More Koreans turn vegetarian though skepticism remains about its health effectsThirty-two-year-old office worker Kim Jin-ee recently decided to become a vegan. She removed all meat, milk, fish and eggs from her fridge to start. It was not her first time trying out a vegetable-oriented diet. She tried a couple of years ago, but failed. “People around haven’t been too generous with vegetarians. The company dinners were all about meat or sashimi, and everywhere you go you would have more than one o

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― U.S. first lady Michelle Obama on Tuesday announced she would lead the U.S. delegation to the London Olympics, as she celebrated the Games with Samantha Cameron, wife of the British prime minister.Obama will travel to London for opening ceremonies for the Games which begin on July 27, and tie the event into her “Let’s Move!” campaign, designed to inspire young people to lead active lives and adopt healthy diets.“In the months ahead, I’ll be talking to Americans all across the

He spent 160 million won ($140,000)on a 60-person dinner in Napa Valley, California, in 2007. He brought all the ingredients, six chefs and over 1,000 pieces of dinnerware created exclusively for the event. The goal was to introduce hansik, or Korean cuisine, to influential world figures. The ambitious man is Cho Tae-kwon, CEO of KwangJuYo, one of the nation’s leading tableware brands. He recently published the book “Taste of Patriotism” to tell his experiences in hansik promotion over the last

NEW YORK (AP) ― Bruce Springsteen tells Rolling Stone he shed tears when he heard Clarence Clemons’ saxophone on “Wrecking Ball.” Clemons died last year. Springsteen intended to have Clemons on the new album, but says he passed on a recording session to check out his health and soon after had a stroke. Springsteen went to Clemons’ bedside. Clemons squeezed his hand when Springsteen spoke, but Clemons never regained consciousness. After Clemons died, producer Ron Aniello took a live rendition of

U.S. scientists have succeeded in making early retina structures by using stem cells from blood, marking a breakthrough toward treating eye diseases, Science Daily reported Tuesday.The new findings can help study degenerative retinal disorder such as retinitis pigmentosa, a prominent cause of blindness in children and young adults, according to a statement by the University of Wisconsin- Madison research team.Last year, the group led by Doctor David Gamm was able to create the most primitive str

CHICAGO ― With some fitness regimens, that first trip to the gym can nearly kill you.Pilates, with its emphasis on core training and an abundance of moves, works the other way.“The first time is almost the easiest,” says Alycea Ungaro, owner of Real Pilates in New York (realpilatesnyc.com and author of “Pilates: Body in Motion” (DK Publishing). “It gets harder after that. Once you know what to do, the bar gets higher, the demand gets harder. You see things you’re doing wrong and you fix them. Yo

Sejong Center for Performing Arts is offering a premium lunch concert featuring traditional music and food at Samcheonggak, a Korean restaurant on Mount Bugak in northern Seoul. “Jami,” will be held Monday to Wednesday until June 27 at Samcheonggak’s Ilwhadang Performance Hall, the restaurant operator said. The 45-minute concert features music and performances by traditional Korean ensemble “Cheongarang” and five artists. The seven short performances featured include “Suryongeum,” meaning Korean

South Korea opened its first Korean Cultural Center in Mexico Tuesday, hoping it will serve as a bridge between the two different cultures.The Korean Cultural Center opened in Mexico City for the first time Tuesday. (Yonhap Photo)The three-story building located in the center of Mexico City features

Moebius, the French comic-book artist whose spectacular science fantasy-based work wrought its magic on Hollywood classics such as “Alien” and “Tron,” has died after a long illness. He was 73. “He died this morning following a long illness,” a friend and colleague said Saturday.Such was the appeal of Moebius ― or Jean Henri Gaston Giraud ― that he won a devoted following as far afield as Japan and the United States, countries working in radically different comic-book traditions.  “The whole prof