• East Asia

    Koreans lack understanding of hanok’s cultural value

    An American, who has lived in Korea and been involved in preserving traditional Korean houses, Hanok, for more than 40 years, claimed there is little understanding and awareness of the cultural value of the buildings among Korean people. Peter Bartholomew, managing director of iRC, a a Korea-focused business development consultancy,…

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  • People

    New Zealander loses 120 kg through surgery

    Sciascia named honorary ambassador for medical tourism A morbidly obese New Zealander who had received bariatric surgery in Korea a year and a half ago came back to Seoul half her original size and looking ahead to lose more weight. Jasmin Sciascia, 27, who had been under spotlight since last…

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  • South East Asia

    Vietnamese Father, Daughter Living In America Take Part In Project To Preserve Stories Of Vietnamese-Americans

    In this Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012 photo, Viola Van poses for a picture with her father, Hugo, at their home in Walnut, Calif. Viola Van is part of a Vietnamese-American Oral History Project at UC Irvine, that assembles, preserves, digitizes, and disseminates the life stories of Vietnamese-Americans in Southern California.…

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  • East Asia

    Kim Yu-na reunites with former coaches

    Olympic figure skating champion Kim Yu-na has rehired two former coaches. Shin Hea-sook and Ryu Jong-hyun will take charge of helping the 22-year-old to return to the competitive skating starting with the 2013 World Figure Skating Championships in March. Ryu worked with Kim when she started skating at the age…

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  • East Asia

    SNS to play big role in election

    Pop sensation Psy may not be the only Korean to massively benefit from social networking services (SNS) this year. The three presidential candidates are also betting that sites such as YouTube and Facebook will catapult them into Cheong Wa Dae come December. So says Lee Hag-man, a social media expert…

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  • East Asia

    Korean professor uses ‘ondol’ to help Cambodians

    BATTAMBANG, Cambodia — The mercury hardly drops below 30 degrees Celsius in the daytime throughout the year in Cambodia, but vegetables and fruits dry slow even under the blazing sun and often go bad. Kim Man-gab, a professor at the National Polytechnic Institute of Cambodia, wondered why. Kim eventually discovered…

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  • People

    Wedding Of Luxembourg’s Crown Prince Celebrated By People

    Luxembourg’s Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and his wife Princess Stephanie, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, leave the Notre-Dame Cathedral after their religious wedding service in Luxembourg, Oct. 20, 2012. <Xinhua/Ye Pingfan> Celebrations of the wedding of Luxembourg’s Crown Prince Guillaume and Countess Stephanie continue Saturday night Oct. 20 2012 following…

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  • People

    Kang tells about realities of coffee shop jungle

    How one owner fell into financial abyss and lived to tell about it A fatigued Korea is about to round out its 15th year of economic ugliness dating back to the crippling foreign currency crisis of the late-1990s. The legacy of these dismal times is represented in the ubiquity of…

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  • People

    Templestay marks a decade

    Since the templestay program was first introduced ahead of the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup in a move to promote traditional Korean Buddhist culture, its popularity has been steadily soaring attracting both local and foreign tourists. In commemorating the 10th anniversary of the program, plans are being put in place to…

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  • People

    Kim Jung-man recreates Magritte’s paintings

    Renowned photographer Kim Jung-man, 58, is showing 23 photographic works recreating the surrealist Rene Magritte’s works through photography at KT&G SangSang Madang in Seoul. Kim is known for realistic photos such as in the “Stone Heart” and “New Image of Korea” series. He became famous as a commercial photographer who…

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