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Kim Se-jeong

Korea Times K-Culture Reporter

I am covering trend, food and fashion. Previously, I covered diplomacy, city, environment and unification.

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South Korea

Seoul to offer fund for expats' events

By Kim Se-jeongThe Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to provide financial assistance of up to 7 million won ($6,430) for cultural and donation events organized by embassies and foreign communities this year.The city government said Wednesday that embassies and groups for foreign residents, including immigrant workers, are eligible for applications for the fund.Applications will be open from Feb. 11-16.“We are running this program to help expats engage in more social activities and provide Koreans with opportunities to experience different cultures,” Chung Young-jun, a city official, said. “Also, this will raise the profile of Seoul as an international city.”Applicants are required to submit details about the event. The amount of the fund donated will vary depending on the size of the events. The city can cover up to 80 percent of the cost as long as it doesn’t exceed 7 million won.The support program began in 2008. Last year, 14 groups received the fund totaling 68 million won.The Irish Association of Korea, organizer of the St. Patrick’s Day fes

Feb 4, 2015By Kim Se-jeong
South Korea

Bird flu infects dog

No need to worry about transmission to humans: ministryBy Kim Se-jeongAvian influenza has been detected in a dog at a duck farm in Goseong, South Gyeongsang Province, which reported an outbreak of the poultry disease last month, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said Monday.A sample test showed the dog might have been infected with the virus after eating infected ducks at the farm. There were three dogs at the farm, but the other two dogs tested negative, which means there was no dog-to-dog transmission, the ministry said.Quarantine officials conducted health checks on all 477 farmers living near the affected poultry farm, but no one tested positive.According to the ministry, the dog was carrying the H5N8 strain of the virus.This is the second time that a dog has been with the virus in Korea following the first case in March last year. This is the first case involving the H5N8 strain, however.All the ducks and dogs in the farm have been culled, the ministry said, adding that there is little possibility of the virus being transmitted to humans.“We didn't find a

Feb 2, 2015By Kim Se-jeong
South Korea

IIA losing luster as hub airport

By Kim Se-jeong Incheon International Airport (IIA) is finding it more difficult to attract transfer flights as China and Japan are increasing direct flights to cities in the U.S., Europe and elsewhere.This bodes ill for the airport, which is facing growing competition from Chinese and Japanese airports.According to the Incheon International Airport Corp. (IIAC), the number of transfer passengers who used the airport dropped last year by 460,000, the first decrease in four years. “To be a hub airport, increasing the number of transfer passengers is very important,” an official from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. The ratio of transfer passengers among all passengers is an indicator of how busy an airport is.The decrease was caused by fewer connecting flights bound from China and Japan, said IIAC.Since it first opened in 2001, the number of transfer passengers at the Incheon airport has increased steadily ― 1.62 million in 2001, 3 million in 2005, 5 million in 2010 and 7.7 million in 2013. This prompted IIAC to expand its facilities.

Jan 30, 2015By Kim Se-jeong
South Korea

Korean Air offered flight attendant professor job

By Kim Se-jeongCho Yang-hoKorean Air offered a flight attendant a position as a college professor in return for giving favorable testimony for Heather Cho in her trial over the “nut rage” scandal, the flight attendant testified in court Friday.The flight attendant, surnamed Kim, rejected the offer, she said.The firm’s Chairman Cho Yang-ho also took the witness stand for his daughter’s trial; Heather Cho was the airline’s former executive vice president. The chairman promised to take measures so that flight attendants involved in the case could continue to work at the airline.Cho did not make eye contact with his daughter during the entire hearing, held at Seoul Western District Court, observers said.Kim testified that a Korean Air employee visited her home in mid-December when the scandal was raging, and told her mom that she would be given a job as a professor at a college affiliated with the firm if she “collaborated.”“The employee asked me to be silent over Heather Cho’s misconduct,” she said.Heather Cho was indicted on J

Jan 30, 2015By Kim Se-jeong
Korean Air offered flight attendant professor job
South Korea

Ruling party lawmaker gets 5 year in prison for bribery

Cho Hyun-ryongA lawmaker from the ruling Saenuri Party was sentenced to five years in prison on Thursday for taking bribes from railway parts company in exchange for giving a business favor.Rep. Cho Hyun-ryong was indicted for taking 160 million won ($146,000) from the president of Sampyo E&C between December 2011 and July 2014. Cho helped Sampyo’s products pass a qualification test and win a contract with the state railway authority. Cho headed the authority until December 2011.He was also fined  200 million won. The 70-year-old lawmaker may lose his parliamentary seat if a higher court confirms the verdict.The Seoul Central District Court found Cho guilty, citing testimonies from Sampyo officials.Judge Lee Beom-gyun said, “Sampyo officials provided intricate details about how they  bribed Cho. They risked getting themselves in trouble and there is no reason they would try to wrongfully convict the lawmaker.”Prosecutors had initially demanded nine year in prison for Cho.

Jan 29, 2015By Kim Se-jeong
Ruling party lawmaker gets 5 year in prison for bribery
Travel & Food

Hotel briefs

 The Grand Hyatt Incheon’s Restaurant 8 is launching a Lunar New Year menu between Feb. 2 and 28. The grill at Restaurant 8 will offer a six-course menu that includes beef brisket-point salad served with vegetables and mustard dressing, abalone porridge, grilled beef short rib, king oyster mushroom and onion salad, traditional rice cake soup and dumplings. For dessert, rice punch, assorted rice cakes and seasonal fruits will be served. The menu costs 66,000 won for lunch and 88,000 won for dinner per person (including tax).  The Lobby Lounge and Deli at the Grand Ambassador Seoul will present a dessert buffet, “Strawberry-Holic” between Feb. 7 and April. 19. The buffet will be offered every weekend from 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. and will feature 20 different strawberry-themed desserts, including tiramisu, creme brulee, meringue and mille-feuille. Beverages includes strawberryade, earl grey tea and coffee. The buffet costs 42,000 won for adult and 21,000 won for children (including tax). For more information and reservations, call (02) 2270-3101.  Th

Jan 29, 2015By Kim Se-jeong
Hotel briefs
Travel & Food

Plan your Valentine's Day with hotel package

A room in Conrad Seoul with a bath tub decorated with flower leaves for Valentine’s Day / Courtesy of Conrad SeoulBy Kim Se-jeongAre you looking for Valentine’s Day surprise for your beloved one? Hotels in Seoul can help you.The JW Marriott Hotel Seoul presents two packages. “The Honey and Berry” package is available between Feb. 13 and 15, including a one-night stay in a Superior room with a bottle of red wine and a plate of chocolate-dipped strawberries. Guests will receive a three-piece miniature skincare set from Burt’s Bee ― Intense Hydration Cream Cleanser, Intense Hydration Day Lotion, and Almond and Milk Hand Cream ― with a honey been pouch, and access to the hotel pool complex, a hot spring-fed therapy pool and a fitness club. The package costs 290,000 won (without tax and service charge).“The Honey and Wine” package has a one-night stay in Superior room and access to Bar Rouge’s special Valentine’s Day wine buffet for two. The package is available on Feb. 13 and 14. The wine buffet will feature a variety of win

Jan 29, 2015By Kim Se-jeong
Plan your Valentine's Day with hotel package
South Korea

Late school start program expands to Seoul

By Kim Se-jeong At least 368 elementary, middle and high schools in Seoul will start classes at 9 a.m. from March 1, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (SMOE) said Thursday.Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon said more schools will decide to join the late school start program, which was first adopted by Gyeonggi Province Education Office last September, in February.“So far, elementary schools have shown high participation rate,” Cho said.Seoul has 1,301 schools, and some start as early as 7:30 a.m.Yoon Oh-young from SMOE said participation by middle and high schools is likely to be low.The program aims to improve the quality of life for students by giving them time to eat breakfast with their parents and to sleep more. A Gyeonggi Province education official said more than 90 percent of 2,250 schools have joined the program.Some students said they liked the program, while others complained about it.Incheon announced earlier this month that some schools will implement the proposal from March. Education offices in Daejeon and South Chungcheong Province say they are cons

Jan 29, 2015By Kim Se-jeong
Travel & Food

Sheraton Incheon's 'master chefs' offer outstanding Japanese cuisine

Jacky Jung, left, and Danny Han, two master chefs at the Sheraton Incheon Hotel’s Japanese restaurant Miyabi, pose for a photo at the restaurant, Wednesday. / Courtesy of Sheraton Incheon HotelBy Kim Se-jeongSheraton Incheon Hotel’s Japanese restaurant Miyabi has what other Japanese restaurants in Korea don’t: two certified master chefs in Japanese cuisine.Jacky Jung, 41, and Danny Han, 37, won the master chef title in 2013 and 2014, respectively, in a competition organized by the Human Resources Development Service of Korea. The title “master chef” is one of the highest recognitions for chefs in the country.Each year, the organization awards the title to one or two chefs with specializations in the Japanese, Chinese and western cuisines. Fewer than 70 currently hold the master chef title in Japanese cuisine, said Han.From the top are sea bass carpaccio and green salad with olive./ Korea Times photos by Kim Se-jeong Jung’s and Han’s influences are reflected on Miyabi’s menu, which has four categories: lunch, dinner, courses an

Jan 29, 2015By Kim Se-jeong
Sheraton Incheon's 'master chefs' offer outstanding Japanese cuisine
South Korea

Vomiting in taxis subject to fines

By Kim Se-jeong Starting from next month, passengers who vomit inside taxis will be fined 150,000 won ($138), according to the Seoul Taxi Association.The city government recently approved a proposal from the Seoul Taxi Association to impose a fine on those who vomit inside taxis.City officials said the fine is a symbolic move to make passengers behave and try to change society’s heavy drinking culture.Passengers who refuse to pay the fine will risk facing a penalty five times that amount. “This won’t make drivers issue tickets for unconscious passengers,” said one association member. “That will be another dispute. This revision is important in that it has established the basis upon which passengers can be fined for not behaving properly in the taxi.”According to an association survey last year, out of 25,631 complaints reported by taxi drivers, 10,892 cases, or 42.5 percent, involved vomiting. The association surveyed 4,773 taxi drivers between September and November. Vomiting was followed by refusing to leave the vehicle, refusing t

Jan 27, 2015By Kim Se-jeong
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