When he first started to practice capoeira in the basement gym of the SK 2 Tower, Munair Simpson concedes it must have been an odd sight. “It looks kind of weird ― you’re up on your hands, you’re spinning around, jumping in the air ― it was like ‘is he crazy?’” he says. But after a colleague plucked up the courage to ask him what he was doing, and Simpson invited her to learn, a Capoeira group ...

Grassroots culture platform to kick off with art party in Itaewon Drawing from an expanding pool of creative expats, comes Aweh, an innovative new project designed to share art, in its many forms, around Korea and beyond. The “casual, creative, culture” initiative will be launched on Saturday at Seoul’s Laughing Tree Lab ― a partner of the project ― with a lively evening of artful revelry. At ...

The Korea Tourism Organization said it will accelerate its marketing efforts for Chinese and Japanese tourists in the fourth quarter to attract 10 million foreign tourists in 2011. According to data by the KTO, the number of foreign tourists who traveled to Korea during the first eight months is estimated to have reached 6.2 million, a 7.7 percent increase from 5.7 million during the same period...

MUMBAI ― Cooking Korean food for foreign palates in foreign lands requires much creativeness and resourcefulness. Chef Bae Han-chul, formerly with the InterContinental Hotel in Seoul and currently a professor at Gangdong University, who served a five-course hansik meal for 200 people at a Korean food promotion gala event in Mumbai last week had to prepare the menu in Seoul, exchange numerous ema...

Kim Chang-gon, former Vice Minister of Information and Communication, was named the new chief of the Korea Digital Cable Laboratories (KLabs) on Friday. The KLabs’ board of directors announced Friday that it has chosen Kim to replace Suh Jong-ryeol as the organization’s chief executive. KLabs is a research institution launched in 2004 for the advancement of the cable television and telecommunic...

Pop tenor Lim Hyung-joo is to hold his second solo concert in Paris on Thursday to celebrate the 125th year of diplomatic ties between Korea and France and the 222nd year of the French Revolution. “Lim Hyung-joo’s Concert for Peace,” organized by the Korea-France Cultural Planning and Exchange Association and the Korean Cultural Center in France, will take place at the Cathedral Saint Louis in t...

The red rocks of Sedona drew Steph Houser from Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, to the Verde Valley. Then a tip from a friend, a brochure and a little curiosity led her to a winery. Glass of white wine in hand, she strolled the grounds of Alcantara Vineyards, accompanied by her husband and mother-in-law. “We were actually surprised to find vines here,” said Houser, sipping from her glass. “I like the ...

Exploring Egypt months after a revolution rocked the Middle East, the only conflict we witnessed was between a taxi and carriage driver, furiously arguing over our business. The sidewalk scene was unsettling to a pair of tourists simply seeking a ride down the street. But it was nothing compared to our pre-travel fears, fueled by media reports of violence. And it revealed a larger truth: In a n...

Heartfelt memoir of Lynch Happy Accidents: A Memoir By Jane Lynch Unlike the conniving, feisty -- and hilarious -- character on megahit “Glee” that has catapulted her to fame, Jane Lynch does have a heart. The deliciously evil Sue Sylvester’s voice is drowned out by Lynch’s heartfelt and hilarious forthrightness in her new memoir, “Happy Accidents.” Lynch took a long, varied path to stardom o...

Old Korean folktales on women Virtuous Women: Three Classic Korean Novels Translated by Richard Rutt and Kim Chong-un (Royal Asiatic Society) Meet some of the most famous female characters of Korea’s traditional folktales. Translated by Richard Rutt and Kim Chong-un in the 70s, “Virtuous Women: Three Classic Korean Novels” presents three of the most popular Korean folktales of all time, feat...