Psoriasis is a chronic skin condition that can last for 10-20 years. The affected patient will have a high chance of recurrence over their lifetime, even after initial improvement. Approximately 1-2 percent of the world’s population has this skin condition, and 60 people are newly diagnosed with psoriasis in every 100,000 people. Therefore, it is expected that a significant number of people will suffer from psoriasis in Korea. Psoriasis is characterized by scaly, dry skin with redness, together

Poet Jin Eun-young, author Kim Soom, playwright Koh Yeon-ok and translator Choi Yang-hee were chosen as the winners of the 21st Daesan Literary Awards. Kim Soom, 39, won the prize for her sixth novel “Women and their Evolving Enemies,” which deals with a woman and her conflicting relationship with her mother-in-law. Jin, 43, received the prize for her poem titled “A Stealing Song,” while playwright Koh Yeon-ok, 42, won the honor for her play “Father in a Scabbard,” a tale about a son who plots r

Korea and Britain have agreed to bolster cultural ties to support the creative economy by holding a joint cultural forum, researching cultural infrastructure and reinforcing support for relevant industries, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Thursday. Cooperation between the two countries is expected to boost mutual understanding and expand market opportunities, the government said.  According to the memorandum of understanding signed by the Korean Culture Minister Yoo Jin-ryong an

Over the last two decades, filmmaker Guillermo del Toro has become known as one of popular culture’s great visionaries. He’s channeled his wild, restless imagination to create dark worlds of fantasy and horror, crafting beautifully rendered stories that function as modern fairy tales. Del Toro is interested in innocence and evil, and his tales are populated with winged, multi-limbed creatures and human monsters.His new book, “Cabinet of Curiosities: My Notebooks, Collections, and Other Obsession

When we think of John F. Kennedy, we can’t help but bring to mind images of his assassination, but if there’s anything surprising about the 50th anniversary of his killing, it is the books that look back at his life.That may be because there’s no new ground to be broken on the assassination, although Life magazine’s magnificent “The Day Kennedy Died” (Life Books: 192 pp.) does offer a lavish retrospective that takes us through the tragedy, ending with the president’s funeral. There is perspectiv

Making Masterpiece: 25 Years Behind the Scenes at ‘Masterpiece Theatre’ and ‘Mystery!’ On PBSBy Rebecca Eaton (Penguin, NY) Do you remember Alistair Cooke? Besides being a renowned journalist, he also was the first host of PBS’ “Masterpiece Theatre” when it started in 1971.Now you can find out all about that history of that long-running program in Executive Producer Rebecca Eaton’s amusing biography “Making Masterpiece.”She took over in 1985 when “Masterpiece Theatre” was 15 years old. It was kn

The AbominableBy Dan Simmons(Little, Brown and Company)Since Dan Simmons’ new novel of mountaineering, lengthy technical explanations, Nazis and the occasional yeti is titled “The Abominable,” you should know at the outset that it is not a horror story. Indeed, defining the book at all seems to have eluded the publisher, who billed it as a “thrilling tale of high-altitude death and survival set on the snowy summits of Everest” ― but be advised that the characters aren’t even kitted out and in th

The golden days of Park Eun-seon’s life after she led her team to the second spot in the Korean women’s football league this season have been soured by a gender row.The Seoul City football club held a news conference Thursday to denounce demands for a gender verification test and ask for an apology from six clubs who questioned whether Park is a woman. The news conference came as news reports surfaced that the six teams questioned her gender and asked the league to verify it. The six head coache

GS Caltex Foundation, the corporate social responsibility division of the oil refiner, won the grand prix at the Korean Mecenat program for its support for local culture in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, the Korean Business Council for the Arts said Thursday. Haitai Confectionary and Foods was named the Cultural Contributor for its support of “gugak,” or traditional Korean music, while U.Square, a network of Kumho bus terminals, won the Cultural Management Award. Kim Kyeong-gon, chairman of Wooji

Seoul Book Festival 2013 to hold night reading programs and Q&A sessions with authors

LOS ANGELES ― Italian immigrants were instrumental in founding the California wine industry, yet when winemakers sought to upgrade the image of their wines in the mid-20th century, they followed the then-current fashion and went with French grapes ― Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. Though perhaps better suited to California’s climate, Italian varietals didn’t have much cachet at the time and were basically relegated to blends and low-cost jug wines.Steve Matthiasson of Matthiasson Wines in Nap

Early Tuesday morning, about 27 people gathered in front of Sajik Park gate at the foot of Mt. Inwangsan in central Seoul, to embark on an autumn English walking lecture organized by YEOL Korean Heritage Preservation Society. David Mason, a Namseoul University professor who specializes in studies of the great mountains of the Korean Peninsula and Korean shamanism, provided fresh insight into Korean culture and society throughout the tour.The group started from Sajikdan, an altar where the kings

A group of 23 foreign envoys, foreign CEOs and Koreans were treated to a special tour of Areumjigi Culture Keepers Foundation in Tongui-dong, Seoul, Tuesday night.The visit to the newly opened Areumjigi headquarters and the ongoing exhibition “Po, the Seonbi Spirit in Clothing” was part of the curriculum of Korea CQ, a 10-week program run by the Corea Image Communication Institute that introduces its members to various aspects of Korean culture.The visitors were led through the second floor wher