It’s pretty unusual for a staff member of a Nordic embassy to be a household name in Korea, but Petri Kalliola, a project coordinator at the Embassy of Finland, has made his mark in an unusual way. When he is not at the office, he can often be seen on TV entertainment shows, introducing his country to Korean viewers. Kalliola says his employer, the Finnish Embassy, has been supportive of his TV activities. He thanked his colleagues for putting up with his erratic schedule, but emphasized that hi

Graduation and school entrance season, which comes around in March in Korea, has arrived. The record-breaking cold temperatures are slowly fading away as spring creeps up.Along with the change in seasons, people are flocking to the flower market in Yangjae-dong, southeastern Seoul. The Yangjae Flower Market is the largest in Korea, a hub of some 120 wholesale and retail stores, an auction house and greenhouses that sell all sorts of flowers, succulents and bouquet-making material.Customers can b

If you stroll down the street tonight, you’d better stop for a while, raise your head and make a wish. Today is “Jeongwol Daeboreum” or “Daeboreum,” which means the first full moon of the Lunar New Year. It is one of Korea’s traditional holidays.To mark the special day, the word Daeboreum featured on Naver’s trending keyword bar Friday morning, while over 3,000 tweets were posted on the social media platform on the same day.Ancestors in the nation were believed to celebrate the day by wishing a

Revised immigration law includes fast-track travel ban on foreigners suspected of serious crimes

Teenagers ‘break away from daily routines’ at nightclub in Hongdae

Widely known for his controversial works, photographer Rotta has been accused of sexually harassing a model. The alleged victim claimed in a television news interview that Rotta harassed her five years ago while shooting a pictorial.“(The photographer) suddenly asked me to bite his finger, claiming that he demands the act of all girls when shooting. He kept touching me as well,” the accuser said. Despite her clear refusal, he continued to physically come into contact with her, she added. She lef

If you walk down the street in Korea in winter, you may have seen stalls decorated with fish characters that sell fish-shaped bread called “bungeoppang.”  Bungeoppang (Park Ju-young / The Korea Herald)After encountering the snack for the first time, celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay said, “Is it like something out of ‘Finding Nemo?’” (Read more at: Chef Gordon Ramsay spurs Korean street food)“Bungeo” means carp and “ppang” refers to bread in Korean. The combination of the two words may prompt people

Seoul is full of novel indoor attractions for foreign tourists, from board game cafes and escape rooms to one-person karaoke booths. One of the most comforting of these sites might be the sheep cafe Thanks Nature, located just in front of Hongik University in the Hongdae district. Owner Lee Kwang-ho brushes the one-year-old ewe Sugar on Feb. 23 at his cafe Thanks Nature in Hongdae, Seoul. (Rumy Doo/The Korea Herald)The cafe, sitting in a sunken garden-like lower story, houses in its outdoors enc

Roughly seven out of 10 Koreans have received traditional Korean medical treatment, a study showed Tuesday. The Ministry of Health and Welfare put out the results of their study conducted on a total of 6,914 citizens. Results showed that 90.6 percent of those in their 60s or older have used Korean medicine, followed by those in their 50s (86.1 percent) and in their 40s (77.7 percent).Acupuncture was the most popular method of treatment for patients going to clinics specializing in Korean medicin

Jacquemus presented its fall-winter 2018-2019 ready-to-wear collection on Monday at the Petit Palais in Paris. The fall-winter 2018 Paris Fashion Week kicked off Tuesday and is set to run through March 6.Photos by AFP(khnews@heraldcorp.com)

If you watched the latest episode of tvN’s “Youn‘s Kitchen,” you might notice the Korean traditional dessert “Hotteok.”By serving the Korean sweet pancake with a scoop of ice cream and chocolate sauce, the restaurant featured a posh dessert menu and captivated Spanish customers’ taste buds. (Shot and edited by Park Ju-young / The Korea Herald)“Hottoek,” however, is one of the popular street snacks which has been loved by locals for decades.The details about when and where this tasty dish came fr

Choi Jeong-hwa envisions sculpture made with used dinnerware

Thousands of fans flocked to see online personalities live at Fan Fest

YG Entertainment on Sunday opened its restaurant complex YG Republique at Jeju Shinhwa World, an integrated resort complex on Jeju Island. YG’s new multifaceted dining complex consists of three restaurant brands: a meat place called “Three-Way Butcher,” a salad cafe called “3Birds” and a pub called “K-Pub,” all of which are operated by YG in conjunction with YG Foods, the agency’s restaurant business.  G-Dragon’s cafe Untitled, 2017 (YG Foods) YG Republique (YG Foods)YG Republique also has branc

Ilmin Museum of Art is examining different aspects of neoliberal society through “IMA Picks,” a project that comprises research-based artworks by artists in their 30s and 40s who have made significant achievements at home and abroad for more than 10 years.As part of this year’s project, Kim A-young, Lee Moon-joo, and Jung Yoon-suk are presenting solo exhibitions that showcase their ways of interpreting different phenomena embedded in neoliberal society.  Kim A-young’s “Porosity Valley” (IMA)Kim’