GOAT basketball players pose at a fund-raiser tournament for a local children’s welfare center. GOATCombining sport with fun and a little community goodwill, “GOAT” has quickly become one of the most popular sports groups in Seoul’s expat community.The most recent spring season of the GOAT ― “greatest of all time” ― basketball league brought the largest turnout so far. The eight-week league was composed of teams of eight picked in a draft. The teams ― capped to six due to space constraints ― pl

A page from “Worth the Wait,” with illustrations by Sol LeeBlending luscious illustrative messages about patience, Ilsan-based writer Georgia Scott has recently released “Worth the Wait,” a children’s book tailored for English teachers here. It will be the first book of a trilogy created by the former New York Times art director, in collaboration with Korean native Sol Lee. “Worth the Wait,” a story about the value of waiting, began when Scott spoke with Sol Lee, a student in Scott’s adult Engli

Looking to make Gwangju the geek capital of Korea, Alleycon is returning this fall, with plans to be bigger than ever.The event is in its third year, with 60 people coming to the first one and 225 to the second. Now the organizers are hoping to attract 500 people to this year’s event at the Gwangju Design Center from Sept. 19-20.Alleycon general manager Jordan VanHartingsvelt said that he already had significant interest from outside the city, including people already planning their cosplay outf

How much should an outsider give up to become part of society’s inner circle? That is the main theme of Kim Tae-woong’s award-winning play “The Clowns,” Busan English Theatre Association’s next production. A translation of the play was published in 2005, but this will be its first production in English.The play looks at the relationship between 15th-century Joseon King Yeonsangun and his court clown Gong-gil. Gong-gil is part of a troupe performing for the king under the ultimate pressure: Be fu

Art Network Korea will be launching its website with an exhibition of self-portraits in Seoul to start this week.“Mirror Mirror” will feature work by 15 visual artists from six countries, all looking at self-portraiture from a different perspective. The work includes photography, painting and drawing with a fairly conventional take on the concept, to more abstract images and installations. Exhibition curator Martyn Thompson, who also has work in the show, said he was pleased with how the artists

Want to see dozens of plays but don’t have the time? Ulsan expats might find the solution in the Industrial Theater Troupe’s “A Lighter Shade of Black.” Based on an idea by the Neo Futurists theater group in Chicago, the show features 30 plays in an hour.The show is in its sixth edition now ― each one featuring new work ― and continues the tradition of combining light and dark in the title, but also indicated that the mix of plays in this show will be a little less black than the last. “We have

The expatriate experience is often typified as one of transition. While many settle down in their new homes, others use the time abroad to make a turning point in their lives. But a new novel by Giacomo Lee, written while he was an expat here, looks at the ultimate transition -― death. “Funereal” by Giacomo LeeThe story follows Soobin Shin, a doughnut shop worker looking to step up in the world. She has little luck in her job hunt, until a customer unexpectedly asks her to join him in a service

A new independent film festival will kick off in Seoul next week with a focus on the expatriate experience.The Korea Expat Film Festival KIXFF kicks off Thursday, with a lineup of nine feature-length movies and 38 short films, to be played over four days in venues across Seoul.The festival is slightly larger than originally conceived, but co-organizer Kevin Lambert said it had kept its original spirit. Many of the screenings will be held in small expat hangouts.“I think a lot of people are reall

Chosun University English professor Al Barnum has won the first Michael Simning Community Award for his work volunteering at Sungbin Orphanage. The award was created by a group of Gwangju residents in memory of Simning, a local expat who led volunteering and community events in the city and also started the First Alleyway, a cafe and key meeting point for the city’s expat community. It recognizes people who have volunteered in the city and contributed to the local community.Four others were shor