Lifestyle - The Korea Times

Pandemic gathering ban changes Lunar New Year cooking

Meal kit products of traditional foods are popular ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, which falls on Feb. 11 to 14, as many people plan to prepare small amounts of food following a ban on large family gatherings to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Korea Times fileBy Bahk Eun-jiIt is a tradition for people to visit their hometowns for the Lunar New Year holiday and cook lots of food to offer ancestral rites and share with relatives.But fear of COVID-19 and the government's ban on gatherings of groups of five or more people have forced many to cancel visits to their hometowns, and this has made people seek smaller amounts of food for their own immediate family and choose easier ways to prepare it while staying at home.Jo Yong-soon, a 58-year-old homemaker living in Guri, Gyeonggi Province, said she didn't invite relatives over for this holiday, but plans to prepare some food for her family.“I usually become so busy two or three days before Lunar New Year or Chuseok as I have to prepare a lot of food for about a dozen relatives. But this time, I will cook two to three kinds of fo

Feb 10, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji

Pandemic gathering ban changes Lunar New Year cooking

PHOTOS On way to grandmother for Lunar New Year holiday

'Little Haenyeo' exhibition sheds light on female divers, artists and writers

Installation view of the haenyeo exhibition at Little Haenyeo on Jeju Island, featuring Kim Jae-yi's "Magazine" on the left / Courtesy of Little HaenyeoBy Kwon Mee-yooLittle Haenyeo, a guesthouse on Jeju Island, is holding an exhibition introducing art and literature inspired by the culture of haenyeo, female divers of the island who have been designated as a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage.Kim Jae-yi, who moved to Jeju in 2011, portrays young and confident haenyeo on her canvas, defying the typical notion of the divers as elderly. The illustrator-turned-artist also presented her haenyeo paintings at a solo exhibition in the U.S. in 2017, garnering positive reviews for being sensual and bold. Na Gang works with various mediums to portray the life of haenyeo and images of Jeju in her art. From her paintings of the sea to sculptural works using shells and the haenyeo's taewak buoy, Na captures the energy and spirituality of the island and the female divers who became its symbol.An installation at a haenyeo exhibition, featuring haenyeo-related books, at Little Haenyeo on Jeju Islan

Feb 4, 2021By Kwon Mee-yoo

'Little Haenyeo' exhibition sheds light on female divers, artists and writers

Rovaniemi of Finland offers a 'true' winter holiday

Tourists enjoy their winter holiday around a campfire in Rovaniemi, Finland. / Courtesy of Visit RovaniemiBy Jun Ji-hyeRovaniemi, the capital of Lapland in northern Finland, provides travelers with quality time with their loved ones, delicious Lapland food and magical nights under the auroras. Visit Rovaniemi said the city offers a “true” winter holiday as visitors can celebrate Christmas all year round, with snowy landscapes surrounding them all the way until April.Surrounded by a winter wonderland, Rovaniemi is close to Santa Claus Village, where people can meet Santa Claus. Visitors can take part in an “elf school,” helping elves make Christmas preparations in the Santa Claus Secret Forest.Marveling at the beauty of the northern lights can be another new experience.Tourists marvel at the northern lights in Rovaniemi, Finland. / Courtesy of Visit RovaniemiIt is also recommended to try various winter activities such as snowshoeing, winter biking or ice fishing, where you can snap some of the most Instagrammable shots of your life.Other activities include ice

Jan 28, 2021By Jun Ji-hye

Rovaniemi of Finland offers a 'true' winter holiday

Soowoon by Haevichi Hotels & Resorts unveils premium lunchbox

Korean cuisine restaurant Soowoon run by Haevichi Hotels & Resorts offers the premium lunchbox. / Courtesy of Haevichi Hotels & ResortsBy Jun Ji-hyeKorean cuisine restaurant Soowoon located in central Seoul has launched the “Premium Woon Lunchbox,” a unique takeaway-only meal featuring ingredients such as pine mushrooms, eel and abalone. The upscale restaurant is run by Haevichi Hotels & Resorts that owns and operates hotels and resorts on Jeju Island.The premium lunchbox features a special selection of main and side dishes, evoking the “sura,” traditionally served to kings in Korea's royal palace, and is accompanied by rice prepared with natural pine mushrooms for a conveniently portable yet refined dining experience. Menu items include grilled gochujang (red pepper paste) eel, renowned for its immune system-boosting and re-energizing properties; abalone with noodles in vinegar dressing, made from abalone caught in the waters off Wan Island; and roast chicken, marinated in Jeju green soy sauce.Others include Soowon signature dish braised short rib

Jan 21, 2021By Jun Ji-hye

Soowoon by Haevichi Hotels & Resorts unveils premium lunchbox

Korea Grand Sale: culture and shopping benefits expanded

A screenshot of a video promoting Korea Grand Sale 2021. Hallyu star Eric Nam is acting as a guide to tell stories about the culture and tourism festival for travelers around the world. / Courtesy of Visit Korea Committee Annual culture & tourism festival for foreign tourists taking place online By Jun Ji-hyeThe Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, together with Visit Korea Committee (VKC), is hosting Korea Grand Sale 2021, a culture and tourism festival for travelers from around the world, until Feb. 28.The Korea Grand Sale, which kicked off Jan. 14 with an online concert of K-pop group Oh My Girl, provides both shows and shopping benefits to attract more tourists from abroad during winter, which is the off-season for the tourism industry. This year's event is taking place online due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.The festival offers a variety of programs, including online cultural tours around Korea where people can experience and purchase Korean cultural

Jan 20, 2021By Jun Ji-hye

Korea Grand Sale: culture and shopping benefits expanded

Academic activist puts kimchi ad in NYT

A newspaper ad of Kimchi released in The New York Times, Jan. 18 (local time) / Courtesy of Seo Kyoung-duk's FacebookBy Park Han-solAmid the recently reignited debate over China's attempt to appropriate traditional Korean kimchi, academic activist Seo Kyoung-duk announced that a newspaper advertisement promoting the dish has been printed in The New York Times' U.S. and international editions, Jan. 18 (local time).The controversy over the fermented cabbage dish rose recently when the Chinese state-run tabloid Global Times claimed that the development of an international standard for the kimchi industry had been “led by China” in November last year.What further exacerbated the spat between the two countries earlier this month were a photo of Chinese Ambassador to the United Nations Zhang Jun holding up kimchi posted on his Twitter account as well as a kimchi-making video uploaded by Chinese YouTuber Li Ziqi with the hashtag #ChineseFood. Li's account currently has more than 14 million followers.In Seo's ad, which has been printed on the fifth page of both editions of the ne

Jan 20, 2021By Park Han-sol

Korean cultural heritage gets new brand identity overseas

A sample of a promotional booklet promoting Korea's overseas cultural heritage properties using the “Heritage of Korea” brand identity / Courtesy of Cultural Heritage AdministrationBy Kwon Mee-yooObjects of Korean cultural heritage located overseas received a new integrated brand identity, which will help increase their recognition. The Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) announced the new brand for overseas cultural heritage, Thursday. According to the Cultural Heritage Protection Act, "overseas cultural heritage" means any objects of cultural heritage taken out of Korea and currently located outside the territory of Korea.The brand identity was inspired by the trigrams ― geon, gon, gam, ri ― used in the Korean national flag. In the logo, the four trigrams are connected like a Mobius strip, symbolizing the historical and cultural exchange that connects the past and the future between Korea and its location. The brand identity's English trademark name is "Heritage of Korea," emphasizing Korea's history that has been handed down to the present.The integrated brand ident

Jan 17, 2021By Kwon Mee-yoo

VANK points out cultural, historical distortions in overseas travel guides about Korea

Lonely Planet's “Korea,” Insight Guides' “South Korea” and Dinobibi Publishing's “South Korea: Travel for Kids” / Courtesy of VANK By Park Han-solThe Voluntary Agency Network of Korea (VANK), a civic organization working to promote understanding of Korean culture and history online, has pointed out multiple errors and distortions in several popular guidebooks about Korea published overseas, Thursday.The organization indicated a few factual errors made specifically in the latest editions of Lonely Planet's “Korea,” Insight Guides' “South Korea” and Dinobibi Publishing's “South Korea: Travel for Kids” released in 2019 that are being sold worldwide.Some notable errors published in the guidebooks included statements such as “Taekwondo is a traditional martial art of Korea that has lasted for more than 2,000 years and was learned from the Tang Dynasty,” (Insight Guides) and “Bibimbap is a rice and vegetable stew” (Dinobibi Publishing).VANK clarified that taekwondo did no

Jan 15, 2021By Park Han-sol

VANK points out cultural, historical distortions in overseas travel guides about Korea

The Marianas offers nature-friendly activities from sea to sky

The Mariana Islands have beautiful and biodiverse coral reefs that provide excellent recreational diving and snorkeling opportunities. / Courtesy of Marianas Visitors Authority KoreaBy Jun Ji-hyeThe prolonged global COVID-19 outbreak has led to social distancing, forcing people to refrain from going out and reducing face-to-face meetings. This has brought a lot of changes to people's daily life, and travel is no exception.As people have put more importance on safety, health and contactless activities when deciding where to go on vacation, they have paid more attention to travel to refresh their tired bodies and minds in nature with family or close acquaintances, or travel pursuing a lifestyle of wellness.According to a travel behavior and planning survey issued last September by Consumer Insight, a travel research agency, travel for the purpose of enjoying natural scenery and relaxing increased from 42 percent in January to 52 percent in July last year. In line with these changes, the Marianas Visitors Authority (MVA) Korea introduced nature-friendly activities that can be enjoyed in

Jan 13, 2021By Jun Ji-hye

The Marianas offers nature-friendly activities from sea to sky

Kimchi most popular Korean dish for foreigners: survey

GettyimagesbankGlobal consumers picked kimchi as their most preferred Korean dish, a poll showed Thursday, amid the growing popularity of traditional Korean food, known as hansik, in line with the boom of the country's pop culture around the world.Nearly 34 percent of the respondents said they preferred eating kimchi, trailed by bibimbap with 27.8 percent and Korean-style fried chicken with 27 percent, according to the poll released by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.The survey was based on respondents from 16 major countries around the globe in 2020. Kimchi is a traditional Korean side dish normally made of fermented cabbage, salt and hot peppers. Bibimbap refers to rice mixed with a variety of vegetables and meat.Separate data from the Korea International Trade Association showed exports of kimchi advanced 36.4 percent on-year over the first 10 months of 2020 to reach an all-time high of US$119 million. The poll also showed that 57.4 percent of respondents were aware of Korean food, up 2.8 percentage points from the previous year. The ministry said more people b

Jan 7, 2021

Travel & Food