The Korea Touch Association will kick-start its 2014 season Saturday with an open day in Jamwon Park, next to the Han River. The touch rugby event will involve skills practices, coaching clinics and an introduction to the game for complete beginners, followed by a casual mini-tournament. The KTA has seen most of its old hands leave in recent years, according to event organizer Dain Leathem, but a large influx of new players meant that last year saw an uptick in participation. “We had another big

American musician Pauline Oliveros first picked up the accordion when she was only 9 years old. Now, more than 70 years later, she still hasn’t put it down. Oliveros’ love of the accordion had not transcended into her love of music, but her curiosity of sound and how people hear and process noise. When she was 16, she discovered her inner hearing abilities as a musician and decided to become a composer. This became the launching point for her new love affair with listening. “It became clear to m

W Seoul Walkerhill has appointed Indian veteran hotelier Vikram Mujumdar as its new general manager, the hotel said on Monday. Prior to joining the W Hotel in Seoul, Mujumdar held managerial positions at Starwood Hotels and Resorts in Phuket and Bangkok for four years. Mujumdar has spent two decades in hotel management since starting as a front office worker. He first joined Marriott International, and then moved to Starwood Hotels and Resorts, where he was in charge of revenue management for th

Perenna Kei, a 24-year-old woman from Hong Kong, topped the 2014 World’s Youngest Billionaires list recently unveiled by Forbes, unseating the 29-year-old Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz. The youngest billionaire, also known by the name Ji Peili, reportedly has an estimated net worth of $1.3 billion and owns 85 percent of Logan Property Holdings through various companies and a family trust. Kei’s wealth was inherited, not self-made. Her father, Ji Haipeng, is the chairman and CEO of Logan P

A group of Korean-Americans have started an online petition asking U.S. President Barack Obama to bring a set of Korean national treasures ― apparently stolen by U.S. nationals and currently under the custody of U.S. authorities ― to Korea when he visits the country in April. The motion, posted March 13 on We the People, an online petition site of the White House, calls for the retrieval of a total of 11 national seals and royal court signets from the Joseon era (1392-1910), Korea’s last ruling

NEW YORK (AP) ― It’s still chilly in much of the U.S., but stores are clearing out coats and sweaters to make way for spring’s bright colors and lighter clothing. And if you’re looking to update your wardrobe this season, you’ll need to know about a few key trends: crop tops, high waists and wider pant legs.But don’t panic just yet about the idea of wearing a top that may not reach your navel. There are several ways to pull off the potentially midriff-baring trend ― whether or not you have great

This summer, Korean music will have its moment in London. A series of events showcasing Korean classical music, pop and gugak are planned throughout the city as part of the annual City of London Festival, which will take place June 22-July 17. It is a brand new project that the festival is starting since a new director ― Paul Gudgin who led the Edinburgh Festival Fringe from 1999 to 2007 ― took charge in April last year. “We are creating a strand in the 2014 City of London Festival called ‘Seoul

The Norway Tourism Organization in Seoul recently kicked off its latest “Powered By Nature” campaign to encourage more travel to the country, which boasts breathtakingly scenic Nordic views ― views that may remind some of a particularly popular animated movie. As the box-office smash “Frozen” continues to take the world by storm, the Norway tourism agency has decided to latch onto the country’s undeniable obsession with the Disney flick, which recently became the highest-grossing animated film i

It was late Saturday morning and still smoggy when we left Seoul on an express bus for Gunsan. We were going to this west coast port to reach a nearby island famous for its sunsets, though with all the fine-particle dust the possibility of a sunset was still up in the air. The atmospheric conditions were unchanged by the time we’d arrived and caught a taxi. The talkative driver, wearing black faux-leather pants, a puffy black jacket and black sports sunglasses, said that Gunsan was the hardest-h

Scenic restaurant with a veranda and spring-friendly fare