Experts say modern Korean history and colonialism are linked with collective Korean obsession with ‘American English’

Gifted and tenacious, Kang Yosep makes a name for himself in opera world

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina ― Reclaimed lumber is among the most environmentally friendly building materials because, as any 12-year-old can explain, recycling is good for us and the planet.The wood is beautiful. A floor of salvaged antique heart pine glows with the patina of decades, even centuries. Every piece of barn siding is uniquely weathered, which gives a one-of-a-kind appeal to walls and furniture.And, say Paul Atkinson of Southend Reclaimed and Jonathan Kauffman of Kauffman and Co., buye

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois ― When Illinois launched its first-in-the-nation lottery app in January, Matthew Ruder quickly signed up so he could jockey for jackpots with just a tap of the finger on his smartphone.“It’s really easy to buy lottery tickets on the big draw days,” said Ruder, 40, of Pekin in central Illinois. “I can just log in to it, add some money to it, buy some tickets, and then I have them right there instead of stopping at the store. It just makes it easier sometimes.”State lottery o

THERMOPYLAE, Greece (AFP) ― Hercules used them to regain his strength after his legendary labors, Hippocrates lauded their beneficial properties and even a famous Roman general, Sulla, said he owed his health to them.Their praise was for hot springs, a medicinal resource known and appreciated in Greece since antiquity ― though regrettably less so nowadays.“Greece invented the therapeutic use of hot springs thousands of years before the birth of Jesus Christ,” says Zisis Aggelidis, a professor of

Gyeongbokgung, Changgyeonggung to remain open until 10 p.m.

Sumi Jo, one of the most beloved classical singers in Korea, has just released a new album with Deutsche Grammophon, “Only Bach.” The Grammy-winning soprano sings cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach and nothing else on her latest album, including well-known pieces like “Jesus bleibet meine Freude (Jesus, Joy of Man’s Desiring)” and “Ave Maria.”Bach cantatas are usually sung with a small orchestra, but Jo sings accompanied by only a guitar and a violin, adding a fresh appeal to the beloved songs. I

Kwon brings Korean artists to international festivals

Dance sees resurgence as hobby, sport and art

Zumba, pole dance, ballet and salsa are becoming fun alternatives to treadmills

Founder of Korea’s first pedicab service continues to fearlessly ride on

Theater“Ophelia”: Local musical “Ophelia,” an interpretation of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” is being staged in Seoul in May. Ophelia is a fictional character who appears in “Hamlet.” She’s a young noblewoman whose father is killed by her love interest, Hamlet, and eventually goes mad. The upcoming musical is centered around Ophelia, rather than Hamlet ― the protagonist in the original Shakespeare play. Composer Choi Woo-jeong, screenwriter and former Culture Minister Kim Myung-gon, and contemporary

NEW YORK (AP) ― A young Korean-American poet has received a $5,000 award for first-time writers that also ensures the publication and thousands of sales of her debut collection. Hannah Sanghee Park has won the Walt Whitman Award, the Academy of American Poets announced Wednesday. Her book, “The Same-Different,” will be released next year by Louisiana State University. The poetry academy will purchase thousands of copies and distribute them to its members. Pulitzer Prize winner Rae Armantrout cho

Renowned South Korean poet Ko Un will visit London, Berlin and Chicago this year to attend various literary festivals, a local publisher said Wednesday.According to Changbi Publishers, which has printed many of Ko’s poems, he will attend a “poetry night for Ko Un’s poems” hosted by the Victoria and Albert Museum, considered to be one of the world’s greatest museums of art and design, in London on May 30. The London event will draw many influential writers working in London, Changbi said.  After

TEHRAN (AP) ― Iranians flocked to parks rich with the smell of grilled kebabs on Wednesday to toss around Frisbees, bat badminton birdies and battle one another in chess and backgammon ― all to avoid being caught inside on the unlucky 13th day of the Persian New Year. The annual public picnic day, called Sizdeh Bedar, which comes from the Farsi words for “thirteen” and “day out,” is a legacy from Iran’s pre-Islamic past that hardliners in the Islamic Republic never managed to erase from calendar