The Ven. Yeogeo entered monastic life 21 years ago at age 31, relatively late to become a nun in Korea. Thanks to her Buddhist parents, she had become familiar with temples at a young age. When she turned 19, she visited the temple Yongjusa in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, and decided to renounce secular life then. She became an enthusiastic member of Yongjusa’s Young Buddhist Association and began studying Buddhism in earnest. Memorizing sutras written in Chinese characters and understan

Westin Josun Busan promotes chefs’ special edition Westin Josun Busan is presenting a special edition of chef-cooked meals, available only through June 30. At the hotel’s Korean dining restaurant Sheobul, grilled chicken legs with abalone are offered alongside a fresh vegetable salad and four delicate side dishes. At Camellia, the hotel’s buffet restaurant, four types of wine will be recommended by sommeliers. The special bruschetta course platter consists of tomato with moz

Stories of Jeju’s Bukchon unfolds through haenyeo chef’s dishes at Haenyeo’s Kitchen

Korean street toast is a popular breakfast on the go. This sandwich packs egg, cabbage, carrot, ham and cheese between slices of buttery toasted bread. It’s the salty and sweet taste from the unusual condiment combination that will make you swoon. Who would have thought this odd Korean sandwich would become a worldwide sensation that everyone wants to make at home? This Korean street toast recipe is something you should try yourself to believe that it is not as bad as it sounds. Ingredie

Four Seasons Hotel Seoul showcases innovative bingsu desserts Four Seasons Hotel Seoul is presenting seven varieties of bingsu in homage to global desserts at the hotel’s lobby lounge Maru, through Sept. 30. The hotel will reveal each month’s treats alongside three signature bingsu options -- golden Jeju apple mango bingsu, black sesame creme brulee bingsu and summer fruits Charlotte bingsu. The golden Jeju apple mango bingsu, which is priced at 96,000 won, captures the flavor of

From coffee to grilled pork, chef-curated dining services transcend business boundaries

Located in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, Geungnaksa is a quiet, beautiful place. Surrounded by Gubongsan and a small creek running beside the temple compound, the temple looks well situated, even to someone who doesn’t know geomancy. The Ven. Yeogeo is well known to the general public as a teacher of temple food. Emphasizing the value of seasonal ingredients, she creates different dishes every season based on the veggies, fruits, and flowers available to be harvested from the mountains and f

JW Marriott Hotel Seoul offers homemade bingsu The Lounge, the premium lounge destination in the eighth-floor reception lobby at JW Marriott Hotel Seoul, celebrates the arrival of summer with three varieties of homemade iced bingsu dessert, available until Sept. 18. Annual bestseller Jeju Apple Mango Bingsu, the Lounge’s signature summer dessert, features mango pearls topped with a whole sliced apple mango. Ocean Bingsu, newly created for 2022, features blue pearls topped with blue Cu

In the month of May, flowers are given on several different occasions in Korea, often to celebrate and express gratitude. From Parents’ Day to Teacher’s Day, flower shops are busy preparing lavish bouquets and baskets throughout what is known as Family Month. What if such beautiful flowers can also be enjoyed as part of your meal? An Italian restaurant and a dessert cafe in Seoul proves that flowers can indeed be a feast for the palate, not just a feast for the eyes. Flower piz

This Korean pan-fried tofu recipe is a great way to enjoy plant-based protein in a healthy and inexpensive way. No pressing is required to get the crispy texture. This is one of the best low-effort, pan-seared tofu dishes you can easily make at home. Here I present one of my favorite Korean side dish recipes. This pan-fried tofu has just the right texture: Crispy outside and chewy inside. A slightly spicy Korean soy chili sauce drizzle gives a flavor boost to the bland tofu. This fast tofu r

L’Escape launches ‘You be You’ package with Starbucks L’Escape Hotel, located in Seoul’s Myeong-dong, is offering a collaboration package with Starbucks. The package includes a night stay at L‘Escape’s Deluxe Room. Gifts include a Starbucks logo patch and a limited edition design patch made by L’Escape for a fashionable summer look. At Marque d’Amour, the 26th floor hotel bar, three special cocktails based on Starbucks VIA coffee is serve

"Should we go for jajangmyeon or jjamppong today?” This is a typical question asked at a Chinese restaurant in Korea, where the two dishes are the most popular. Jjamppong refers to a Korean-Chinese noodle dish with either a spicy seafood broth or pork broth, made with red gochugaru, or red chili powder. In recent years, the traditional jjamppong has been getting a makeover, just like other fusion dishes that have mixed cultural roots. While retaining the spicy kick, jjamppong t

Society attributes a variety of adjectives to temple food such as healthy, natural and cleaner. Are such words accurate? Ven. Dorim, who teaches at Hyangjeok Segye, a culinary art institute operated by the Cultural Corps of Korean Buddhism, disagrees, saying, “Temple food is not that grand.” Monastics use the same ingredients that Koreans used to eat in leaner times and prepare them in ways to enhance the taste. Temple food is neither extravagant nor special. The most important

JW Marriott Hotel Seoul presents Japanese breakfast menus Tamayura, the luxury Japanese restaurant at JW Marriott Hotel Seoul, presents three authentic Japanese breakfasts prepared with seasonal ingredients. Abalone Ozen is a rice porridge dish made with carefully selected abalone from the waters off Wando Island. Eel Ozen is a donburi-style breakfast dish of sea eel, served on pot-steamed rice. Sea Urchin Roe Ozen features saffron-steamed rice topped with sea urchin roe, tofu skin and aspara

The fame of “K-food” was not built in a day. Korean cuisine, an important component of the country’s soft power along with K-pop and K-dramas that have a relatively short history, dates back centuries, with written records of it going back to the Three Kingdoms period (57 BC–AD 668). In metropolitan cities, fine dining restaurants that serve ornate contemporary Korean cuisines and small eateries with bite-sized Korean snacks are easy to find. However, places that serv