South Korea’s filmmaker Hwang Yoon shot a movie titled “Farewell” in 2002 featuring a baby tiger who lives at a zoo in Seoul. Being born out of incest encouraged by zookeepers, the little tiger – named “Crane” -- was predisposed to cataracts and had a deformed face. Ten years later, Hwang reunited with Crane, who was relocated to a zoo in Gangwon Province after losing popularity among Seoul spectators when it became bigger and older. By the time Hwang saw Crane, the tiger had fallen ill because

Han Hyo-dong, 58, a master zookeeper supervising carnivores including tigers and leopards at Seoul Zoo, first joined the zoo’s animal welfare team in 1985. Seoul Zoo, located in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi-do, opened its doors in 1984 with 77 species of animals on a 196,000-square-meter plot. “I had the intention of learning about deer when I first joined, because I was thinking of operating deer farms in my hometown,” said Han, reminiscing the past when antlers could be sold at high prices.Han Hyo-dong,

A day for zookeeper Han Hyo-dong, Seoul Zoo’s master zookeeper who has worked there for the past 32 years, begins at 6 a.m.At the crack of dawn, he arrives at his office next to the Beast Pavillion, located at the very back of the Seoul Zoo in Gwacheon. As soon as he changes his clothes and puts on his boots, he walks around the breeding cages and checks each tiger’s condition.(The Korea Herald)Every morning he writes down detailed logs of the zoo’s 24 Siberian tigers on their conditions and hea

On an early September morning, Jung Yun-jin arrived in Seoul from her hometown of Busan. Clad in a black jacket and skirt with neatly combed hair, she was to attend a 30-minute job interview for a Korean-run company in New Zealand in the afternoon. The 24-year-old hoped that the interview would lead to the end of a year of unemployment. “I hope I stand a better chance abroad,” Jung told the Korea Herald after the interview on Sept. 6. A graduate from a four-year university in Busa

As the summer heat fades, the cooler weather heralds not just autumn but also the nation’s biggest hiring season. It’s a crunch time for college graduates and graduates-to-be, who have been polishing their resumes in hopes of landing a job at big companies like Samsung, LG and Hyundai. An impeccable resume, however, won’t guarantee the applicant an interview. One must first pass a written exam, for which previous successful applicants strongly recommend old-fashioned cramming, brushing up of one

For 25-year-old student Chung Yu-jin, it has become routine to head to a cafe every morning to search for job openings and squeeze her life story into the limited space on application forms in the hope that she can finally land a job. At a glance, her job prospects look bright. Besides a degree in business administration from a prestigious university in Seoul, she has a near perfect English score and Chinese language skills, as well as various overseas internship experiences. (Bloomberg)“I could

Finding one’s first job can be a difficult task. But in a country where over 70 percent of high school graduates advance to four-year universities and the economy is visibly slowing with a bag of some serious problems, competition is reaching new heights. “With a gloomy business outlook, companies aren’t in a big hiring mood this year,” said Song Won-geun of the Federation of Korean Industries. According to its survey of some 201 major companies in Korea this week, nearly 50 percent plan a cut i

Chuseok is usually a time of gluttony. Meals during the Korean Thanksgiving holiday typically include copious amounts of the following: “jeon,” slices of vegetables, fish, or meat thinly coated in batter and grilled; “namul” or seasoned vegetables; “japchae,” vermicelli noodles with assorted vegetables and meat; and songpyeon or a type of traditional rice cake. Overwhelmed with inevitable leftovers, Chuseok observers often let them go to waste by forgetting about them in the fridge, or even wors

Koreans face pressure from all fronts during Chuseok

Chuseok, or the Korean Thanksgiving, is one of the country’s biggest holidays, and traditionally spent at home with family and loved ones. The occasion is widely considered to be about good food and company, but expats without family in Korea are often left with the question of how to spend the break. With Seoul virtually desolate as masses travel to their hometowns, some expats may choose to jet off overseas, too. However, those stuck in the city during this upcoming holiday need not despair, a

On the morning after a night of heavy drinking, many hungover Koreans feel better after having a bowl of hearty, spicy soup. 　There is a plethora of choices -- soybean sprout soup and ox bone spicy soup, to name a few -- which all belong under the category of “haejangguk”: any soup that is eaten as a hangover cure in Korean cuisine.　For Kim Ji-hwan, a 31-year-old office worker in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, his favorite haejangguk is a bowl of potato soup with Korean red pepper powder. “It’s heart

Kim Jae-hwan, who drinks heavily at least three times a week to socialize with his co-workers, had to find a magic cure to relieve his hangovers so he could work as usual the next morning. His routine of convenience store noodles followed by vitamin pills from the pharmacy seems to do the trick every time. Haejangguk street in Nakwon-dong, Jongno, Seoul (The Korea Herald file photo)“After I drink a lot, I get a headache,” said Kim, who recently got a job at a Seoul-based company. “And for me, my

When hungover, most Koreans almost instinctively crave a hot pot of soup, or haejang-guk, hoping that the warm spicy liquid will soothe the unwanted consequences of boozing.While the question of whether haejang-guk has the hangover healing effect still remains, one thing is for certain -- that rice soup, or gukbap, has always been an indispensable factor in Korea’s food culture. Gukbap (Yonhap)According to the traditional Korean food serving protocol, which sets rice and soup in separate bowls a

Despite the different drinking cultures around the world, there is one universal truth that no one can escape from after a night of heavy drinking: the hangover.As studies technically show, the only way to avoid the dreaded hangover is to drink less, but there are other tactics people use to reduce the pain and suffering that come having one too many. While the go-to cure for many people is to drink plenty of water in the morning, different countries have their own designated hangover food, comp