Most Popular
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Korea enters full election mode
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Immigrant woman stabbed to death by Korean husband
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Seoul bus drivers go on general strike, cause morning rush hour delays
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Lee Jong-sup resigns as envoy to Australia
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Yellow dust engulfs S. Korea, advisory alert issued
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Official campaigning kicks off for April 10 elections
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S. Korea to boost support for single-parent families
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Court upholds jail term for man who attempted to murder ex-girlfriend
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Kia EV9 wins world car of year
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Korea misses out on global bond index boost
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KOTESOL conference takes pragmatic tack
Korea Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages will hold its 2014 national conference in Daegu this weekend with a focus on practical advice for real-life classes.The annual conference is generally more practical than KOTESOL’s international conference, according to conference cochair Rob Dickey, but this time it will be “even more practical than usual.”“Instead of talking about theoretical classrooms or ideal classrooms, we are saying, ‘You’ve got 32 students in front of you, what do
May 27, 2014
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Bowing photography exhibition looks at mechanics of tradition
Westerners face a lot of unfamiliar forms of etiquette when they come to Korea, but the most familiar, and perhaps the hardest to get used to, is the subject of a new exhibition in Gwangju.Martyn Thompson’s collection of photographs and sculptures looks at the Korean bow, depicting it in stages to expose the details of the action.The photographs show figures performing traditional full bows in stages, each stage superimposed on top of the others. The overall effect gives the impression of a mech
May 20, 2014
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‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ gets feminine, physical take
Summer is slowly slipping across the city, and the Seoul Shakespeare Company’s sultry take on “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is ready to usher her in.In the well-known tale, four amorous young Athenians free themselves from the stale city streets and head for the forest in pursuit of true love. But they encounter much more than their hearts originally desired as they enter the realm of the fairies in this sexy and subversive production directed by Seoul National University drama professor Raymond S
May 20, 2014
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Nanny estate? Expat starts cheese-making goat farm
With a surging interest in artisan food, a desire for the simple life and a common hankering for hard-to-get foods from home, a few expats here might daydream about running a farm. For most, it stays that way.But former university teacher Doug Huffer took the plunge. Now he spends his days cutting growth from nearby hedges and riverbanks to feed to Stella, Sarah and Bianca and the rest of his small milk herd.The goats’ Italian names are a hint at the farm’s origins. Huffer’s wife went to school
May 20, 2014
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HBC Fest returns bigger than ever
HBC Fest is set to open in the Haebangchon area of Seoul’s Itaewon on May 16-18, with its biggest lineup yet.Now in its ninth year, the festival has added a number of venues in Gyeongnidan, a nearby neighborhood with an increasing number of popular bars and restaurants.Festival organizer Lance Reegan-Diehl said that after a few bars from the area asked about joining, interest snowballed ― 12 new venues have been added to the festival in both areas, more than doubling the festival’s size.“In most
May 13, 2014
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Renting and deposit protection in Korea
If you’ve been in Korea long enough to rent housing, then you will have encountered the very sizeable deposits that accompany leases. Whereas in the U.S. a typical rental deposit is one to three months’ rent, a deposit for a wolse lease in Korea ― one that requires monthly rental payments ― can easily run tens of millions of won, the equivalent of tens of thousands of dollars. The other form of lease, jeonse, does not require monthly payments but involves an upfront payment of hundreds of millio
May 13, 2014
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Comedian Tom Rhodes returns to Seoul
Tom RhodesU.S. comedian Tom Rhodes will return to Seoul this month for two shows hosted by Stand Up Seoul.Rhodes, who performed in Korea in 2012, combines his profession with world travel, even making documentaries about his experience. He has had television shows in Europe and the U.S., including showcases on Comedy Central, as well as three comedy audio releases.The shows will be on May 23 and 24 and start at 10 p.m. Tickets are 25,000 won before May 22 and 30,000 won thereafter. To reserve, c
May 13, 2014
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KISSA is after your Korean ‘secrets’
Korea International Students’ Support Association is holding a competition to find the top cultural spots that are off the beaten track. The “Hidden Secret Korea” competition is open to international students in Korea, and requires a 300-word description and short video introducing an interesting cultural or historical spot in Korea that deserves more attention.There will be cash prizes of 1 million won, 500,000 won and 300,000 won for the top three entries, which will be judged based on uniquen
May 13, 2014
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GIC Culture Tour to explore Gurye
Gwangju International Center will run a GIC Culture Tour to Gurye, South Jeolla Province, on May 24.The first stop on the tour will be Saseongam Hermitage, a spectacular Buddhist site perched on a cliff on Mount Osan.This will be followed by a lunch of river crab soup, with marinated crab and clam broth.After lunch, the group will visit an 18th-century yangban house that has been lived in by the same family for more than two centuries. Finally they will head on to the Seomjingang River for a raf
May 13, 2014
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Korea Toastmasters’ spring conference marks group’s first year as district
Korea Toastmasters held its national conference on Saturday and Sunday, with key speeches from International Toastmasters president George Yen and former Toastmasters world public speaking champion Lance Miller.The group is the local branch of Toastmasters, an international nonprofit organization with nearly 300,000 members that focuses on adult education in communication and leadership.Almost 300 people attended the conference, up from 220 last year, according to conference chairperson Minju Le
April 29, 2014
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Korean slang guide gets revision
After nearly selling out of the first edition of Korean slang guide “As Much as a Rat’s Tail,” authors Peter Liptak and Lee Si-woo are working on an update. The revision has ended up being more involved than planned, with 30 pages of new content, a set of new flashcards and revisions of the existing design and content.They also held a contest for the design of the new cover. Replacing the timid rodent on the first edition is a sunglass-donning street rat, dancing “Gangnam Style.” “It just spoke
April 29, 2014
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International marriage in Korea, part III: cross-border issues
This is the third in a three-part series about international marriage and divorce in Korea.Since we have assumed we are talking about a marriage between people of different nationalities, we should mention the international enforcement of family law issues. This is arguably the most complex area because it involves at least three bodies of law ― two states and the ubiquitous, and different, “international law.” I can illustrate this with a case: A Korean spouse K, rather well off, sends his Aust
April 29, 2014
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CLASH concert to help Justice for N. Korea
Regular expat-Korean charity concert CLASH will run again Saturday, with a show in aid of Justice for North Korea. This is the second CLASH in aid of Justice for North Korea, a non-partisan volunteer organization that helps North Korean refugees escape from China into South Korea and supports them here. JFNK also works with international organizations to push for better human rights conditions in North Korea and raise more awareness of the situation through street campaigns. The opening musical
April 22, 2014
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Lex-i-con to honor ‘self-confessed geek’ killed in road accident
Two events will be held in Itaewon on Saturday in honor of longtime expat Lex Boutilier, who died in a road accident on April 4.An indoor event with a Comic Con feel will be held in the afternoon, followed by a screening of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” and live music in the evening.The Lex-i-con events are being organized by a group of Boutilier’s friends, led by Jacco Zwetsloot, who worked with him at Hongik University.Zwetsloot said he got to know Boutilier through a shared interest in scie
April 22, 2014
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Poet raising funds for adoptee poetry project
When Seattle-based Korean adoptee Laura Wachs reached adulthood, the usual freedom to party was not the first thing on her mind. “I’ve written poetry since middle school. I’ve loved it my entire life. ... When I turned 21, it wasn’t the booze I was excited about. I wanted to go to my first poetry slam,” she said. “I did, and I’ve been going ever since.”But her enthusiasm was not simply about having fun. For Wachs, her interest in poetry came from a more painful place.“Poetry saved my life,” she
April 22, 2014
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Seoul Global Center opens coworking space
As a one-stop support organization for international residents in Seoul, the Seoul Global Center has been providing a range of services including counseling on daily living, business consultation and cultural and educational programs. There are 400,000 foreign nationals living in Seoul and an increasing number want to start their own business or are seeking opportunities with local companies.Catering to the needs of foreign entrepreneurs, its Biz Lounge recently opened on the sixth floor of the
April 22, 2014
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Big Day South to show off creative talent in Daegu
Two expat magazines and an expat record label are getting together for a creative festival on April 26 to show off creative talent in the southeast of Korea. Daegu’s (b)racket Magazine and I Like Many Records and Ulsan’s Angle Magazine are bringing together artists, musicians and other creative people for the Big Day South festival.“With the Big Day South festival, we want to showcase the creativity, talent and beauty outside of Seoul, to challenge the notion that in Korea, if something cannot b
April 15, 2014
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International marriage in Korea, part II: divorce
Here we continue our discussion of international marriage and divorce, focusing on divorce in time for Black Day.Only one thing could possibly be better than admitting that your relationship is irreparable, or going through the pleasure of dividing substantial assets with someone who no longer likes you while fighting over some tiny or not-so-tiny living things you made together. That is having all of this take place, at moderate to great expense, in a courtroom of unsympathetic onlookers.It’s t
April 15, 2014
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Dami Im to perform at ANZA Korea Ball
The Australia and New Zealand Association will be running its annual gala ball on May 3, with the theme of “A Night at the Opera House,” featuring a performance from last year’s “X-Factor Australia” winner, Dami Im.“We are thrilled to have secured Dami Im for the 2014 ANZA Korea Ball. She has captured the hearts of Australian audiences and there is no doubt she will do the same for our ball guests. She is truly amazing,” said Jana Kovar, president of ANZA Korea. Of South Korean descent, Im Dami
April 15, 2014
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Seoul City Farmers aims for practical meaning
Many who grow up on farms treasure the outdoor experience, but Seoul City Farmers founder Justin Pollard’s experience of growing up on a horse farm did not fit the active, healthy stereotype.As a 215-kilogram teenager, doctors told him he was life-threateningly overweight.“Every single meal of my youth was purchased at a fast-food restaurant,” he said. “All of the farm work was done on machines, so I didn’t need to do manual labor of any kind, and we lived in a rural area so we drove everywhere.
April 8, 2014