The Korea Herald

Travel Bits

TravelMay 22, 2015

‘Korea Night’ in LAThe Korea Tourism Organization will hold “Korea Night” at LA Dodgers Stadium on June 17 when the Dodgers and Texas Rangers face off in a Major League Baseball match.Korean players Ryu Hyun-jin, a starting pitcher for the LA Dodgers, and Choo Shin-soo, a Texas Rangers outfielder, will participate in the promotion of Korea to the some 50,000 spectators at the stadium, according to the KTO.K-pop girl group 2NE1’s CL will throw the first pitch of the game, and Korean rock singer Y
Around the Hotels

Food&BeverageMay 22, 2015

World-class chefs at JW Marriott Hotel SeoulJW Marriott Hotel Seoul will be hosting the Grand Gala Dinner, a collaboration among seven international star chefs, at 7 p.m. on May 28. The chefs are in Korea for this year’s Culinary Art event, a 12-day event running from May 18-30 at the JW Marriott. Professor Han Bok-jin, a master chef of traditional Korean cuisine, will begin the Grand Gala Dinner with a selection of appetizers made with premium ingredients such bamboo shoots and mullet roe. The
Dior to open Asia’s biggest flagship store in Seoul

FashionMay 22, 2015

Luxury fashion brand Dior will open its largest Asian flagship store in Seoul next month, with construction nearing completion.The resplendent white architecture is designed by famed French architect Christian de Portzamparc ― known for his modern, luxurious designs ― and interiors are being overseen by Peter Marino.The six-story Dior Seoul Boutique will contain a fifth-floor cafe by the French macaron connoisseur Pierre Herme.Two floors in the new Dior store will be dedicated to menswear.The re
Korea confirms third MERS case, 64 on watch

HealthMay 21, 2015

Seoul said Thursday that three people have been infected by Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and 64 people, including health care workers and the patients’ families, are being monitored for possible infection.All three patients were quarantined at a government-certified facility and reported to be in stable condition.The first confirmed patient was diagnosed with the disease on Wednesday, about 17 days after he returned to Korea from trip to the Middle East and eight days after he started
Age of transformation

Arts&DesignMay 21, 2015

Experience and dialogue with different cultures inform Koolhaas’ works
S. Korea reports 3rd confirmed case of MERS

HealthMay 21, 2015

South Korea confirmed a third case of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome on Thursday, one day after it reported its first-ever case of the viral disease. The latest case was confirmed in a 76-year-old man who had shared a hospital room with the first patient to be diagnosed with MERS, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The case also came shortly after the wife of the first patient, a 68-year-old man, was diagnosed with the disease earlier Thursday. The CDC sa
S. Korea mulls issuing alert against MERS

HealthMay 21, 2015

South Korea is considering raising its watch against the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, health officials said Thursday, one day after the country reported its first case of the viral disease. Officials from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said an experts' meeting will be held later in the day to decide whether to raise the country's watch against the new respiratory disease to the second-highest level of alert. The move comes one day after a 68-year-old man was diagnose
Are 'foreigner only' rules legal?

Expat LivingMay 21, 2015

This story was originally published on July 24, 2009. -- Ed.So I needed a new cell phone. But as a foreigner in Korea, I quickly found that my options were limited. There are models galore, but complicated Korean rules turn something as simple as buying a phone into an exercise in futility. Everything depends on my visa status. A recent visit to one store was typical. Did I have a national ID, the counter guy asked. I produced my Alien Registration Card, and the man brought out a chart matching
[Newsmaker] Steve Yoo asks to be taken back

PeopleMay 20, 2015

So, Steve Yoo wants to be taken back into Korea, the country he abandoned 13 years ago to avoid military service. In an interview in Hong Kong late Tuesday night, the ’90s pop star who performed as Yoo Seung-jun ― but is now better known here as a high-profile draft-dodger ― knelt down, shed tears and apologized for his “foolish” decision in 2002 to renounce his Korean citizenship and become a U.S. citizen.The move, made just three months before the scheduled conscription and despite his repeate
‘Titus Andronicus’ as current as it is classic

Expat LivingMay 20, 2015

Seoul Shakespeare Company will perform “Titus Andronicus” from this month as its annual full production, a play that bears striking echoes of modern issues, despite its age.The play ― chosen to contrast with last year’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” ― follows the cycle of revenge between Roman noble Titus Andronicus and Tamora, the queen of the Goths, in savage detail. One London production last year was so brutal that media reported audience members fainting.The gore was all a bit too “Game of Th
Expat farming project to take soy beans from seedling to sauce

Expat LivingMay 20, 2015

A group of expat farmers will try their hand at making traditional Korean condiments from the very basics, going from seedlings to sauce, in a new yearlong project to start May 31.The Kong Project, run by Gachi CSA, a community-supported agriculture organization that caters to expats here, will involve monthly gatherings at a farm in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, where participants will grow beans and turn them into sauce. The project will be run by Gachi CSA chief Kim Byung-soo, the owner of th
HIV tests for E-2 visas discrimination, U.N. finds

Expat LivingMay 20, 2015

The U.N. Committee on Eliminating Racial Discrimination has ruled that HIV testing of teachers on E-2 visas is discrimination.In an opinion released Tuesday, the committee said that “The mandatory testing policy limited to foreign English teachers who are not ethnically Koreans, does not appear to be justified on public health grounds or any other ground, and is a breach of the right to work without distinction as to race, color, national or ethnic origin.”It also urged Korea to take action to p
Seoul Fashion Week appoints first director

Arts&DesignMay 20, 2015

15-year-old event’s debut director plans to make SFW Asia’s best fashion week
[Herald Interview] Exploring modern Korea in ancient trappings

BooksMay 20, 2015

New book examines Korea’s social fabric through lens of shamanism, Confucianism
Caffeinated Korea

Food&BeverageMay 20, 2015

Wide spectrum of coffee available in Korea today, from canned to hand-drip