Seoul Global Center will open applications this month for its weekday Korean language courses that run from Sept. 3-Nov. 30.The course is free except for textbook costs, and nine levels are available, from first beginner to intermediate and idiom classes.The classes are twice a week in the evenings or mornings, with days and times depending on level.To apply for the course, visit the center in person on July 16-17 with a copy of your Alien Registration card and a passport photo. Online or proxy

The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is holding a video competition to promote makgeolli internationally.The videos promoting Korea’s unique alcoholic rice brew should explain what makgeolli is, why the makers like it, why it is charming and how it differs from other alcoholic beverages.One grand prize, one gold prize, two silver prizes and three bronze prizes are up for grabs, ranging from 1 million won to 3 million won. The top prize also includes tickets to a Korean wine

This is the ninth in a series on how to get by as a vegan or vegetarian in rural Korea. ― Ed.Returning to bean curd, this week we take on a breakfast, a winter soup and a cream sauce.First on the list is “tofu scramble.” Forget eggs. Lightly cooked “sundubu,” or soft tofu, is a perfect breakfast over toast. Add cumin for flavor, turmeric for color, and salt and (black) pepper because they’re there. (Any two people’s tastes will differ so it’s best to add those two after cooking.) Need something

PRAGUE (Reuters) ― When two earthquakes shook northern Italy in May, gourmets around the world were worried by television footage of damage to wheels of the adored parmesan cheese which came crashing down from their shelves and the dairies that produce them. Losses are still being assessed and will not likely lead to market shortages. But should there ever be a need to search for alternative supplies, lovers of the hard, grainy cheese that is essential to pasta dishes should look to the Czech Re

ABU DHABI (AP) ― With the number of foreigners dwarfing that of locals in her hometown of Abu Dhabi, Asma al-Muhairi has become increasingly anxious at the prospect of her younger nieces abandoning their full-length black robes in favor of Western attire that seems to be everywhere she goes. But it wasn’t until the 23-year-old marketing worker came face to face with two scantily-clad female foreigners at one of the many luxury shopping malls in the United Arab Emirates that she decided to take a

Billionaire Warren Buffett has handed out $1.9 billion worth of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. stock as part of his plan to gradually give away most of his $44.1 billion fortune.Buffett disclosed his gifts of 22.4 million Class B Berkshire shares on Monday. The biggest gift of about 18.4 million shares worth more than $1.5 billion went to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in accordance with the plan B

American adults may boost their life expectancy by two years by sitting for fewer than three hours a day, researchers said Tuesday, while admitting this was a tough task.Reducing television viewing to under two hours a day could similarly add1.4 years, the U.S. team said in a paper in the online journal BMJ Open.A recent study found that U.S. adults spend about 7.7 hours per day engaged in "sedent

NEW ORLEANS (AP) ― Lionel Batiste, the vocalist, bass drummer and assistant leader of the Treme Brass Band, has died. He was 81.Fans of the HBO cable TV series “Treme” may not have known Batiste by name, but they often saw him close up. He was the skinny guy with the big drum in the band, one of the acts regularly featured on the show.Family and others close to Batiste were with him when he died Sunday at the Ochsner Health System’s hospital just outside New Orleans, said Batiste’s daughter, Kar

SEOUL (AFP) -- Checking into one of Seoul’s newest luxury clinics just because your companion needs a shower may seem extravagant, but Cho Hang-Min said he had no other choice.“Other places won’t do it,” said Cho, a student, explaining why he and his Border Collie have stopped off at Irion.The two-storey establishment in the city‘s wealthy Gangnam district is a luxury hotel and clinic for pampered pets -- a rising trend in South Korea where dogs were once treated as guard animals or as something