After wrapping up a hectic itinerary of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week, all family members of Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee got together at the Silla Hotel on Sunday. The event was to celebrate his 70th birthday. All his family members and some 130 senior executives of Samsung subsidiaries attended his birthday party. It is the first time for him to invite senio...

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said it would aggressively promote the use of Korea Pass Cards during the “Korea Grand Sale,” which kicked off Monday at major department stores and shopping malls and runs through Feb. 28. Korea Pass Cards, consisting of pre-paid cards and check cards for non-Koreans and credit cards and check cards for Korean nationals, can be used on subways, buses ...

InterContinental Hotel Group has partnered with AMJ Developments to open the first fully managed international hotel Holiday Inn Gwangju. The 205-room hotel started operations in December. Gwangju, the capital city of South Jeolla Province, attracts many visitors through its cultural events, 26 golf courses and the Korean Formula One track. Holiday Inn Gwangju is ideally placed to provide accomm...

한치 앞도 못 보는 100세 어머니 모시는 70대 효자들, ‘화제’ 중국 산동성 좌오좡시에 30년 넘게 지극정성으로 100세 홀어머니를 모시고 사는 두 효자가 있어 화제가 되고 있다. 1월 6일 중국 차이나 데일리에 따르면, 시력을 상실한 어머니와 먼 친척과 함께 소형 방갈로에 거주 중인 76 세의 왕 시쿠안씨와 73세의 왕시지 씨는 6년 전부터 집에서 멀리 떨어진 들판에 작업을 나갈 때도 하루도 거르지 않고 어머니를 모시고 함께 일터로 모시고 간다. “가난에 허덕여 삶을 유지하기 힘든 상황임에도 불구하고, 이들은 전혀 불만의 기색을 품지 않고, 의무를 게을리 하지 않으며 홀어머니를 깍듯하게 모신다.”고 한 이웃주민이 밝혔듯이, 한 달 수입 약 1,000 위안 (약 17만원) 중 300 위안 ...

CABO SAN LUCAS, Mexico ― While the rest of Mexico is in turmoil, the good times keep on rollin’ at Cabo San Lucas. Landing at the tourist destination at the very southern tip of Baja California, it seems like you’re in a parallel world. Here’s an Applebee’s, a downtown mall, a Home Depot and pristine beaches as far as you can see. With only 4 percent unemployment, Cabo is safe compared to much ...

Modern Middle East Tablet & Pen Edited by Reza Aslan (W.W. Norton, $35) The West’s perception of the Middle East as mysterious, exotic and savage has changed little since the days of Napoleon more than 200 years ago. The new anthology “Tablet & Pen: Literary Landscapes From the Modern Middle East,” edited by University of California, Riverside creative writing professor Reza Aslan, aims “to ...

The national trauma The Wounded By Lee Chung-joon Translated by Jennifer M. Lee (Jimoondang, 5,000 won) The Korean War (1950-1953) left both physical and psychological wounds to its people. Lee Chung-joon’s “The Wounded” explores the national trauma that continues to haunt individuals who suffer from their memories of the war, and other “hidden” existing traumas that cannot be identified. A...

This past fall I put out a call to readers: Send me your favorite mysteries set in other countries, written by international (e.g., not American) writers. I’m glad I asked ... I think. Already the most popular literary genre in America, mysteries may be taking over the world. I got more than 70 nominations ― writers and books set in locales from Cuba to China to Iceland to Australia. Wherever cr...

At a garage studio in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Eagle Rock, Lisa Pearson is publishing books with the skill of a craftsman, framing the printed word as a work of art. One volume, “Torture of Women,” features a red cloth cover with an embossed title resembling scar tissue. Inside, images of the female body are overlaid with matter-of-fact accounts of women who have suffered torture. “Fascis...

Lotte Hotel Jeju The hotel offers “Private Villa Suite Package” through the end of February. The package includes a one night stay in a luxurious private villa suite, breakfast in room for two persons, a mist from the U.S. spa cosmetics brand EI Solutions (worth 130,000 won), blueberry cheesecake, fruits, four tickets to the ice rink, and two welcome drink vouchers to be enjoyed at the romantic ...

GREENVILLE, Illinois ― Throughout their 170 years in Southern Illinois, the Marcoot family has adapted. The original settler, Martin Markut, was a schoolteacher before he made the arduous journey from Switzerland to the heartland of America. Over the years, Martin’s descendants changed the spelling of their name, mechanized, industrialized, moved from the Highland area to Greenville, downsized a...

Customers may find the name of one of Garosugil’s latest gastronomic additions misleading. Dubbed Serial Gourmet, this rustic chic restaurant sounds like it specializes in delicate fare served in dainty portions. Nothing could be further from the truth. The newly-minted establishment doles out hearty American classics like Louisiana-style sausage and New England boiled dinners (a beef or ham a...

News reports from many countries, including Korea, recently cover the rapid spread of “super bug,” which produces the NDM-1 (New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase-1). These bacteria are resistant to most potent antibiotics and their resistance can be easily transmitted to other bacteria through the gene transfer. And the bacteria’s worldwide spread is becoming a big threat to public health. Other t...

A 38-year-old businessman surnamed Lee, who declined to give his full name, has done almost everything to slow down his hair loss. Having long used a special shampoo made of natural ingredients, he recently bought an electronic device that emits laser beams and stimulates the scalp. “I heard there is no way to replace the hair that has already gone. I just want to keep my remaining hair,” said ...