A resident of Sokcho, Gangwon Province, has donated his property to the city, where he wished to live with his mother left in North Korea 61 years ago. Kim Cheol-seop, 75, gave the 596-square-meter property valued at 190 million won ($178,605) to Sokcho last month in the hopes that the property would be used to help the elderly. Kim has lived in the city since 1953 after fleeing from the North ...

Rwanda, a small country in Africa, came into the international spotlight because of a tragic genocide in the mid 1990s. More than 20 years later, the country is still calling for economic aid. But according to 30-year-old Jin Gu the country is taking steps for a better future. “It was impressive that Rwandans forgive each other for tomorrow and live in harmony. ‘Positive energy’ was overflowin...

After music video featured at Cannes Lions festival, Korea-based team looks for more opportunities An older Korean couple living life in the fast lane might not be the first thing on every ad exec’s mind. But it was the subject of a music video that made it into the Saatchi & Saatchi New Directors’ Showcase at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity ― the advertising industry’s top awards festi...

Native English teacher Anna Liu was coming to the end of her contract when she visited her local pension office to claim back contributions she was entitled to as a Canadian citizen. But when it came to how much she was supposedly owed, she noticed it was less than a friend on a lower salary. “I questioned it and then that’s when the pension officer showed me and said ‘this is your reported inco...

From Dongdaemun Market to New York, Choi pushes his limits with General Idea This is the second of a series of articles on up-and-coming Korean designers. ― Ed. Choi Bum-suk’s office in Sinsa-dong, southern Seoul, made one want to go on a treasure hunt. Fabric samples, buttons and photos were strewn around everywhere with shelves jammed with books, files, little objects and even old shoes found...

Enchanted by K-pop, Korean dramas, more Turks turn to Korean culture ISTANBUL ― A diehard fan of Korean actor Song Il-gook, Gulhan Yucasu took an 18-hour bus ride to Istanbul to attend a Songdaslarim Turkey Fan Club meeting on June 24. Wearing a headscarf worn by some Muslim women in Turkey, Yucasu’s eyes light up when she talks about her heartthrob. She became Song’s fan some five years ago as...

KANSAS CITY, Missouri ― Playboy model hopefuls from as far as Florida and Canada line the halls of a Kansas City, Mo., studio, fanning themselves, trembling in their silk robes and waiting for their moment with Jodi Vander Woude. “I promise this will be painless,” Vander Woude assures them. Vander Woude is a photographer for Playboy Enterprises. Every month, she travels across the country doing...

Amid seasonal rain in Seoul, some foreign tourist groups signed an agreement to be responsible for their own safety to have supper by the overflowing Han River. Due to heavy rain, which had lasted several days, the tourists ended up being stranded at the shore side restaurant, eventually being rescued by fire squad. The squad initially tried to rescue the 88 tourists and 3 guides with a life ro...

Longest-resident British woman reflects on early learning achievements In February 1969 a young English woman arrived to a barren, snow-laden country, stripped of trees by the ravages of the Korean War and intercepted by narrow and dangerous roads. Cold and a little nervous, she boarded a rickety bamboo raft which would transport her and her husband-to-be, the future Archbishop of the Anglican ...

A high school student from Daegu has made a name for herself by winning a literature award, outperforming adult competitors. Lee Bong-hwa, 18, was selected as the winner of this year’s new novelist award by Writer’s Perspective, a quarterly literature journal. Her story, “Views Down from the Sky,” is about a girl desiring to become an artist, consistently failing to capture the scenery of her d...