South Korean pop tenor Lim Hyung-joo was selected as the newspaper reading star of the year by Korean Association of Newspapers. Lim will be awarded at the 2011 Korea Newspaper in Education Convention on Oct. 6 at Press Center in central Seoul. He will also deliver a speech titled “Newspaper and me” after the ceremony. The singer is known to read 15 newspapers everyday. He also serves as a cont...

Korea national team takes third place Korea’s Kim Ja-in sat atop the podium alone for the first time this season at an international climbing championship in Europe on Sunday. At the 2011 International Federation of Sports Climbing World Cup in Puurs, Belgium, 23-year-old Kim dominated the lead climbing category from qualification to final and finished with the highest marks. Following were An...

Establishments give diners option of tailoring dishes to suit their preferences Ever since Dean and DeLuca opened its first Seoul outlet in late September, the American gourmet food retailer’s brand new market-bakery-deli-espresso bar quartet has been dizzyingly busy. Customers need to hustle for one of the few tables in the dining area flush up against the cafe. Lines for salads, soups and sa...

HILO, Hawaii ― “Hilo ― it is what it is” probably isn’t a tourism slogan that would get a thumbs-up from the Big Island city’s Chamber of Commerce. But I don’t mean it as a put-down. It’s just advice from a longtime visitor who loves Hawaii’s “second city.” I also know the worst thing anyone can do for Hilo is to try to oversell it. No one is going to spend a weeklong honeymoon in Hilo or plan a...

Dreadfully distasteful lists Ten Ways to Recycle a Corpse: and 100 More Dreadfully Distasteful Lists By Karl Shaw (Three Rivers Press) This book could be called magnetic. It pulls you in, the way a magnet pulls a paper clip, and it doesn’t want to let you go. It recounts Julius Caesar’s attempt to cure his baldness and Cleopatra’s recommendation: the bodies of domestic mice, burnt and ground...

Lost Souls By Hwang Sun-won (Columbia University Press) Late author Hwang Sun-won’s short story “Lost Souls” is a lot of things. It’s a story of star-crossed lovers, a literary record of Korea’s turbulent late Joseon period, as well as a tragic case of two innocent souls who went against everything they used to be and believe. In many ways, it is a modernist piece of work. The young protagoni...

Anthony Bourdain rolled up his right sleeve to show off his tattoo ― not of a beating cobra heart or other adventure from his Travel Channel show “No Reservations.” It comes from a book, Sarah Bakewell’s “How to Live: A Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer,” which describes a coin Montaigne had struck. Bourdain explains that the coin, and the tattoo, bear the 16th ce...

As life gets ever more hectic, I rely more and more on the civilized custom of a before-dinner aperitif. Sometimes it’s all I can do to make it to that magical hour when I’m handed a Campari and soda or a glass of rose and take a first bite of dusky olive tapenade on toast. An aperitif can be as simple as a glass of chilled fino or manzanilla sherry with a bowl of oil-slicked olives and roasted ...

From Hansel Family Vineyards comes this fine expression of Russian River Pinot. Round and silky, with a beautiful balance and taste of red plums and black cherries, the 2009 is a splurge, but worth it for a California Pinot of this quality. Save it for a special dinner party to have with roasted or braised duck, braised short ribs or some meaty lamb chops. ● Region: Russian River Valley ● Pric...

Baechu-kimchi is made by fermenting brined Korean cabbage with Korean radish, vegetables, salt-fermented seafood, ground red pepper and various seasonings. Kimchi is a quintessential side dish that is served without fail on dining tables in Korea. Kimchi was approved as an International Standard Food by Codex in 2001. Certain studies have shown a link between kimchi and cancer prevention. Ingred...

Marja Vongerichten’s new cookbook and public television travel/culture/cooking series share the same name: “The Kimchi Chronicles.” The choice of kimchi in both titles was easy. “Kimchi is so distinct to Korea,” Vongerichten says. “It’s the first thing people think of. It’s a great attention-grabber.” The condiment stars in Vongerichten’s book, “The Kimchi Chronicles: Korean Cooking for an Amer...