The Korea Herald

Hyundai Card offers early bird benefits to Guam

TravelMar 23, 2012

Jointly organized by Hyundai Card, Guam PIC, Jin Air and Modu Tour, a three-night-four-day package takes travelers to luxurious all inclusive resorts in Guam every day from April 13 to May 23. Early birds who register for the package by March 30 will be charged 899,000 won for adults, 499,000 for kids and 150,000 won for toddlers (package does not run from April 27-30 due to Japanese holidays). In addition to a variety of sports and activities to experience, kids can participate in free English
Hanoi is emerging as a destination for foodies

TravelMar 23, 2012

HANOI ― In Hanoi, soup is a way of life ― the connective tissue of Vietnamese culture. With noodles, herbs and sinew, it strings together twisting streets and varied lifestyles. Here the bones, crumpled napkins and squeezed limes that litter the ground beneath tiny plastic tables are symbols of a good meal and a life well lived.I came here in early December largely because of Hanoi’s growing reputation as a culinary capital. In 2010, the website Sherman’s Travel (www.shermanstravel.com) ranked H
Lombok offers royal vacation for peasant fare

TravelMar 23, 2012

LOMBOK, Indonesia ― It can be hard for some vacationers to find that perfect mix of the rural and the urban with a side of raw, untouched culture. Lombok Island, however, offers all that and more to those looking for an affordable tropical getaway.Moments after stepping out of the newly constructed sole airport on the island just off the coast of the tourist powerhouse Bali, one can see just how untouched the island is. On the lawns and outside the gates of the airport, it is a common pastime am
Taking a bite out of reality TV

BooksMar 23, 2012

Chomp: A NovelBy Carl Hiaasen, Alfred A. (Knopf)South Florida is known for many things: Alligators, orange groves and the writer who spins the area’s most sensational attributes into even more sensational story lines, Carl Hiaasen. In his many best-sellers for adults and kids, Hiaasen has demonstrated a unique gift for wrapping real environmental issues into apocryphal, bust-a-gut books that parody pop culture ― a talent he furthers in his most recent middle-school novel, “Chomp.”In a crossover
From quiet domesticity to sheer terror

BooksMar 23, 2012

Stay CloseBy Harlan Coben (Dutton) A hallmark of Harlan Coben’s best-sellers has been his precise look at ordinary people caught up in extraordinary situations, forced to deal with violence and the seamy side of life. These “family thrillers” are hauntingly realistic, showing how characters who could be our neighbors ― or ourselves ― discover an inner resolve.Coben’s 22nd novel spins a new approach to his family thrillers. In the excellent “Stay Close,” Coben shows us three people who know too w
Magazine dedicates an issue to late POSCO founder

BooksMar 23, 2012

The Quarterly Asia: Park Tae-joon: A Memorial Issue(ASIA Publishers) ASIA, a bilingual quarterly which mainly features works of Asian literature, has dedicated its latest issue to the late POSCO founder Park Tae-joon. Park, who died of complications of lung disease last year, is considered one of the pioneers behind Korea’s post-war economic growth. The former general who participated in the Korean War (1950-1953) founded POSCO in 1968, which was then called Pohang Iron and Steel Company, and tu
Jesmyn Ward writes on Hurricane Katrina

BooksMar 23, 2012

Another hot, drippy August envelopes the Batiste family and their tumbledown property in coastal Mississippi, but there’s an excited air surrounding what’s about to happen in the shed.Their crystal-white pit bull, China, tenderly cared for by 16-year-old Skeetah, is ready to give birth to her first litter. In the novel “Salvage the Bones,” author Jesmyn Ward explores that day and the next 11 in the lives of this Southern black family of five. All are struggling to find and fill their roles in th
Wine of the Week: 2009 Quinta do Crasto “Old Vine Reserva”

Food&BeverageMar 23, 2012

A fascinating beauty from Portugal’s Douro, the 2009 Quinta do Crasto reserve comes from old vines (average age 70) and 25 to 30 different grapes. In other words, it’s a field blend, hand-harvested from the steeply canted vineyards along the Douro River. Soft and elegant and tasting of red plums and blueberries, this is a wine to serve with something substantial, the better to savor the wine’s nuances.● Region: Douro, Portugal● Price: About $37 to $40● Style: Rich and full-bodied● What it goes w
Wickedly irreverent fortune cookies a popular treat

Food&BeverageMar 23, 2012

David Fenton’s kung pao chicken was always followed by a disappointment. He would unwrap the fortune cookie and sigh at the mindless drivel written on the slip of paper tucked inside. Even tacking on the words “in bed” to his fortune gave him little pleasure.So, more than a century after San Francisco conceived this quaint Chinese-restaurant tradition, Fenton launched his own, fearless fortune cookie company ― iLLFortune ― in Union City, Calif., and began stuffing boldly wicked fortunes in the t
Minari ganghoe (minari bundles with meat)

Food&BeverageMar 23, 2012

Minari ganghoe is a dish of pressed meat, red pepper and egg white and yolk garnish tied into bundles with blanched minari (Korean watercress). It is served with a vinegar and red pepper paste sauce. Minari ganghoe has a beautiful presentation. It best served in the spring when the minari is new and tender.Ingredients120g beef (top round), 6 cups water 50g watercress (minari), 3 cups water, 1/2 tbsp salt 1/2 a red pepper 2 eggs1 tbsp oil Vinegar and red pepper paste sauce: 2 tbsp red pepper past
Getting to know fromage

Food&BeverageMar 23, 2012

Over 130 French cheese varieties available in KoreaA few decades ago, it was hard to find a wide variety of French cheese in Korea. Now, according to CNIEL communications director, Laurent Damiens, there are more than 130 kinds. Damiens, who attended a French cheese press luncheon co-sponsored by his center in Seoul Tuesday, said that the South Korean market is quickly embracing French cheese. “The South Korean market is still small but we see it as having great potential to become very big,” Da
Teenager has the body of a 100-year-old

PeopleMar 23, 2012

Reaching her 14th birthday is special for any child, but it was even more so for Hayley Okenes: It meant that she defied her own death sentence.Hayley suffers from a rare genetic condition called progeria, which makes her body age eight times faster than the average person. It means that this wide-eyed teenager has the body of a 100-year-old, making her vulnerable to age-related diseases like arthritis, and heart problems. The rare disease affects 1 in 8 million children.Doctors put her life exp
Foods needed to quit smoking

HealthMar 23, 2012

The eating habits of smokers are not only that they have a higher intake of high-calorie foods, including fatty foods or alcohol, as compared with non-smokers, but also that they are more vulnerable to a variety of cancers as well as arteriosclerosis due to a lower intake of fresh vegetables and fruits, both of which are dietary sources of anti-oxidant vitamins (vitamins C, E and A).Besides, they have a greater preference for foods such as coffee. Their eating habits are also more irregular.Seru
Feel like some wine? There’s a tipple for every mood

Food&BeverageMar 23, 2012

You know wine and food pairings. But how do you feel about wine and mood pairings?That’s the approach being taken by a new line of wines ― “Be.’’ ― from Australia-based Treasury Wine Estates that are aimed at an emerging segment of the market: millennial women ― young professional women ages 22-35.With marketing pitches like “Be Radiant’’ and “Be Bright,’’ and descriptors like “Fresh Chardonnay’’ and “Flirty Pink Moscato,’’ there’s no mistaking these wines for more staid, chateau-studded labels.
Scheduled feeding may lower baby's IQ

HealthMar 23, 2012

Babies breastfed or bottle-fed to a schedule may not perform as well in school as babies fed on demand, British researchers found. (MCT image)Study leader Dr. Maria Iacovou of the Institute for Social and Economic Research at University of Essex and at the University of Oxford said this was the firs