Following is part of a series on Seoul’s hottest bars and clubs. ― Ed.While Seoul’s bar scene is rather blas, offering little in terms of diversity, if you are looking for a fun and enjoyable drinking experience and willing to spend a fair amount of money, W Seoul Walkerhill’s WOOBAR is the place to go.Since its opening in 2004, the bar has been growing in popularity and reputation, serving some 400-500 regulars every weekend. Many praise the facility’s “cool” entertainment environment with its

Menswear is gaining momentum, slowly establishing its Korean identity

Following is part of a series exploring unique museums, collections and the passionate collectors behind them. ― Ed.Gucci, Prada, Fendi, Channel ― whatever your guilty pleasure, your one-stop fix for all things handbag can be found right here in Seoul. From a circa 1550 green silk Italian purse to a $100,000 red crocodile leather Hermes Birkin bag, the Simone Handbag Museum hosts one of the finest handbag collections in the world, with more than 350 historic, classic and modern Western-style bag

UNITED NATIONS (AP) ― U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says he is jealous of South Korean rapper Psy. The U.N. chief joked during a meeting with the rapper that he felt overshadowed by the star, whose video has scored over half a billion views on YouTube. “I’m a bit jealous. Until two days ago someone told me I am the most famous Korean in the world. Now I have to relinquish. I have no regrets,” Ban said.The two lavished praise on each other at U.N. headquarters Tuesday, with Ban even risking

Sungshin Women’s University professor Seo Kyoung-duk has been appointed the first principal of “Dokdo School” to be opened in the Independence Hall of Korea on March 1 next year.The Independence Hall in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, announced the school’s operation plan Wednesday, a day before Dokdo Day. It also said that it had named the well-known publicist in Korea the first headmaster of the school Sunday. Dokdo is the easternmost group of Korean islets, which Japan also claims, stirr

British family campaigners criticized a website that gives advice on sex acts to children as young as 13, local media reported Wednesday.The respectyourself.info website, provided by the “Respect Yourself” project, features explicit images of naked people as well as detailed information on sexual acts. The project was funded by Warwickshire Council and the EU and was designed by the National Health Service,“This is a grossly irresponsible website and a complete misuse of taxpayers’ hard-earned c

A British prisoner of war in World War II fled a Nazi camp 200 times to meet his German sweetheart. Horace Greasley was at his hometown in Czechoslovakia working as a barber until he joined the army at the age of 20. After a long march across Europe, he ended up in a marble quarry labor camp in Poland. There he met Rosa Rauchenbach, the 17-year-old daughter of the quarry director, who was working as an interpreter in the camp having hidden her Jewish roots. They snuck out to meet each other when

Globetrotting comedian Tom Rhodes has played all over the world, even having his own series in Vietnam in 1995, but Korea has a special place in his travel history. “Korea is the reason I first got a passport!” he said. “In 1988 I was dating a Korean American girl who had taken a temporary job in Seoul as a translator for the New York Times. “A few months before the Olympics began I came to visit her for a month. I remember the excitement everyone had that the eyes of the world were about to be

Located a short distance outside Jeonju in the undulating hillsides of South Jeolla Province in the country’s southwest, Naejangsan is one of Korea’s finest and arguably one of its most visited attractions. The mountain brings hordes of people to view its foliage during the autumn months every year. “The best time to go is the first week of November,” said Jin Hyun-ju, a visitor’s guide at the mountain’s national park. “This is often the busiest time of year, and we see visitors from all over th