The Korea Tourism Organization CEO Lee Charm will lead the state-run company for one more year, the government said on Monday.Lee’s three-year term ends on July 29, but he will keep the top post for one more year per President Lee Myung-bak’s decision. Cheong Wa Dae has the authority to name the top post of KTO and announce the appointment through the Culture Ministry and the Ministry of Public Administration and Security.A naturalized Korean citizen originally from Germany, the businessman-turn

The Cultural Heritage Administration said Tuesday it has designated the Danoje Festival held in Beopseongpo in South Jeolla Province as Important Intangible Cultural Asset No. 123.The Beopseongpo Danoje is one of the major Dano festivals held in Korea along with Gangneung Danoje, a UNESCO-designated world cultural heritage. Programs include ritual offerings to the Dragon King for the sake of safety of fishermen, folk games, a Korean music competition, and a lantern parade to pray for the well-be

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) ― Beloved New Zealand children’s author Margaret Mahy, who wrote more than 120 books and earned acclaim at home and abroad, has died at the age of 76.She died Monday after being diagnosed with cancer, her cousin Ron Mahy said.Mahy’s best-known books include “A Lion in the Meadow,’’ “The Man Whose Mother Was a Pirate’’ and “Bubble Trouble.’’She won the Carnegie Medal for outstanding children’s writing twice and in 2006 won the Hans Christian Andersen Award for her lif

The Seoul Sub-urban blog was originally intended as a way for creative writing graduate Charlie Usher and photographer Elizabeth Groeschen to continue writing and taking pictures while exploring the city through its subway system. Now the two are working on a book compiling their photos and writings from Seoul Sub-urban. It will be translated into Korean, giving native Korean speakers with a passion for travel the chance to experience Seoul through a foreign perspective. The book will be publish

This is the first in a two-part series on the build-up of the expat hip-hop scene in Korea. ― Ed.Any expat with a Facebook account knows that on any given weekend there are a number of live expat hip-hop events going on in Itaewon and Hongdae. What many might not know is that just about four years ago, the vibrant scene was virtually non-existent, outside of a couple open mics and a few random artists and DJs such as Pinnacle TheHustler and Black Ilumin. During a time when the likes of hip-hop a

 A sense of humor and self-confidence are the most irresistible traits in a potential love interest, not physical traits, a U.S. survey indicates.A survey by Tango.com, a Web-based source for love and relationships, indicated 89 percent of respondents agreed that when one or both partners in a couple has poor self-confidence, relationship problems ensue."Conventional wisdom holds that attraction t

Hallyu star Jung Woo-sung has become the new face of clothing brand The Redface, the company said in a statement on Monday.The 39-year-old actor will represent the company’s brand image and its product for a year, the outdoor fashion brand said.“Jung has a broad fan base encompassing all age groups and his name inspires confidence in customers. He is also a fashionista suitable to represent The Redface, an outdoor brand for stylish customers,” the company said. Jung recently finished filming of

LONDON (AFP) ― London’s Olympic Stadium has been nominated for the 2012 Stirling Prize, Britain’s top architecture award, the Royal Institute of British Architects announced Sunday.The 80,000-seater stadium in Stratford, east London, which will host the opening ceremony of the Games on Friday, was among six buildings shortlisted for the annual award.The showpiece venue, costing 486 million pounds ($760 million), has a simple design, drawn up with a view to scaling it down after the Games.The ste