The Korea Herald

Korea promotes 7 Buddhist temples as UNESCO heritage

CultureAug 22, 2012

A presidential panel said on Wednesday that it is promoting Buddhist temples in Korea as UNESCO world heritage sites.The Presidential Council on National Branding said it has selected seven Buddhist temples around the country to register them as provisional UNESCO world heritage sites by the end of this year. If selected, the panel plans to apply for formal registration in 2015, an official at the panel said.After a two-year consultation with the Cultural Heritage Administration, the panel chose
Nobel laureates to celebrate literature in Gyeongju

BooksAug 22, 2012

The 78th PEN International Congress to feature North Korean writers, human rights issuesThree Nobel Prize winners in literature will be in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, next month to discuss human rights, literature and media at the upcoming 78th PEN International Congress. Orhan Pamuk, Wole Soyinka, and Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio will give lectures about their literary works along with renowned local poet Ko Un, PEN International Korean Center announced on Wednesday. No previous editio
The Face-Kini: A new way to avoid the sun’s rays

HealthAug 22, 2012

A new way to avoid the sun’s dangerous rays is by covering your head with a Face-Kini and your body with its matching body suit. The Face-Kini is like a thin balaclava, and covers the whole head, with holes for the eyes and mouth. This product is popular with beach-goers who want to protect their skin from the sun at the coast in China’s Shandong province, according to news reports.The Face-Kini is unisex and comes in a wide range of colors and patterns. Although this article of clothing was inv
Obese may lose memory sooner

HealthAug 22, 2012

(123rf)People who are obese lose their memory and thinking ability faster than thinner people, British and French researchers say. Researchers at University College London said the study was based on data from 6,500 federal British civil servants, whose health was monitored from the ages of 50 to 60, The Daily Telegraph reported. The study participants were weighed, measured, blood pressure and ch
Breastfeeding dad denied group leadership

PeopleAug 22, 2012

A transgendered Canadian man who breastfeeds his baby said he finds the distinction between fatherhood and motherhood to be arbitrary.Trevor MacDonald, 27, a Winnipeg, Manitoba, a former woman who became a stay-at-home dad, said he breastfeeds the 16-month-old son he gave birth to and belongs to a La Leche League Canada motherhood support group, the Toronto Star reported Monday.MacDonald said he wrote a letter to the LLLC in June to ask about becoming a group leader, but received a rejection let
New Ebola outbreak reported in DRC

HealthAug 22, 2012

Digital illustration of the ebola virus. (123rf)A new outbreak of the Ebola virus has been reported in Africa, this time in the Democratic Republic of Congo. At least 10 people are reported to have died of the disease in Orientale province in eastern Congo, CNN reported. Two cases of the disease have been confirmed and 13 are suspected. Orientale borders the area in Uganda where 16 deaths have bee
Probationary auditions for comedy

Expat LivingAug 21, 2012

Probationary Theater Company is holding auditions for “Picasso at the Lapin Agile,” its main stage comedy for October. The play is an absurd comedy by Steve Martin that explores art, love, fidelity and the theory of relativity, among other things. The play explores what would happen if a young Picasso and a young Albert Einstein were to meet in Paris in 1904.There are seven major roles and four minor roles. Performances will be on weekends from Oct. 19-28 and directed by Liam Mitchinson.Audition
CBHK recruits for fall hockey league

Expat LivingAug 21, 2012

Canada Ball Hockey Korea is recruiting for its fall season.The season runs Sept. 2 to Dec. 15 and costs 140,000 to play ($120). The fee includes 13 weeks of matches, a team shirt and a banquet at the end of season. Players must supply their own ball hockey sticks. The deadline for registration and payment is Sept. 1. New players are asked to join the rookie camps on Aug. 26 and Sept. 1 to allow teams to gauge ability. Spaces are limited to 112. Visit www.cbhk.org for more information.(paulkerry@
Little Travellers to run scavenger hunt

Expat LivingAug 21, 2012

Little Travellers is holding a photo scavenger hunt in Seoul on Aug. 25 to raise money for women affected by AIDS.It is the second such event this year due to the popularity of the June scavenger hunt.The international charity makes Little Travellers, small, beaded dolls handcrafted by women at the Hillcrest AIDS Center in South Africa who either have or are affected by AIDS.There are spaces for 15 teams of four, although individuals can apply to be assigned. Each team must have two digital came
CBHK recruits for fall league

Expat LivingAug 21, 2012

Canada Ball Hockey Korea is recruiting for its fall season.The season runs Sept. 2 to Dec. 15 and costs 140,000 to play ($120). The fee includes 13 weeks of matches, a team shirt and a banquet at the end of season. Players must supply their own ball hockey sticks. The deadline for registration and payment is Sept. 1. New players are asked to join the rookie camps on Aug. 26 and Sept. 1 to allow teams to gauge ability. Spaces are limited to 112. Visit www.cbhk.org for more information.(paulkerry@
GIC Tour to visit Yeonggwang

Expat LivingAug 21, 2012

Gwangju International Center’s GIC Tour for August visits Yeonggwang on the west coast on Saturday. The first stop will be a museum and shrine that honors the introduction of Buddhism to the Baekje Kingdom. In A.D. 384, a monk called Marananta from present-day Pakistan came to Korea bringing Buddhist texts and founded Korea’s first temple, Bulgap-sa. The museum has a collection of Gandharan sculptures and artifacts from the period.Beopseong Port is a quiet fishing village well known for its sign
AngloINFO aims to become go-to expat site

Expat LivingAug 21, 2012

A new site is on offer to help expats find their way around Seoul.AngloINFO, a global network, aims to provide everything you need to know about living in, or moving to Seoul, from getting a driving license to using the health care system.Director of AngloINFO Seoul Han Ye-sung said that the site had grown in terms of visitors since its launch at the end of May. The site received 250,000 page views in june, rising to 440,000 in July.Bloggers are also a feature of AngloINFO’s output, but there ar
Indian pre-school opens in Seoul

Expat LivingAug 21, 2012

A new Hindi and English language-based learning institute for the Indian and international community opened this month in Hannam-dong, Seoul. Angels Indian Institute, operated by Dinesh Valsan and his wife Smitha, provides education in Hindi and English for children aged 3-6.Indian Ambassador to Seoul Vishnu Prakash participated in the opening of the school on Aug. 11 by lighting a Nilavilakku ― a traditional lamp used in Indian ceremonies.“We found as more Indian expats and their families have
Expats organize free rock concert on the Han

Expat LivingAug 21, 2012

When Canadian Ian Chiasson and Englishman Patrick Connor first told people they were planning a free rock concert in a park in Seoul, nobody thought it would happen.They sought sponsors and applied for one of the grants Seoul City offers to foreign groups for cultural activities, but Chiasson said they were seen as overambitious.“When we were starting out nobody wanted to help us because they thought it was a stupid idea ― it was too big, it’s two foreigners doing it, you’re not going to be able
Korea buys Korean Empire’s former legation building in Washington D.C.

CultureAug 21, 2012

The government purchased a historical building in Washington D.C., which was used as the legation building of Korea’s Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897) and the Korean Empire (1897-1910) in the U.S. from 1891 to 1905, the Cultural Heritage Administration announced on Tuesday. Korea retrieved ownership of the property 102 years after the country was annexed by Japan, the state-run organization said. The three-story building, which is located about 10 minutes away from the White House by car, was first bu