Lifestyle

Jeonju's hidden alleys perfect place for 'gastroventures'

Grilled octopus skewers at Jeonju Hanok Village / Courtesy of Korea Tourism OrganizationHistorical city offers foodie paradise with traditional, creative cuisine By Lee Hae-rinJEONJU, North Jeolla Province ― Two hours from Seoul by KTX bullet train, Jeonju is known for its historical pedigree given that it is the hometown of the 1392-1910 Joseon Kingdom's founder, Yi Seong-gye. Designated as the country's first Creative City of Gastronomy by UNESCO in May 2012, however, the southwestern city is now building a new pedigree of gastronomy with a wide range of restaurants, coffee shops, bars and street food vendors that offer regional traditional specialties as well as creative cuisine.A leisurely stroll through Jeonju Hanok Village is a must for travelers. The village featuring around 700 traditional buildings is famous for its size ― the largest among hanok villages in Korea ― but also for a variety of street food and traditional dining options throughout its small alleys.Many of the street foods feature Jeonju's local specialties as ingredients. Water parsley dumpling, for example, of

DAILY FORTUNE - JUNE 29, 2023

Courtesy call

Courtesy call    Mpoki Thomson, right, managing editor of The Citizen, an English-language newspaper in Tanzania, shakes hands with The Korea Times President-Publisher Oh Young-jin after making a visit to The Korea Times' office on Monday. The two media outlets have signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation. Korea Times photo by Ahn Seong-jin

Child-friendly zones pop up in response to kid-free venues

An increasing number of restaurants and cafes in Seoul are displaying ”Seoul Kids OK Zone” stickers at their entrances to indicate to customers that they are child-friendly businesses. Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan GovernmentNew child-inclusive campaign helps businesses with promotion, salesBy Ko Dong-hwanA sign in front of a business indicating it is a “NO KIDS ZONE” is posted at an Ediya Coffee shop in May 2022. Korea Times fileUnder the campaign name “Seoul Kids OK Zone,” an increasing number of restaurants and cafes in Seoul are declaring themselves child-friendly by joining a campaign, led by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, to expand facilities accepting customers with toddlers or young children. The campaign began last September when the city government started accepting applications from private businesses in the food and beverage industry interested in helping the city's initiative by serving children and their parents.According to the Happy Parenting Division under the government's Women and Family Policy Affairs Office, the campaign w

Korea-China air routes to be suspended during summer vacation season

A board shows the departure time of flights to Chinese cities at Gimpo International Airport in Seoul, Sunday. YonhapBy Lee Hae-rinKorean airlines are poised to suspend some of their air routes between Korea and China due to a drop in demand over China's travel visa restriction on tour groups to Korea.According to the aviation industry, Tuesday, Korean Air, the country's largest full-service carrier, will suspend its major Korea-China route between Gimpo and Beijing from Aug. 1 to Oct. 28. The route between Incheon and Xiamen will also be halted from Aug. 9 to Oct. 28.Asiana Airlines, Korea's second-largest airline, also announced it would stop serving the Gimpo-Beijing and Incheon-Shenzhen routes in July, after having already suspended its Incheon-Xi'an route last Tuesday.The airlines' measures came as the number of travelers between the two countries remained lower than expected due to China's ban on tour group visas, according to airlines officials.Aviation statistics from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's portal show 120.63 million travelers flew between the tw

Donations pour in for Korean War veteran caught shoplifting

By Jung Min-hoThis photo released by police shows a hand-written letter from a person offering help to a financially struggling Korean War veteran who was recently caught stealing food. Courtesy of Busanjin Police StationDonations are pouring in for a financially struggling Korean War veteran who was caught stealing food. According to police and officials at the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs on Monday, more than 20 people have so far contacted them to ask about ways to help the man who is now in his late 80s. Some offered cash, while others sent food and other daily necessities.They decided to lend a helping hand and joined in following the news that the veteran was being investigated for allegedly stealing several bottles of sesame oil, canned fish and other food products worth 83,000 won ($64) between April and May.After being apprehended, he immediately apologized and said he did so because he did not have enough money to buy food, police explained.After serving in the war, the veteran worked as a fisherman for 30 years. Reportedly, he has two children he has lost cont

DAILY FORTUNE - JUNE 28, 2023

INTERVIEW Kwon Nyung-ho's journey toward abstraction as Paris-based Korean painter

Artist Kwon Nyung-ho poses with his painting after his interview with The Korea Times at his scenic riverside studio in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi Province, May 23. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukBy Park Han-solIt was 1981 when a 25-year-old Kwon Nyung-ho, filled with a pocketful of dreams and desires to see the celebrated works of Old Masters in person, set foot on European soil for the very first time in his life.The budding artist's trip came at a time when Korea still enforced heavy restrictions on overseas travel ― as a result of governmental concerns about foreign currency depletion and people's possible “exposure to communist ideologies.” So with a temporary passport valid for just six months, Kwon added as many cities as he could to his itinerary, including London, Brussels, Rome and Zurich.Everything was going according to plan ― until a fateful encounter with the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris.“It was like a door to heaven for me,” the painter recalled during his recent interview with The Korea Times at his scenic riverside atelier in

DAILY FORTUNE - JUNE 27, 2023

DAILY FORTUNE - JUNE 26, 2023