Members of the K-pop boy band 2PM and girl group miss A will participate in a tour program designed to promote Korean culture to foreign K-pop fans in June, Korea Tourism Organization said on Tuesday. Serving as goodwill ambassadors to the state-run travel agency, members of the two groups will accompany groups of foreign fans of K-pop selected through a video contest in May. The odds of getting selected were 310-to-1, KTO said. The program will invite seven winners of the contest and eight cand

 Having overcome a troubled childhood, ‘Drifting House’ writer is fascinated by survivorsAuthor Krys Lee found out what her “obsessions” are after writing her first collection of stories. They are “survivors of different forms,” or “people who don’t quite belong.” And the Korean-American writer’s obsessions are evident in her powerful debut collection, “Drifting House” (Viking/Penguin Press). The stories take place in Korea, the U.S. and even North Korea, but all of her characters are struggling

This is the second in a series on how to get by as a vegan or vegetarian in rural Korea. ― Ed.Vegetarian and without the time to prepare lunch or dinner? There are many tasty options that can be easily procured at typical Korean restaurants. Be sure to give each restaurant within reason at least one chance; the side dishes can make the difference between a tolerable snack and an enjoyable meal.It will also help to know the popular Korean dishes that can be most easily vegan-ized. Most jjigae, or

A U.S. woman claimed Monday that she was fired from her temporary job because her outfits were “too hot,” according to local news reports. Lauren Odes said that the Orthodox Jewish employers at a local lingerie company disapproved or her purple, black and brown outfits, asked her to tape down her breasts to make them look smaller, and even requested that she wear a bathrobe to cover one of her outfits.“This whole experience has been horrifying to me,” Odes, 29, told reporters. “We should not be

Expat fraud victims still waiting for resolution, eight months after police were first notified of rogue travel agentFor the victims of rogue travel agent Wan-goo “Wystan” Kang, the road to justice has been long and fraught with frustration. Scammed out of a combined 150 million won ($128,000), some 65 foreign residents here have been waiting to see the outcome of the case since August, when police say they were first alerted to Kang. In that time, many have left the country and Kang was allowed

Gwangju International Center is running a tour to Jirisan, Korea’s highest mainland mountain, on Saturday.Visitors will tour Gurye, in South Jeolla Province, and walk to Nogodan, the highest peak in the province. The hike starts from Seongsamjae, a high starting point, so it will not be difficult for most people.After a light lunch at the peak, the tour will take a bus down to Hwaeomsa, a sixth-century temple noted for its pagodas, especially national treasure Sasaja Samcheung. The tour will mak

A travel booklet illustrating Korean culture won a design award in the United States earlier this month. The Korea Tourism Organization’s booklet featuring photos introducing the charms of Korea received a gold medal in the travel brochure category of the ASTRID Design Excellence Awards, the tourism organization said on Monday. The annual awards, founded in 1987, recognize companies and government agencies that have achieved higher standards of quality in design and communication in fields rangi

A children’s book by a Korean author was published in the Czech Republic last week, just in time for the country’s biggest international book fair.It is the first time a Korean work of children’s literature has been published in the Czech Republic.The book, titled “Dream about Joy of Music,” is written by children’s writer Park Eun-young and illustrated by Koo Bo-ram. The book chronicles the life of the legendary classical composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791).The Czech Embassy in Seoul s