Bill Bryson takes you back in time with ‘One Summer: America, 1927’

When readers follow Bill Bryson on a literary amble, they never know exactly where they might end up ― just that they’ll probably be happy to have tagged along.His past journeys, along the Appalachian Trail (1998’s “A Walk in the Woods”), into the life of Shakespeare (2007’s “Shakespeare: The World as Stage”) and the rest of the universe (2003’s “A Short History of Nearly Everything”), to name a few, put him in rarified territory. He’s popular enough to automatically appear on best-seller lists,

BooksOct. 31, 2013

Pianist Lee Ko-eun wins U.S. competition

Pianist Lee Ko-eun was named one of three top winners at the 2013 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition and the recipient of the Victor & Sono Elmaleh Piano Prize, the CAG announced Thursday. The Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition is an annual event open to instrumentalists, singers and chamber ensembles performing classical and non-traditional repertoire. The other two winners this year are the Donald Sinta Quartet and violinist Alexi Kenney.Lee, who also won several ot

CultureOct. 31, 2013

Seoul Zoo retires sea lion presentation

Seoul Zoo has ended all its animal events after retiring a California sea lion, Bangwuli, from presentation to visitors ― the last animal show it ran.The zoo said Thursday that it closed the Bangwuli presentation late last month to treat the male sea lion because he looked distracted and had difficulty digesting fodder.The Bangwuli show was the last animal event at the zoo after it released Jedori, a Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin, into the sea off Jejudo Island on July 18. Jedori had a stunt s

PeopleOct. 31, 2013

Samsung’s Lee tops President Park on Forbes’ powerful people list

Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee has been ranked 41st by Forbes on its list of the world’s most powerful people of this year. President Park Geun-hye was placed at No. 52, 11 notches below the business mogul. The economic magazine ranked top 72 power brokers ― 1 for every 100 million people on Earth ― and released the annual list along with their snapshots on Wednesday. Lee and Park were among 13 newcomers. Park was also one of only nine women who made the cut. The title of the world’s m

PeopleOct. 31, 2013

Walk along the coast to discover Jeju’s beauty

This is the last installment in an 11-part series that introduces some of the best walking trails in Korea. Based on each trail’s popularity and the recommendations of travel experts and the Culture Ministry, The Korea Herald selected the 10 best places for walking and hiking. The series received funding from the Korea Press Foundation. ― Ed.Jeju Olle trail is the first walking trail in Korea developed and built by a journalist-turned-walking enthusiast Seo Myeong-suk. The opening of the first t

TravelOct. 30, 2013

Nature makes Jeju delicacies one of the best in Korea

Jeju Island is known for the abundance of rocks, women and wind, earning it the moniker “Samdado Island,” for having plenty of the “three features.” But another feature to add is its food. The island, surrounded by the sea with Hallasan Mountain in the center and vast stretches of fields growing vegetables, boasts a wide variety of natural produce. However, seafood dishes are not to be missed on Jeju Island. And if one faces a difficult decision of what to choose among hundreds of seafood specia

TravelOct. 30, 2013

Oakwood Premier Coex offers distinct level of service

Oakwood Premier Coex Center was recognized with having the best planning and execution of advertising that successfully brings its image of luxury and comfort to the customers. In our advertisement, we tried to convey our brand concept and identity to maintain a strong, consistent and distinctive brand for Oakwood.The first luxury serviced residence in Seoul has strived to meet the needs of foreign corporate executives, business travelers and long-term guests since opening. Oakwood Premier is th

TravelOct. 30, 2013

Court chief sees no limit in punishing Japanese sex slavery

President of the Constitutional Court Park Han-chul has criticized the Japanese government sharply for denying the historical fact that its military had forced women into sexual slavery during World War II.His remarks came in a special lecture he gave at Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Tuesday.Park is the first president of the Constitutional Court of Korea to have given a lecture at the school.In the lecture, titled the “State’s duty to protect women from human rights violation,

PeopleOct. 30, 2013

KBS chief elected president of regional broadcasters’ union

Gil Hwan-young, president and CEO of state-run broadcaster KBS, was elected the 14th president of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union, KBS said Tuesday. Gil was elected in a unanimous vote at the organization’s general assembly in Hanoi, Vietnam. He will serve a three-year term until the end of 2016. “I will seek unity of our members and put efforts into leading the ever-changing broadcasting environment in the digital era,” Gil said during his acceptance speech. As president of the union, Gil w

PeopleOct. 30, 2013

Catholic Cardinal calls for dialogue on Christian unity

In the Protestant church alone, there are more than 345 denominations and no one knows the exact amount of religions on Earth. People with different beliefs have been indifferent or in conflict over religion for a long time, yet very little effort has been made to seek a solution.Amid global tension over religion, the Catholic Church has been taking steps towards reconciliation, seeking “deepened dialogue among different ideas.” Since the Second Vatican Council from 1962 till 1965, which address

PeopleOct. 30, 2013

Google to showcase Korean civilization, culture

Google, the world’s most-visited website, will dedicate a section to Korean culture including traditional dress, architecture, film and Hangeul. The internet giant will also support the development of a special program and space where children of multicultural families and foreigners can learn and understand the unique Korean writing system at the Hangeul Museum, which is slated to open in Seoul in 2014, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Google announced Wednesday at a joint press

CultureOct. 30, 2013

Expat filmmakers contrast generations

Two expat filmmakers are out to show the world that there is more to Korea than K-pop.Producer Aurelien Laine and director Dan Smukalla have been traveling across Korea interviewing Koreans of different generations and filming for “Sedae,” a new documentary due out next year. Laine said it was quite common to portray Korea in simplistic outlines, such as its plastic surgery or educational craze, and that the idea of this documentary was to show a much broader range of people.“When we think about

Expat LivingOct. 29, 2013