The Seoul Book and Culture Club is hosting a question-and-answer session with two young authors on Saturday.Chung Han-ah and Choi Eun-young are among the most recent to have their works translated and published in English as part of ASIA Publishers’ series of short fiction by new Korean authors.The two writers will give a reading from their new books before a short interview with host Barry Welsh. Questions will be opened up to the audience for the second half of the event. The covers of Choi Eu

Seoul Metropolitan Government is inviting residents of South Asia to raise issues and problems they experience living here at a Seoul Town Meeting attended by Mayor Park Won-soon on Sept. 16.Seoul has been holding town meetings for foreign residents of Seoul for about a decade. The aim is for expats to voice their problems so that Seoul can develop policies to address them.  Mayor Park Won-soon (Yonhap)The event will be in Korea with English simultaneous translation. As well as the mayor, South

Controversial novelist and literary scholar Ma Kwang-soo was found dead at his home Tuesday, in what appears to be a suicide.The writer‘s family members found Ma’s body around 12:51 p.m. at his home in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, and reported it to the police. Officials believe it to be a suicide.It was reported that Ma, 66, had been suffered from depression since retiring as a professor of Korean literature at Yonsei University last August. Ma Kwang-soo (Yonhap)Ma’s bumpy career was marked by years of c

Every time Goksel Turkozu browsed through a bookstore in Turkey, he felt there could be more books of Korean literature in translation in his country where the passion for everything Korean runs high.A devotee of Korean literature and professor at Erciyes University in the city of Kayseri, Cappadocia, Turkozu has adapted several well-known Korean novels into the Turkish language since he first set foot in Seoul in 1990 as a student. His decadeslong dedication to spread Korea’s literary imaginati

Famed novelist Ma Kwang-soo was found dead at his residence in Seoul on Tuesday. His body was discovered by his family around 1:50 p.m. at his house in Yongsan-gu. A will was found next to him leaving his belongings to his family. Ma Kwang-soo (Yonhap)The police are treating the case as a suspected suicide. Ma, 66 was a former professor of Korean literature at Yonsei University. He gained public recognition with his sexually explicit novels, including “Happy Sara,” for which he served an eight-m

Applications to take the Test of Proficiency in Korean on Nov. 19 will open Monday.The test is available in two formats, TOPIK I, which covers levels 1 and 2, and the more challenging TOPIK II, which covers levels 3-6. The test costs 35,000 won for the TOPIK I and 40,000 won for the TOPIK II.  Korean Study materials for the Test of Proficiency in Korean (Paul Kerry/The Korea Herald)There are 47 test centers in Korea, covering all provinces and metropolitan cities except Ulsan and Sejong. The tes

Indian cuisine at Sheraton Seoul D Cube CityThe Sheraton Seoul D Cube City Hotel is offering authentic Indian cuisine at its restaurant Feast from Sept. 8-28. Star chefs from Le Meridien Gurgaon Delhi Hotel has been invited to introduce popular local dishes, including Indian-style salad, soup, diverse curry dishes such as lamb, shrimp cream, paneer butter masala, as well as the famous grilled tandoori chicken, seekh kebab and more.At the live station guests can taste Indian bread “tawa paratha,”

Dorrell opens new lab concept space in renovated house

A gold-embellished, red-lacquered pailou, or Chinese arch, looms over a street on the shore of South Korea’s port city of Incheon.The blue-colored board attached to the 11-meter high structure reads Zhonghuajia, Chinese for ‘Chinese avenue,’ marking the entrance to Incheon Chinatown, the largest Chinatown in the nation. For over 130 years, Incheon Chinatown has been standing as the only officially recognized one of its kind in Korea since 1884, when Joseon Dynasty leased parts of Incheon to Qing

Kim Jong-jin, the recently-named head of Cultural Heritage Administration, emphasized the importance of preserving cultural heritage and vowed changes in the CHA employees‘ attitude in achieving the goals of the organization.Kim who has been with CHA since 2001, however, stopped short of suggesting specific plans for revamping the system that has been criticized for lacking expertise, resulting in such fiascos as the recent “fake royal seal” controversy. Kim Jong-jin, head of Cultural Heritage A

Francine Stock, a broadcaster for BBC Television and Radio and formerly a movie critic, has been enthralled by the richness and delicacy of Korean films, ever since they began to make waves in her country about a decade ago. Having previously interviewed Korean director Park Chan-wook and Bong Joon-ho as a host of BBC Radio 4, Stock said globally acclaimed Korean films such as "Thirst" and “The Handmaiden,” both directed by Park, have paved the way for Korean cinema in England. Francine Stock (P

A cultural exchange event discussing Korea’s image, seen through the eyes of the global community, took place in Seoul on Monday and Tuesday.The eighth annual Culture Communication Forum 2017 brought together several leading figures in arts and culture from across the world to discuss “Korea’s image felt through sight,” at the Grand Hyatt Seoul on Tuesday. “I was born in Korea, and got adopted by a French family when I was 7 years old. I’ve been visiting Korea for the last seven years, and each

Polish-born artist Krzysztof Wodiczko practices art as agent of change

Cool breeze and a clear sky signaled the arrival of fall in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday. Daytime temperature dropped to an average of 18 degrees Celsius nationwide, creating an optimal weather for outdoor activities. A dry spell is anticipated in the following weeks. Photographed by Park Hyun-koo (phko@heraldcorp.com)

Seoul is a vibrant megalopolis with modern high-rises crowding the city’s major arteries. Nestled among the gleaming buildings are labyrinthine alleys that appear to have escaped the passage of time. We explore Seoul‘s many nooks and crannies. - Ed.  Cafes and stores alongside “Mangridan-gil,” the main street of Mangwon-dong, Seoul, are seen in these photos. (Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald)At first glance, it is not immediate what is so special about “Mangridan-gil,” a nickname for the main stre