Summer adventures in sunny California

The California Tourism Office is promoting a variety of summer adventures and activities in 12 different areas of the Golden State. Beer lovers can go to any region of the state and taste different local beers in 200 different breweries and bars with the Beer Tour (www.californiacraftbeer.com). A range of organized events await travelers at the America’s Cup Pavilion in San Francisco, including the America’s Cup Yacht Competition and various concerts and performances (www.americascup.com). If yo

TravelJuly 26, 2013

Hyatt Place to open first Seoul hotel

Hyatt Hotels Corporation has announced plans to open a Hyatt Place hotel in Seoul by 2016. The hotel will be the first Hyatt Place branch in the Northeast Asian market. The hotel will join three existing Hyatt-branded hotels in Seoul: Park Hyatt Seoul, Grand Hyatt Seoul, and Hyatt Regency Incheon. The new Hyatt Place will be in the Dongdaemun area, a famous shopping district and tourist destination, where it will cater to the increasing demand in business and leisure travel by offering 204 guest

TravelJuly 26, 2013

France’s ‘Do You Speak Touriste?’ guide

PARIS (AP) ― What does an American expect from Paris? What’s the best way of making an Italian feel welcome?Paris’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry and its Regional Tourism Council have teamed up to produce a guide for hotel owners, restaurateurs and shopkeepers in the hopes that it will help shake off the city’s reputation for snobbishness.Here are some excerpts from “Do You Speak Touriste?’’ ― a guide to the cultural habits of some of Paris’ most frequent visitors:Americans: spend the largest

TravelJuly 26, 2013

Wealthy Chinese fork out for high-class etiquette

BEIJING (AFP) ― How to properly peel an orange, hold an oyster fork, and pronounce luxury brand names ― wealthy Chinese are paying handsome sums to learn such skills as they seek to match their high-end lifestyles with high-class etiquette.A two-week course at the newly opened Institute Sarita in Beijing costs 100,000 yuan ($16,000), but that has not dissuaded dozens of students from across the country from signing up.Most are women in their 40s whose wealth rose fabulously along with China’s br

FoodJuly 26, 2013

IMAX, Wanda to open 120 new cinemas in China

SHANGHAI (AFP) ― North American entertainment giant IMAX Corp. said it plans to open up to 120 new cinemas in China after reaching agreement with Chinese conglomerate Wanda Group.The deal, announced Wednesday, brings Wanda’s commitment for IMAX cinemas in China to as many as 210, according to an IMAX statement.IMAX also announced it would cooperate with AMC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Wanda, to install five to 10 new cinemas in the United States and extend lease terms on all venues to 13 years

FilmJuly 26, 2013

U.S. producer Jones partners with CJ E&M on K-pop

Prominent U.S. music producer Quincy Jones teamed up Thursday with a South Korean entertainment company to help promote Korea’s K-pop stars globally.“I feel like there is a very strong connection between Korea and the U.S.” Jones said after signing a deal with CJ E&M, one of South Korea’s biggest entertainment firms.The deal was signed between Jones, known for producing hit songs such as “We Are the World” and “Thriller” with legendary American singer Michael Jackson, and CJ E&M’s music division

PerformanceJuly 26, 2013

Monroe photos to be auctioned

LOS ANGELES, California (AFP) ― More than 3,700 photos of American pop icon Marilyn Monroe will be sold this weekend along with their copyrights, a Los Angeles auction house said Thursday.The photos ― plus negatives, slides and copyrights ― are part of a collection of more than 75,000 images taken by fashion photographer Milton Greene in the 1950s and 1960s.They will go on the block both at the auction house and online on Saturday.By pairing the images with their copyrights, buyers will be allow

PeopleJuly 26, 2013

Virginia legislators push for use of ‘East Sea’ in textbooks

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― Efforts to publicize the name “East Sea” for the body of water between Korea and Japan in the U.S. state of Virginia have gained momentum with growing support from local legislators. A senior Republican member of the Virginia House, Time Hugo, announced Wednesday that he will introduce legislation in next year’s session to require all future textbooks approved by the Virginia Board of Education to note that the body of water is referred to as the East Sea as well as th

PeopleJuly 25, 2013

Archaeologists find 1.4 million-year-old flint in Spain

MADRID (AFP) ― Archaeologists said Wednesday they have found a flint blade dating back 1.4 million years in the caves of Atapuerca in Spain, the earliest sign of a human presence at the site.The 3-centimeter blade was found in the so-called Elephant Chasm cave where in 2007 researchers found a human finger and jawbone dating back 1.2 million years ― considered the remains of the “oldest European” ever found.The find made this year, considered to be “of great value,” came from a carving knife, Ed

CultureJuly 25, 2013

Death of letters spells tough time for biographers, says royal writer

HONG KONG (AFP) ― The slow death of handwriting might be a boon for email-reading intelligence agencies but not for biographers, says the man entrusted by Queen Elizabeth II to write the biography of her mother.Pulitzer Prize-nominated writer, journalist and broadcaster William Shawcross has written provocatively on an array of subjects including Cambodia, the fall of the Shah of Iran, Rupert Murdoch, the Iraq war and justice in the post 9/11 world.Most recently Shawcross, 67, wrote the official

BooksJuly 25, 2013

Free film festival slated for August

A free film festival kicks off Aug. 16 for two weeks in Seoul.Organized by Cine de Seoul and sponsored by private corporations including CJ E&M, Mister Pizza and AskVERITAS Asset Management, the 2013 Seoul Citizen Film Festival will be held at venues throughout Seoul. Han River riverside parks, Cheonggye Plaza and a cafe will be converted into temporary theaters. At one venue, Seoul Children’s Grand Park, moviegoers are free to bring their pets along. Screenings begin every night at 8:30 p.m.The

FilmJuly 25, 2013