The Korea Herald

Seoul Mayor to hold town meeting with Thai residents

Apr 27, 2016

Seoul Metropolitan Government is holding a town meeting for Thai residents of the city with Mayor Park Won-soon and the Thai Embassy on May 10.The meetings will be held in Korean and Thai for residents to raise problems they have and suggest ways to improve life in the city in an open forum. The meeting will take place from 3-4:30 p.m. on the ninth floor of the Seoul Global Center building in Jongno.To register a place at the meeting, contact donghoon@seoul.go.kr (Korean) or freedom_river@hotmai
Gwangju center offers cultural orientation event for foreign students

Apr 27, 2016

Gwangju International Center is running two tours to introduce international students to the city and help them meet Korean peers.The Gwangju Tour with Global Friends will host up to 15 foreign and 15 Korean university students on a tour of local cultural sites on May 21 and May 22The tour will visit Gwangju Traditional Culture Center, Art Street, Chungjangsa and the Yangnim-dong History and Culture Village on the first day. On the second, the students will visit the May 18 Cemetery dedicated to
Daily Wine offers affordable bottles

Apr 26, 2016

Affordable wine merchant Daily Wine opened its first shop in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, on Tuesday. The warehouse wholesaler trades more than 700 kinds of wine for discounted prices of between 5,000 won ($4) and 20,000 won. It is open to individual buyers. (Daily Wine)Daily Wine said it was able to offer low prices by cutting down on supply costs through direct transactions and bulk orders, as well as using a low-cost suburban location. The closest subway station to the Uiwang shop is the Indeog
Lotte Cinema to charge new rates

Apr 21, 2016

Following fellow cinema chain CGV, Lotte Cinema will stagger its ticket prices starting next Wednesday. Lotte Cinema had previously run discounted rates throughout the week for movies shown before 10:30 a.m. while on weekends after the morning discount hours it charged an extra 1,000 won (90 cents) on top of the regular fee. (Yonhap)Before, on weekday and weekend mornings before 10:30 a.m. the movies at Lotte Cinema were 6,000 won, weekdays after 10:30 a.m. they were 9,000 won and weekends after
Pet-friendly parks in Seoul

Apr 21, 2016

Seoul city will open the third no-leash play zone for dogs, at Boramae Park in Sindaebang-dong, Dongjak-gu, from Saturday. Other such zones also exist at Children’s Grand Park in Gangjin-gu and Seoul World Cup Stadium in Mapo-gu. (123RF)The new Boramae Park playground will be 1,300 square meters and equipped with drinking fountains, dog toilets and dog exercise and entertainment facilities. To prevent conflicts between dogs of varying sizes, the space has been divided according to their builds.
Mail art collaboration keeps artists in touch

Apr 20, 2016

Missing paintings, missing painters and delays, it turns out that organizing a mail art project was not as simple as Martyn Thompson anticipated.The expat artist organized the international project in which each participant worked on a collaborative artwork twice the width and length of a standard sheet of paper for a month before sending it to the next artist. In part it was an opportunity to rediscover the anticipation of getting things in the mail.“Christmas and birthdays -- when you got some
Talk to introduce 'Solitary Sage' Choi Chi-won

Apr 20, 2016

Chung-Ang University professor David Mason will be giving a talk on the ninth-century scholar, writer and spiritual sage Choi Chi-won.Choi served as a successful government official in both Tang China and Korea, but spent his later years in effective internal exile in Korea, during which he practiced Daoism and lived in great Buddhist temples, recording their histories. According to Mason, who has recently completed a book on the scholar, Choi exemplifies the tragic spirit of the Unified Shilla
‘Death of an Anarchist’blends social commentary, comedy

Apr 20, 2016

Busan expats will have a rebel to root for -- or not -- in a satirical classic play that starts its run this weekend.Busan English Theatre Association is staging “Accidental Death of an Anarchist,” by Dario Fo, over two weekends.The play is a work of fiction, but was inspired by the real-life case of an activist who died in police custody while being investigated for a bombing he did not carry out -- the cause of his fall from a fourth-floor police station window being unclear. In Fo’s narrative
Seoul center provides psychological support service

Apr 20, 2016

Seoul Global Center is offering psychological counseling on a weekly basis to expats suffering from social conflicts and stress.The counseling, available in English and Korean, is available on Thursday mornings from 10 a.m. to noon. It is provided by a member of the Korea Employee Assistance Professionals Association. Up to six 60-minute sessions will be available per person to discuss social conflicts, problems with work-life balance and similar issues.Michelle Kang from the Seoul Global Center
Haebangchon to become ‘Green Culture Village’

Apr 19, 2016

The government announced plans Monday to transform Seoul’s Yongsan 2ga-dong, better known by the expatriate community as Haebangchon or HBC, into a “Green Culture Village,” where nature will blend with the region’s unique culture.A total of 38 billion won ($33 million) will be invested by the government to build a food street and a strolling path along Mount Namsan for culture and history tours that include a walk through a sweater factory that once was the economic motor of HBC between 1960 and
More real estate agencies for foreigners in Seoul　

Apr 15, 2016

Seoul city will increase the number of real estate agencies for foreigners to 220, the city government announced Friday. Currently there are 175 real estate agencies in Seoul that are tested and certified by the city as “Global.” Among these, 131 are speak English, 29 Japanese, eight speak both English and Japanese and five speak Chinese. (123RF)These agencies are mainly clustered around Yongsan, Gangnam, Seocho, Songpa and Mapo areas, where the city’s foreign population tends to be denser. The
Pilgrimage trail next step to help orphans

Apr 13, 2016

Jeonju-based expat Terry Lyons will be walking the Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage trail this spring to raise money for a severely disabled girl and awareness of orphanages’ needs.Lyons began walking to raise money for Esther Park in 2010, dividing the funds between the Holt orphanage that looked after her and Esther herself, who needed money to pay for growth hormone injections.When Lyons first met Esther, she was in hospital. Her condition meant that, although she was 8 years old, she was ju
Gwangju V-Day performance to help single mothers’ shelter

Apr 13, 2016

Performers in Gwangju will stage “The Vagina Monologues” next week to help raise money for a single mothers’ shelter in the city and promote awareness of violence against women.Funds raised through the production will go to help My House (Uri Jip), a shelter for young single mothers and their children, which the group has helped since it started V-Day productions in 2012. “This year we decided to give all the proceeds to them because we have seen their organization grow and their facilities and
Expat info site AngloInfo gets new look, address

Apr 13, 2016

Expat online information hub AngloInfo has revamped its website with a simpler visual style and added functions for users. Selling itself as “an online doorway to an off-line community,” AngloInfo is a community-driven information website for expats across the world, with information on living in different cities around the world, including Seoul.　“AngloINFO has focused on making exciting new changes to the layout so that it is much more visual and vibrant as well as easier for our users to navi
Korean Language Ability Test opens applications for May

Apr 13, 2016

Applications to take the Korean Language Ability Test are open until April 24.The exam will be on May 22, is available for three levels -- beginner, middle and advanced --- and is offered at four locations, in Seoul, Daejeon, Busan and Gyeongsan, North Gyeongsang Province. The test, recognized by the Culture Ministry, is one of two main Korean language tests, along with the Test of Proficiency in Korean. It is held four times a year, with the next dates in August and November.The test costs 40,0