Choi Soon-hwa, now in her heyday, opens new chapter of life

Riding a bike in Seoul has never been easy. With spider web-like tangles of roads teeming with traffic, and pedestrian areas packed with people milling about, talking and running at different speeds, the metropolitan city is still a tough place for a bike ride. Under the city of Seoul’s green transport vision, however, two-wheelers are an increasingly common sight -- and not just as last-mile mobility, but also for recreational use. At unmanned rental hubs located at subway stations a

Paul Smith is a name well known around the world, but the renowned fashion designer says he never assumes that people know who he is. This, he explained, is why the exhibition “Hello, My Name is Paul Smith,” which kicked off Thursday in Seoul, is based on his character. It offers a look inside his world, encompassing his thought process, work and path toward success.  “(My personality) is very low-key, feet on the ground personality. … It is an exhibition which lit

An exhibition featuring hundreds of ancient Greek artifacts is being held at Seoul Art Center’s Hangaram Art Museum. The exhibition, titled “The Greeks: From Agamemnon to Alexander the Great,” features some 350 artifacts gathered from 24 local museums in Greece, including the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki and the Archaeological Museum of Pella. The exhibition is designed to allow the visitor to explore the cultures of the region, from the early Aegean civiliza

In all its retro glory, an alley in Seoul -- serving grilled “seagull meat” -- has risen as a popular dining spot. Though the name may indicate its location to be near a port city, “seagull meat alley” is actually situated at the heart of central Seoul, near Jongno 3-ga Station.(Video shot and edited by Lee Sun-hye /The Korea Herald) Don’ let the name galmaegisal, which could mean seagull meat in Korean, mislead you. The name refers to skirt steak, the cut

Best-selling French author wants people to feel comfortable discussing death

The government said Wednesday it will establish 13 new state-run King Sejong Institutes in 11 countries for foreigners wanting to learn the Korean language and culture.With the additions, the number of King Sejong Institutes, a public institution run by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to promote Korean language education and the distribution of Korean culture abroad, has increased to 180 in 60 countries worldwide, according to the ministry. The 13 new institutes were chosen from amon

While the image of South Korean director Bong Joon-ho posing triumphantly with his Palme d’Or trophy at this year’s Cannes Film Festival is the most popular recent image of Korea on the world stage, the country’s cinema is not as well-known among foreigners as one might expect.When asked, “What Korean films have you watched?” over half the foreign respondents to a recent survey -- 51.7 percent -- said they had never seen a Korean movie. The survey, conducted between

In Gary Hume’s paintings, colorful tectonic plates seamlessly flow on the glimmering aluminum surface. You see yourself reflected there too. As you move around the gallery space, they seem to shimmer a little differently.Britain’s Hume has brought his visual playground to Seoul. The artist is holding a solo exhibition at Barakat Contemporary, Barakat Gallery’s modern and contemporary art venue. It is the first-ever solo exhibition in Korea for the artist, who came to

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety is starting a YouTube series to encourage people to eat less salt and sugar.The series will feature cooking shows with low-salt and low-sugar recipes, as well as on-site evaluations of the salt and sugar content of packaged foods and restaurant dishes.Ahead of the series’ launch, the Food Safety Ministry held a healthy diet forum Monday.Reducing sodium and sugar intake is one of the campaigns being run by the ministry this year. From May 14 to 17, the m

Korean artist Kim Ji-won’s uniquely grotesque cockscomb paintings come in different colors -- exuberant red, faded gray.Kim, best known for this cockscomb painting series, is holding a solo exhibition at PKM Gallery in Samcheong-dong, Seoul, titled “Canvas Fly.” His latest exhibition consists more than 90 paintings by Kim, including representative paintings from the series focusing on cockscomb flowers -- maendeurami in Korean -- as well as other works that depict landscapes

The eighth edition of Art Busan kicked off Thursday at the Bexco Exhibition Center in Busan, featuring some 4,000 works from 164 galleries in 17 countriesMany galleries at this year’s art fair agreed that the quality of the annual event is getting higher. “The fair underwent many changes, and it seems to have finally settled in, particularly in terms of its program,” a representative from Seoul-based Hakgojae Gallery said.This year’s edition of the country’s second-

Fruit bingsu at Millennium Seoul Hilton Millennium Seoul Hilton’s Cilantro Deli presents bingsu, topped with summer fruits. Four varieties of bingsu, Koreans’ favorite summer desert made with shaved ice, are offered, featuring melon, pineapple, avocado and mango as the main topping. Large-sized, they are designed to be shared by two to three people.Each bingsoo is accompanied by small bowls of nuts, sweet red bean paste and rice cakes. Bingsu is priced between 43,000 won to 48,000 wo

New green bean showroom showcases brews with personality

Everland Rose FestivalLaunched in 1985, the long-running Everland Rose Festival opens every year in May. This year it continues until June 16. At a 20,000-square-meter rose garden, visitors can see various kinds of flowers while enjoying the amusement park.It is held inside Everland, South Korea’s largest theme park in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, and is open to visitors of all ages.To find out more about the event, including admission fees and how to get there, visit everland.com for inform