves of different colors, shapes and textures sat at the ready for la
Natural wine? Serve it to the tooth fairy, say skeptics

Food&BeverageDec 5, 2012

BORDEAUX (AFP) ― Natural wine? Who could possibly object? But according to some experts, the unregulated use of the term ‘natural’ is misleading gullible consumers as well as polarising the wine trade.“These are all things that don’t exist ― natural wines, the tooth fairy and Father Christmas,” says Robert Joseph, a wine trade veteran who is one of the most prominent naysayers.Natural wine does not exist as a legal category in the European Union, despite flourishing movements in Italy or France,
Discovery Channel to air series of documentaries on Korea

TravelDec 5, 2012

A series of documentaries on Korean culture will be aired on the Discovery Channel next week. Five 30-minute episodes, directed by Korean rookie movie directors, will be broadcast from Dec. 15-29 in 34 countries. The documentary series will cover topics such as Korean royal cuisine, traditional medicine, shaman culture, technology and Korea’s popular culture. Titled “Korea Next,” the documentary project was jointly created by the Korea Tourism Organization and Discovery Channel’s First Time Film
Britain celebrates 20 years of literary bad sex

BooksDec 5, 2012

LONDON (AFP) ― Canadian author Nancy Huston was on Tuesday awarded what has been dubbed Britain’s “most dreaded literary prize” for penning the most cringeworthy erotic description of 2012.After the so-called “mummy porn” phenomenon gripped the literary world ― with erotic novel “Fifty Shades of Grey” topping international best seller lists ― eight writers were on the shortlist in the not-so-prestigious Bad Sex in Fiction Award’s 20th year.Paris-based Huston claimed the dubious honour with her b
Da Sol named Kumho Art Hall’s first artist-in-residence

CultureDec 5, 2012

‘I wanted to perform a broad range of music, from very classical to contemporary and even jazz music.’
Nuova Opera Company gets top prize at annual opera award

PeopleDec 5, 2012

The Nuova Opera Company received the top award for its performance of “The Tales of Hoffmann” at the fifth Korea Opera Award ceremony in Seoul this week, award organizers said Wednesday.At the annual event held at the press center in Seoul on Monday, the world-class soprano Shin Young-ok garnered the achievement award for her contribution to promoting the country’s opera worldwide. In the opera festival section, baritone Park Kyung-jun and soprano Park Hye-jin received the best male and female o
McAfee says he plans to seek asylum in Guatemala

PeopleDec 5, 2012

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) ― Software company founder John McAfee has surfaced in public for the first time in weeks, saying Tuesday that he plans to ask for asylum in Guatemala because he fears persecution in Belize. McAfee spoke to The Associated Press in a restaurant near a high-end hotel wher e he is staying in Guatemala City after sneaking out of neighboring Belize. Police in Belize have called him a person of interest in the November slaying of a fellow American expat but say there is no warrant