[Temple to Table] Fried lotus roots and nuts in omija sauce

Ven. Kyungwoon spends most of her time in Seosan interacting with Buddhists over temple food, but she heads to Seoul once a week to teach at Hyangjeok Segye, the official culinary institute for Korean temple food. While teaching the recipes, she often cites the Buddha’s teachings from the sutras as well, to let her students know about the spirit embodied in temple food. To do that, she has to spend more time preparing for class. However, she does not mind. “The mindset one has before

Oct. 29, 2022

[Around the Hotels] Promotions and packages

Four Seasons Hotel Seoul presents 'Time to celebrate' with Baccarat The Four Seasons Hotel Seoul is celebrating the festive end-of-the-year season with Baccarat,a French fine crystal brand. Limited room packages available for the month of December include a stay in a club room or suite, plus a set of two beautiful Baccarat Beluga tumblers. Other perks include complimentary valet parking plus access to the hotel’s Korean sauna and executive club lounge -- for all-day drinks, after

Oct. 28, 2022

Coffee aficionados pick out best of Korea's specialty brews

Coffee is a big deal in Korea. The recent Gangneung Coffee Festival held earlier this month attracted about 350,000 visitors over the three-day festival period. The value of the country’s coffee imports also exceeded 1 trillion won ($700 million) last year, according to the Korea Customs Service and industry sources. Amid the still-burgeoning growth of the Korean coffee industry, three coffee aficionados teamed up to publish a guidebook in English, introducing 82 must-visit cafes across th

Oct. 22, 2022

[Around the Hotels] Promotions and packages

Grand Josun Jeju showcases 'Winter Voyage' package Grand Josun Jeju presents winter package that consists of a one-night stay in a room with a balcony, with unlimited use of the hotel’s outdoor heated pool. Guests can choose between rooms facing the Garden Pool side or the Peak Point Pool. Breakfast buffet for two at restaurant Aria is included in the package. A set of complimentary winter signature dishes and alcoholic beverages for two will be served while using the pool. The p

Oct. 21, 2022

[Temple to Table] Pounded shiitake mushroom stew

Taking pleasure in cooking, Ven. Kyungwoon calls herself a “food practitioner.” This is because making food the proper Buddhist way with good ingredients and sharing it with many is to practice the Buddha’s teaching that “Food is good medicine.” Its purpose is also to spread the spirit embodied in temple food, based on the belief that “What we eat creates our body and mind.” Eight years ago, Ven. Kyungwoon fell ill when she was about to finish her junior

Oct. 15, 2022

[Around the Hotels] Promotions and packages

Sheraton Grand Incheon launches 'Sheraton Pocha' promotion Sheraton Grand Incheon is launching a special promotion with Korean alcoholic beverages at Bb, the hotel's lobby dining bar. Starting Friday, different drink options will be served with various Korean late-night eats, such as savory seafood pancakes and gochujang octopus. Some 28 drink options are available, including traditional Korean cocktails, makgeolli, soju, wine and beer. The promotion runs through Dec. 31 from 6 p.

Oct. 14, 2022

Mosu, Gaon achieve three Michelin stars

Korean restaurant Gaon by chef Kim Byoung-jin, kept its three Michelin stars, the highest accolade by Michelin, while restaurant Mosu by chef Anh Sung joined the prestigious three-star list this year. The announcements were made as part of the release of Michelin Guide Seoul’s seventh edition Thursday during a ceremony at the Vista Walkerhill Seoul hotel, in eastern Seoul. "I'm very happy for the chefs of Michelin guide 2023 who are being rewarded for their courage, passion and e

Oct. 13, 2022

Festival for coffee aficionados to kick off in Gangneung

The 14th edition of the Gangneung Coffee Festival will be held at the Gangneung Olympic Park Ice Arena for four days, from Friday to Monday. The indoor arena's first and second floors will be set up as coffee brewing, tasting, and product selling booths, while food trucks and resting areas will be installed outside the arena. This year's festival will be run as an eco-friendly festival, according to the Gangneung Culture and Arts Foundation, the main host of the event. "We have co

Oct. 8, 2022

[Around the Hotels] Promotions and packages

Four Seasons Hotel Seoul launches collaboration cake with Chantecaille In celebration of the hotel's upcoming seventh anniversary, Four Seasons Hotel Seoul has launched a gluten-free cake, Tasty Palette, in partnership with Chantecaille, a premium cosmetic brand. Pastry chef Jimmy Boulay created the special cake using local ingredients. Acacia honey from Korea and coconut is used in place of gluten-free flour, sugar, or artificial sweeteners, and domestic figs are used as the main ingredien

Oct. 7, 2022

2 Michelin-star Latin American female chef visits Korea

In celebration of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between South Korea and the Dominican Republic, the Dominican Embassy in Seoul has invited two-star Michelin chef, Maria Marte, to introduce Dominican cuisines to Korea. Hosted by the Four Seasons Hotel Seoul in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, Marte has been introducing a series of Dominican dishes, desserts and cocktails, through the hotel's promotion, "Dominican Week," since Monday. Dishes by Marte as well as Elaine De W

Oct. 6, 2022

Seoul Gourmet Week presents 100 restaurants for epicures

The 2022 Seoul Gourmet Week is set to kick off Friday, aiming to introduce Seoul's unique and diverse culinary culture. During the seven-day period, 100 restaurants in the city selected by a team of 20 food experts, will be offering special menus and benefits. The complete list of participating restaurants is available on the Seoul Gourmet Week's official website, which includes brief introductions to each restaurant's signature dishes, including plant-based options. This weekend,

Sept. 28, 2022

Korean street toast: Delightful bite on the go

Most travelers seek out popular restaurants while visiting a foreign country. But spontaneous ventures to street vendors can leave a lasting impression, if one finds the right place. From ordering food at crowded outdoor vendors to enjoying small talk with the staff before the menu is served, the unique cultural codes of the city are easily captured through the experience. Gilgeori toast, or Korean street toast, is one of the main street food menus for commuters who want to grab a quick breakfas

Sept. 24, 2022

Check out farmers' markets this fall

A farmers’ market popped up at a corner of a street in Seoul’s Seongsu-dong neighborhood on Sunday. Among the vendors at the touring market dubbed Marche@ were Lee Ji-sun, 42, who brought herbs, vegetables, and eggs from her family’s farm in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province. “Our farm does not use any synthetic chemicals and we hatch chicken eggs naturally,” she said proudly. Marche@ is not an ordinary farmers’ market. Started by a group of city farmers committed t

Sept. 23, 2022

Free cooking classes for the kimchi-curious

For those unacquainted with Korean cuisine, kimchi can taste and smell a bit strong. But don’t let that first impression scare you off from the amazingly rich, versatile and savory world of kimchi, says Son Jong-won, executive chef of L’Amant Secret, a Michelin-star restaurant at L'Escape Hotel in Seoul. At a cooking demonstration on Tuesday with 20 foreign guests, the chef showcased how the fermented cabbage, which has a varying mix of pungent, sour and spicy tastes, can ta

Sept. 22, 2022

[Temple to Table] Food that help one attain the way: Mushrooms and green peppers

To go forth and become a monk is not a trivial matter. Its purpose is neither to seek bodily comfort nor to be warmly clothed and fully fed, nor to seek honor and wealth. Rather, its purpose is to escape the cycle of birth and death, to sever one’s affections, to walk in the bright wisdom of the Buddha and to save sentient beings by showing them the way out of the threefold world. Baru gongyang, the monastic communal meal, is a Buddhist practice that promotes solemnity and pensiveness. Eac

Sept. 17, 2022

[Around the Hotels] Promotions and packages

JW Marriott Hotel Seoul presents ‘Autumn Holiday at JW’ package JW Marriott Hotel Seoul greets autumn with a promotion filled with autumn-themed gifts, presenting a seasonal staycation. Featuring a choice of Griffin Suite or Deluxe Room, the autumn package includes a facial serum, volumizing cream and softening lotion set by Cle de Peau Beaute, with a total value of 150,000 won. Mont Blanc desserts crafted by the JW Marriott Seoul pastry team are available for package guests to tak

Sept. 16, 2022

Liquor shops beckon sophisticated drinkers

From wine and beer to liquors like soju and whiskey, numerous alcoholic beverages fill the display shelves at an E-mart24 convenience store in Cheonho-dong, southeastern Seoul. More than 700 varied options await liquor lovers, especially those who enjoy a tipple at home after work. Oh Jin-song, a 29-year-old office worker, said he drops by the specialist convenience store at least twice a week after work, which spares him the hassle of visiting the kind of busy supermarket where most Koreans b

Sept. 13, 2022

Koreans’ two all-time favorite snacks named among Asia’s 50 best street foods: CNN

Two popular on-the-go meals in South Korea, gimbap and tteokbokki, have been named on CNN’s list of the top 50 street foods in Asia. Gimbap, the seaweed-wrapped rice roll stuffed with vegetables, eggs and various meat sliced into bite-size discs of goodness, has long been Koreans' go-to soul food along with tteokbokki, a dish made of white rice cakes in a thick, fiery red sauce. Stressing gimbap’s portable size, the US news network said “not unlike Japan's makizushi (

Sept. 11, 2022

Chuseok cooking challenge for the whole family

The fall season is here, and so are family reunions as the Chuseok holiday approaches . Women of the house traditionally prepared food for the ancestral rites and later, the extended family sat down to a table overflowing with special dishes prepared for Chuseok, a time of thanksgiving. "Jeon" has been a constant staple among the ancestral offerings and later on the family dining table has had an assortment of jeon, typically slices of zucchini, fish and meat covered in a thin coat of

Sept. 9, 2022

[Around the Hotels] Promotions and packages

JW Marriott Hotel Seoul unveils ‘Autumn Holic’ tea set The Lounge at JW Marriott Hotel Seoul presents the Autumn Afternoon Tea Set through Nov. 30. The tea set includes a selection of desserts, savory items, premium teas, coffee and champagne. Guests can choose among a choice of nine teas -- US organic tea brand Rishi Tea, Homage Coffee, custom-blended for JW Marriott Hotel Seoul by America’s Trinidad Coffee, and Korean traditional teas. The tea set is priced at 100,000 won for

Sept. 9, 2022