The Korea Herald

Single junk-food meal can damage arteries

HealthOct 31, 2012

A single junk-food meal -- rich in saturated fat -- is detrimental to the health of the arteries, researchers in Canada said. Dr. Anil Nigam and colleagues at the University of Montreal-affiliated EPIC Center of the Montreal Heart Institute, compared the effects of a junk-food meal and a typical Mediterranean meal on the vascular endothelium, the inner lining of the blood vessels. Endothelial function is closely linked to the long-term risk of developing coronary artery disease.The study involve
Woman claims damages over Depp guards ‘attack’

PeopleOct 31, 2012

LOS ANGELES (AFP) -- A female U.S. academic who claims she was assaulted by Johnny Depp’s security guards while he was present can sue the U.S. star for punitive damages, a judge ruled Monday.Robin Eckert, a medical professor at University of California (UC) Irvine, claims Depp and his guards became aggressive with her at a concert in Los Angeles last December.The academic had bought tickets for the VIP area at the show by Iggy and the Stooges. During a break between acts she left the area, and
International Community Day in Gwangju

Expat LivingOct 30, 2012

Gwangju International Center will run the Gwangju International Community Day on Nov. 10 at the city’s World Cup Stadium.The annual event runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and feature dozens of booths. Some represent countries, where you can try their culinary specialties and learn about their cultures. Other booths will be run by expat clubs and groups in Gwangju introducing their communities. A Flea Market will run from 11 a.m. onwards for people to sell unwanted items. The GIC will also run its own
48-hour Film Project Screening at Dongdaemun Megabox

Expat LivingOct 30, 2012

After a long weekend of little sleep, sometimes tears and immense pressure, the public will finally be able to see the fruits of labor of this year’s 48-hour Film Project on Nov. 1, 2 and 3. Because of the amount of teams participating, the groups will be split into five screening times at Megabox Dongdaemun Multiplex Cinema, one of the sponsors for the event. Thursday’s screening will start at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday’s screenings are at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Each screening will feature 10 to 11
Kyung Hee student devises Korean-learning game

Expat LivingOct 30, 2012

A Korean language education student at Kyung Hee University has developed a role playing game that helps players learn Korean.The game, devised by Kyle Simons, is set in a modern school in Seoul, inhabited by creatures from Korean myth and folklore. “The main characters are all wizards, they’re learning magic and how to cast spells and whenever they need to cast a spell they have to use Korean language,” said Simons.“I wanted education to feel like advancement both in the game and outside of it,
A scholar’s book on Arirang translated into English

CultureOct 30, 2012

An English book highlighting the history and the cultural significance of the Korean folk song “Arirang” was released on Monday. The book, “The Culture of Arirang,” written by a local scholar Kim Yeoun-kab and translated into English, is expected to promote the song and Korean culture ahead of UNESCO’s general meeting in December at which the enlisting of the traditional song as an intangible cultural heritage will be discussed.The book traces the tradition of Arirang, believed to have originate
Pearson, Bertelsmann confirm publishing tie-up

BooksOct 30, 2012

LONDON (AP) ― Two of the world’s biggest publishing houses are to link up in a deal that will bring the writings of classics like George Orwell’s “1984’’ and this year’s literary phenomenon “Fifty Shades of Grey’’ under one umbrella.Confirmation that Pearson will merge its Penguin Books division with Random House, which is owned by German media company Bertelsmann, will create the world’s largest publisher of consumer books, with around a quarter of the market.As well as publishing books from au
Kokdu Museum embraces time honored funeral rituals

CultureOct 30, 2012

Small figurines guiding the dead to the next world represent Korea’s unique perspective on life, death
Small kids may need Halloween fears eased

CultureOct 30, 2012

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (UPI) -- Parents may think children of all ages enjoy scary masks, ghostly decor and haunted houses, but a U.S. expert says some kids may find them too frightening.“Most children can‘t distinguish fantasy from reality until they are about age 4, so knocking on a stranger’s door in a clown suit can be confusing and scary for younger children,” Deborah Best, a child psychology expert and professor of psychology at Wake Forest University, said in a statement. To avoid unnecessar
Malay couple under fire for ‘absurd’ blogging

PeopleOct 30, 2012

They have become outrageously famous in a week but the consequences of having a scandalous blog are starting to set in for Alvin Tan and Vivian Lee.Lee, 23, may be kicked out of her family home after “Sumptuous Erotica”, the blog she shared with Tan, 24, made the headlines in several newspapers here and in Singapore.“My mother gave me an ultimatum marry him or move out within a month,” she said, adding that she was “a little scared” about the prospect.She had just graduated with a marketing degr
Study: Horror films burn calories

HealthOct 30, 2012

Scientists at a British university said their research indicates horror movie viewers could burn up to 113 calories in 90 minutes.Dr. Richard Mackenzie of the University of Westminster, England, said he and his team monitored the heart rate, oxygen intake and carbon dioxide output of people watching scary movies and discovered some of them were burning the same amount of calories found in a chocolate bar, The Mirror reported Monday."The 10 films tested set pulses racing," Mackenzie said. "Adrena
Seoul Gourmet back in town

Food&BeverageOct 29, 2012

In its fourth year, Seoul Gourmet continues its efforts to spread the good news about Korean cuisine to world-renowned chefs through a five-day food fiesta. Chefs are invited to learn about hansik and incorporate it into menus that will be showcased at restaurants throughout Seoul for gourmands to experience themselves (provided reservations can be made in time). This fall’s culinary line-up is pretty stellar. A total of seven chefs are flying in for the festival, including D.O.M.’s Alex Atala,
Scientists discover method to ’read dreams’

HealthOct 29, 2012

Japanese scientists claimed that they have found a way to decipher dreams, according to a report in science journal Nature.By analyzing activity in certain brain regions of a person who is dreaming, it is possible to predict the contents of the dream, according to Yukiyasu Kamitani of ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories in Kyoto, Japan.“We built a model to predict whether each category of content was present in the dreams,” said Kamitami. His study was presented earlier this month, at th
Two-thirds of Australians overweight: study

HealthOct 29, 2012

Two-thirds of Australia‘s adult population are overweight or obese, a key study found Monday, with rates continuing to climb despite a drop in smoking and drinking.The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said people were continuing to pile on the kilos despite other findings indicating a switch to healthier habits.The study found 63.4 percent of the population are now classified as overweight or obese -- an increase of more than two percent from four years ago.Australia is ranked fifth among a
Osteoporosis, a symptom-free disease

HealthOct 29, 2012

Osteoporosis is a “silent” bone disease because most people -- the disease affects 10 million U.S. adults -- are unaware of it until a fracture, an expert said.Dr. Khashayar Sakhaee, chief of the mineral metabolism division at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, said most often osteoporosis affects postmenopausal women who undergo a dramatic drop in estrogen -- a hormone that assists in the absorption of calcium and prevents calcium loss from the bone. However, the dis