Asia’s first Master of Wine writes book on pairing wine with Asian meals HONG KONG ― If anyone could perfectly understand and satisfy two totally different palates from East and West, it could be Jeannie Cho Lee, the first Asian Master of Wine. Lee was born in Korea but has lived in numerous cities in the world including New York, Boston, London and Kuala Lumpur. Such a life opened her mind to ...

A cappella group Suade perform Korean pop songs with an Aussie twist When a group of five burly Australian males take the stage at a music show, the last thing you anticipate is a classic Korean pop song performed in perfect harmony. But that is exactly the type of unexpected performance Australian a cappella group Suade hope will get them noticed on the Korean music scene. Suade completed the...

HSINCHU, Taiwan (AFP) ― China’s most famous philanthropist began distributing cash in Taiwan on Thursday, the first day of a controversial trip that has sparked criticism and protests from anti-China groups. Chen Guangbiao, who made his fortune recycling construction materials, handed T$7 million ($241,000) to charity groups in Hsinchu county in the island’s north, amid accusations he was promot...

Hallyu star Ryu Si-won, 39, is now the father of a baby girl. The birth comes three months after his marriage to Jo Soo-in, 33, on Oct. 26. Jo gave birth to a healthy baby girl around 5:40 p.m. on Jan. 27, his management agency said. Weeks before their wedding, he surprised his fans by saying that he would be a father next year. Ryu debuted in 1994 as a KBS actor and has gained popularity for...

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. ― A Cal Poly professor’s mission to turn a 45-million-year-old yeast into an ingredient for beer has proven successful ― and now he hopes to grow his operation locally. Raul Cano, a Cal Poly biology professor, discovered the yeast in amber that came from Myanmar, which was previously known as Burma, while conducting research in the 1990s. Cano gained international recogn...

Hip-hop artist Emmanuel Jal, a former child solider, raps for peace in Sudan HONG KONG ― Barely 10, he was conscripted to kill anyone he saw ― any man, woman or child. For many years he saw homes burn down, men being beaten to death, hundreds of rolling dead bodies being pecked by vultures and fought hard against unbearable hunger that reached a point where human flesh smelled like meat ― all t...

First-generation jazz percussionist talks about the music genre in Korea Holding a small bongo, Ryu Bok-sung commands the stage instantly. His performance outshines the brass instruments in front of him, and sweeps the audience off their feet. Ryu is Korea’s a first-generation jazz percussionist who has devoted 54 years to the discipline. Now 72, he continues a to lead a life of jazz. The Bib...

SINGAPORE (AFP) ― Chinese kung-fu superstar Jet Li publicly confirmed Tuesday that he had become a Singaporean citizen, saying he wanted his children to receive a bilingual education in the city-state. Li ― whose film accolades include Hollywood blockbusters “The Expendables” and “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” ― said his decision was also influenced by the absence of paparazzi in the st...

NEW YORK (AP) ― Daniel Bell, a leading sociologist of the past half-century who wrote groundbreaking books about the demise of revolutionary politics and about the economy and lifestyle of what he helped label a “post-industrial” society, has died. He was 91. Bell died Tuesday at his Cambridge, Massachusetts, home after a short illness, said his son, David Bell. Daniel Bell was a teen radical w...

American professor uncovers Korean culture intertwined with the mountain trail David Mason couldn’t understand why Baekdu-daegan had remained overlooked for so long. After his first visit to Korea in 1982, his “heart got stuck” to Korea, so four years later he decided to go back, and eventually became a fan, and an expert of Baekdu-daegan . It is 25 years since Mason returned to Korea in 1986 ...

The power of culture and the arts will be enlisted to help integrate divided Korean society, said Choung Byoung-gug, who took office as the new culture minister Thursday. “During the past 10 years working in the cultural sector, I have realized how powerful culture and arts are in narrowing differences of language, religion and nationality,” Choung said at a press conference at the Ministry of C...

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Sir Elton John is “fed up” with being a treated like a “second-class citizen” in the U.S. That’s why the 63-year-old gay singer said he took a stand last week during a performance at a private Beverly Hills fundraiser for the ongoing legal challenge to California’s gay marriage ban. The outspoken British piano man, who became a parent to a baby boy on Christmas Day with partne...

The Booyoung Group, a Korean housing developer, has donated 10,000 digital pianos and 30,000 blackboards to schools in Indonesia. The donation ceremony took place at the Indonesian education ministry in Jakarta. Lee Joong-keun, the founder and chairman of the group, National Education Minister of Indonesia Muhammad Nuh, South Korean Ambassador to Indonesia Kim Ho-young and about 400 teachers and...

Denmark, the first country to work on an aggressive plan to rid itself of dependence on fossil fuels, is looking towards Korea as one of the countries to bring its dream to fruition. “We like to say that Denmark is a first mover; Korea looks like a fast mover and sometimes if you put a first and fast mover there some interesting things that come out of that synergy,” said the chairperson of the ...