The Korea Herald

Incense on a spring breeze

TravelMar 28, 2014

For many, spring hiking at Daegu’s Mount Palgongsan means visit to national treasure
Tracing communist history in Budapest’s landscape

TravelMar 28, 2014

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) ― The toppling of statues and monuments during times of political upheaval has been a well-documented act in Eastern and Central European history. Among the cathartic gestures following the fall of communism in 1989, many of Budapest’s granite and stone giants were swiftly uprooted and later carted off to a field 30 minutes away from central Budapest that has become a sculpture park for the scorned monuments. Save for a cubist rendition of Marx and Engels flanking the entr
Asian travelers pick cellphones as must-carry item

TravelMar 28, 2014

Travelers from Asia selected cellphones as the travel item they least want to forget on vacation, according to a recent survey conducted by the hotel promotion site Agoda.com. The survey was completed by more than 50,000 customers visiting the site in February this year. Forty five percent of Asian respondents picked mobile phones as the item they least want to forget while packing for a vacation, followed by credit cards at 29 percent, laptops or tablet PCs at 11 percent, and a good book and to
Average hotel room rates fall in Korea

TravelMar 28, 2014

According to the Hotel Price Index released by the hotel booking site Hotels.com, average hotel room prices for global travelers to Korea fell by 21 percent on-year in 2013. The average room price foreign tourists paid was 150,295 won ($139). The price drop resulted from the decrease in Japanese visitors due to the depreciation of the yen. Meanwhile, the average price of a hotel room for global travelers rose by 3 percent in 2013 from the previous year. The report said the fall in room rates mad
Korail to launch hallyu-themed train for overseas fans

TravelMar 28, 2014

The Korea Railroad Corporation said it will operate a hallyu-themed train that will take overseas fans of K-pop to tourist destinations in Korea. The state rail company said it will develop programs for overseas K-pop fans with SM Entertainment, which manages TVXQ, EXO and Girls’ Generation. Korail and SM Entertainment signed a memorandum of understanding for the development of a “hallyu tourism program” on Monday. On the same day, Korail ran a train trip with TVXQ members and 250 of their fans
Charcuterie pioneer

Food&BeverageMar 28, 2014

Urban Knife opens its first snout-to-tail deli-butcher shop
Tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork)

Food&BeverageMar 28, 2014

Tangsuyuk is a Chinese sweet and sour pork dish adapted for Korean taste. It can also be made with beef. It is a beloved Korean-Chinese dish that’s often enjoyed along with jajangmyeon (noodles in black bean sauce) or jjambbong (spicy noodle soup).The potato starch used to make the batter is pre-soaked for several hours. This is a traditional method used to create a slightly chewy yet crispy crust. It is important to deep fry the meat twice for extra crispiness. The key to a successful sauce is
Around the Hotels

CultureMar 28, 2014

Thai cuisine at JW Marriott Hotel SeoulJW Marriott Hotel Seoul’s all-day dining restaurant The Cafe is offering authentic Thai cuisine made by guest chef Somkiat Dongprateep from JW Marriott Bangkok from March 28 to April 13. Throughout the promotion period, Chef Somkiat will present a range of popular Thai dishes including hot chili and Thai herb salad, yellow curry chicken, traditional satay kebabs, tom-yum goong and pad thai. The special dishes will be available at the restaurant’s dinner buf
Imperial Palace names new chief

PeopleMar 28, 2014

Imperial Palace Seoul has appointed veteran Korean hotelier Kim Jung-suk as its new general manager, the hotel said on Friday. Prior to joining the hotel, Kim held various managerial positions at The Westin Chosun in guestrooms, food and beverages, marketing and promotions. He has also served in marketing, communication and planning positions at major international companies such as Coca Cola and AIG. “We hope Kim will deliver a new energy to the Imperial Palace hotel chain, which is expanding a
Hallyu buoys Korean fashion

FashionMar 27, 2014

Hundreds of Chinese fans were in a frenzy at the opening of Seoul Fashion Week last Friday, when K-pop boy group EXO took the catwalk presenting the creations of young Korean designers. The popularity of K-pop has put a spotlight on the Korean fashion industry event, launched in 2000, and designers as well. Now, Seoul Fashion Week is one of the most anticipated fashion shows in Asia.“K-pop and Korean TV dramas play an important role in attracting attention to Korean fashion,” said Griffin Chan,
‘Twitter President’ publishes latest collection of short stories

BooksMar 27, 2014

Novelist Lee Oi-soo says his job is to be ‘preservative of the times’
A look at Chinese bridges

BooksMar 27, 2014

China Bridges: Living Architecture from China’s PastBy Ronald G. Knapp (Tuttle Publishing)Budding bridge engineers should look to Asia for inspiration.For thousands of years, China has built bridges for commerce, convenience and sometimes, to mark the “material achievements of emperors down through the ages,” says Ronald K. Knapp, writer of “China Bridges,” an oversized paperback coffee-table book.“Born of necessity to span streams, valleys and gorges, bridges are literally underfoot and often i
A legal story set inside the newsroom

BooksMar 27, 2014

Providence RagBy Bruce DeSilva(Forge)The difference between justice and the truth can be miles apart as well as diametrically opposed to journalism ethics as Bruce DeSilva succinctly shows in his third solid novel featuring Liam Mulligan, a Providence, R.I., reporter.“Providence Rag” is an unflinching look at how doing right thing can have dire reverberations. DeSilva’s other novels, including the Edgar-winning “Rogue Island,” have shown Mulligan secure in his career as an investigative reporter
Two books examine Lance Armstrong’s character and the industry around him

BooksMar 27, 2014

The cycling section of Powell’s Books in Portland, Oregon, is vast. And as you stand before it, as I did recently, it’s easy to split the volumes into distinct categories: before doping and after.In the first realm rest the hagiographies and how-to tomes mostly about or inspired by Lance Armstrong, including “It’s Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life,” “Lance Armstrong: Images of a Champion” and the now painfully ironic “The Lance Armstrong Performance Program: Seven Weeks to the Perfect
Myths of alcohol, writers exposed

BooksMar 27, 2014

Our culture has a way of romanticizing the booze-addled scribe, the rakish writer quick with a quip ― Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Cheever, Tennessee Williams, Raymond Carver.These were masters of American letters. These were also incorrigible drunks who left a trail of human wreckage and misery along with their novels, plays and poems.The myth of the rakish drunk writer dashing off bon mots between martinis starts to teeter once you peel away the illusions and delusions of alcoho