Renowned Korean author says he will resume podcast soon but never return to TwitterKorean author Kim Young-ha in New York  (Kim Yoon-mi/The Korea Herald)NEW YORK ― It has been quite a while since Korean novelist Kim Young-ha was last heard from. Apparently burned by the heated online debates over systemic problems in Korea’s literary scene and the tragic death of aspiring screenwriter Choi Go-eun,

As U.S. tries to curb obesity, some fear increasing discrimination against the overweightThe images are striking: Overweight boys and girls staring somberly from billboards and online videos, real-life embodiments of the blunt messages alongside.“Chubby kids may not outlive their parents,” for example. Or: “Big bones didn’t make me this way. Big meals did.”The ads ― part of a new “Stop Child Obesi

For Kwon Byong-hyon, former South Korean ambassador to China, almost everything should be considered in terms of the long-term health of the earth.“What do you think the earth has done for you so far?” Kwon asked in an interview. “And what, if anything, have you done for the earth in return?”His questions are hard to answer without taking a moment to ponder their implications at a time when the gl

South Korean entertainer Kim Jae-dong plans to give a lecture at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology on May 10 to comfort distressed students there, according to reports.In the lecture entitled “Be the Master of Your Life,” Kim will stress the importance of having dreams and hopes to students at the university in Daejeon, some 160 kilometers south of Seoul. Kim Jae-dongStudents and

A number of veteran program directors at major television networks are moving to new cable channels in pursuit of higher salaries and a creative work environment. Yeo Woon-heok, producer of MBC’s hit program “Goldfish,” quit the company last week to work for an entertainment cable channel jTBC, the broadcast arm of the Joongang Ilbo, one of the major dailies. The channel recently gained a license

Flowers on easy, quiet walking paths in Seoul lead you to spring scentsSeoul is one of the busiest and largest cities in the world, with famous tourist spots almost always packed with people and cars. But it is not impossible to enjoy budding leaves, blooming flowers, a gentle breeze and the warm sun on quiet and not-so-steep walking paths in Seoul, away from the city bustle. As spring quickly pas

Lotte Hotel SeoulThe hotel’s restaurant Peninsula offers a special cake baking class on Children’s Day from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Participants can take part in the cake-baking experience and also enjoy a lunch buffet. Children will also receive a Children’s Day gift. A variety of activities, such as face-painting, caricature-drawing and magic shows will be offered. The fee is 300,000 won for a family of

I was studying Georgia O’Keeffe’s abstractions, seduced by her simple charcoal curves, pink-and-blue flowers and cloud fields, when my cellphone rang.That afternoon in Santa Fe, I had slipped out of my parents’ hotel. As they napped, I strolled around the Plaza and found myself at the museum devoted to one of my favorite artists.Still, my thoughts of Mom and Dad were never far. When I answered my

TBILISI (AFP) ― In the kitchen of one of the most fashionable restaurants in Tbilisi, the chef is cooking up hearty peasant food using recipes long forgotten by most of his countrymen.“Nobody cooks a bird like this these days,” said chef Malkhaz Maisashvili, raising his carving knife to sweep slices of chicken into a pot. “I discovered the recipe in a small village.”Keen to assert itself as an att

For Taiwan Tourism Bureau, a new decade means time for change. Signboards all over the world are posting Taiwan’s new slogan, “Taiwan: The Heart of Asia.”“I want to welcome tourists to visit the heart of Asia and enjoy how comfortable and friendly Taiwan and Taiwanese people are,” said Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau Director in Seoul Sarah Chen to The Korea Herald. Logo for the new Taiwan tourism campaig

Book looks at Rivera and rest of Yankees bullpenBullpen Diaries: Mariano Rivera, Bronx Dreams, Pinstripe Legends, and the Future of the New York Yankees by Charley Rosen(Harper, $25.99)Forgive New York Yankees fans if they get nervous when one of the team’s relievers takes the mound. The 41-year-old lights-out closer, Mariano Rivera, appears to defy time with every cutter he throws for a strike. F

“The Uncoupling” is best-selling author Meg Wolitzer’s ninth novel, in which she brings her signature brand of humor and insight to the topic of the changing nature of female desire over time.When a new drama teacher in a suburban high school puts on a production of “Lysistrata” (the classic Aristophanes play in which the women of Greece go on a sex strike against men until a war ends), the women

Ever since Vanity Fair put her on its January 2010 cover in what looked like a Wonder Woman costume, Tina Fey has seemed in danger of falling for the very canard she has spent a career satirizing: that a woman can “have it all” if she’s willing to lose 20 pounds, show her breasts and regularly remind everyone that, although she writes and stars in an Emmy-winning TV show, she is still essentially