InfernoBy Dan Brown (Doubleday)Last Monday afternoon, Amazon posted a tease on its Kindle Facebook page reminding fans that the “year’s most anticipated thriller” was set for release the next day.There was skepticism amid the responses, as some wondered if Dan Brown’s latest, “Inferno,” could live up to the hype. The answer is yes!The latest chapter in the life of Harvard professor Robert Langdon is a compelling and suspenseful tale filled with twists and turns. (Advance copies of the book were

German writer Ralf Isau talks about his childhood, fantasy genre

ROME (AFP) ― The world’s oldest complete Torah scroll has been found in a university archive in Bologna, according to an Italian professor who said the text could be from the 12th century.The precious lambskin scroll had been classified by the university library as being from the 17th century and was named simply “Scroll Number Two.”But Hebrew Studies professor Mauro Perani told AFP on Wednesday he noticed that the text did not conform to key changes in Torah writing brought about starting from

Faster method of illegal downloading hard to regulate

Lee Jong-hwan, one of the nation’s best-known disc jockeys, died of lung cancer at his home in Seoul on Thursday. He was 75.He joined MBC as a radio producer in 1964 and became a star DJ by hosting two of its most-listened-to programs in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1996, MBC awarded Lee a prize in recognition of his 20-plus years of service as a radio DJ. He was the first disc jockey to receive the prize from the broadcaster. He quit a radio show of the network in 2002, taking responsibility for ver

An expedition group including two intellectually challenged hikers and their parents climbed a 5,380-meter peak of the Himalayas on Tuesday. Sule, a social enterprise based in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, said Thursday that the expedition was now descending after scaling to the summit Kokyo-Ri at around 8 a.m. Tuesday. The team departed for Nepal on May 20. The group consists of 13 members. They include Kim Chang-il, 22, who has Down syndrome and his mother Choi Young-mi, who had breast cancer s

Korea Development Institute said Thursday that Kim Joon-kyung, a faculty member of KDI School of Public Policy and Management, has been appointed its 14th president. His appointment came at a board meeting of the National Research Council for Economics, Humanities and Social Sciences, an agency under the control of Prime Minister’s Office, Thursday. His term as KDI president is three years.Kim graduated from Kyunggi High School and Seoul National University with a major in computer science and s

Sajikdan in central Seoul is an altar where kings of Joseon (1392-1910) prayed to gods of the earth and harvest. During the Japanese colonial rule (1910-1945) the colonial government cleared the area and turned it into a park. In 1988, before the Seoul Olympics, the altar was restored, but by then it had lost its charm ― it is surrounded by fences, libraries and leisure facilities, including an archery range. Kim Young M’Young, chairwoman of YÉOL Korean Heritage Preservation Society, is committe

The Korea Advertisers Association elected Ildong Pharmaceuticals Co. chief executive Lee Jung-chi its 11th president on Wednesday. “I will seek a virtuous circle through communication and cooperation among market players, who are advertisers, media and ad agents,” Lee said in his inaugural address. “I will also push ahead with plans to ease regulations against the ad market and address those news reports and programs which may hurt business activities and fuel sentiment against businesses.” Lee

A Korean woman will become the first female mathematics professor with tenure at Yale University, entering a field of the school which has been off-limits to women mathematicians for 312 years. The Korea Institute for Advanced Society said Wednesday that Oh Hee, one of its scholars who is a professor at Brown University, will become a faculty member and hold a tenured position at the department of mathematics at Yale on July 1. It is the first time since the U.S. Ivy League university was founde

Paris-based pianist to hold outdoor concerts on remote islands of Korea