Lifestyle

Korea, China agree to increase flights to pre-pandemic levels

Korean and Chinese aviation authorities have agreed to gradually increase the number of flights on their bilateral routes to pre-pandemic levels, the Korean transport ministry said Friday. Korea Times fileKorean and Chinese aviation authorities have agreed to gradually increase the number of flights on their bilateral routes to pre-pandemic levels, the Korean transport ministry said Friday.Seoul and Beijing have the rights to provide 608 flights a week on routes to each other's country, and they used to offer a combined 1,100 weekly flights before the COVID-19 hit the airline industry three years ago, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement. "Korean carriers used to offer 450 to 470 flights a week on their routes to China before COVID-19. The flights to China accounted for one-fourth of their international flights," a ministry official said over the phone. Local airlines are expected to initially increase the number of flights on routes to Beijing, Shanghai, Qingdao and Yanji this month, the statement said. The move comes as Korea lifted a polymerase ch

DAILY FORTUNE - MARCH 03, 2023

INTERVIEW CEO of gardening club on mission to make cities greener

Seoul Gardening Club offers green landscape services and runs two shared gardening spaces. Courtesy of Seoul Gardening ClubBy Lee Gyu-lee Living in the hustle and bustle of a city, especially a heavily-populated metropolis like Seoul, often makes you want to push the pause button and look for a refreshing, peaceful break that only nature can offer.Lee Ga-young, CEO of Seoul Gardening Club / Courtesy of Seoul Gardening ClubWould it be possible to introduce some lush green flora into the lives of busy city residents? That was the question Lee Ga-young, the CEO of Seoul Gardening Club, had in mind when she founded her green landscaping startup.After opening in 2019, the company has provided a range of green services, including landscape planning, design, branding, and consulting.Referring to itself as a “green lifestyle developer,” Seoul Gardening Club provides unconventional ways to incorporate plants and nature into people's everyday lives, such as shared gardening. It runs two shared gardening spaces ― in Dongjak and Seongdong districts ― where members are each assigned t

Syrian family builds hope through taekwondo at Azraq refugee camp

From left, Syrian refugees Doaa Al-Ayoub, 8, Muhammad Al-Ayoub, 46, Othman Al-Ayoub, 16, and Rena Al-Ayoub, 12, pose in taekwondo uniforms at the Azraq refugee camp in Jordan, Saturday. The four Al-Ayoubs reached taekwondo's highest grade of black belt at the camp's taekwondo academy established by World Taekwondo and Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation while taking shelter at the facility since 2016. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul'Taekwondo breaks down all barriers between people'By Lee Hae-rinAZRAQ, Jordan ― Taekwondo runs in the six-member Al-Ayoub family from Syria and offers a chance for a better life within and outside the refugee camp where they have lived since 2016. The family fled from a rural village in their homeland Syria to neighboring Jordan at the outbreak of the civil war. While taking shelter at the Azraq refugee camp, established and managed by the Jordanian government and the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees 100 kilometers east of the capital Amman, the family found the traditional Korean martial art to be an “outlet in which we feel comfortable”

DAILY FORTUNE - MARCH 02, 2023

Artist Kim Hee-cheon wins 20th Hermes Foundation Missulsang

A scene from artist Kim Hee-cheon's single-channel video “Deep in the Forking Tanks” (2019) / Courtesy of the artist, Fondation d'entreprise HermesBy Park Han-solArtist Kim Hee-cheon / Courtesy of Fondation d'entreprise HermesArtist Kim Hee-cheon, whose video works incorporate technological interfaces to question how our present-day reality is perceived and understood, has been named the winner of the 20th Hermes Foundation Missulsang, according to the foundation, Monday.“Kim's work utilizes technology used by everyone in their daily lives to address the most challenging and urgent questions that have emerged in the current digital era ― namely, the reconstruction of the human body, emotions, memory, imagination and ultimately, self-awareness,” the international jury of six said in its comment.“His pieces lay bare our existence that constantly oscillates between the real and the virtual, hope and uncertainty and pleasure and danger.”Launched in 2000 by Hermes Korea with an aim to recognize rising talents in Korea's contemporary art scene, the bienn

DAILY FORTUNE - MARCH 01, 2023

US journalist spotlighted for promoting March 1 Independence Movement

U.S. journalist Albert Taylor (1875-1948) / Captured from Seo Kyung-duk's Facebook accountBy Dong Sun-hwaAlbert Taylor (1875-1948), a U.S. journalist who played an important role in promoting Korea's March 1 Independence Movement against Japan's forced occupation, is being spotlighted again.Star producer Na Young-seok ― who created popular variety shows including the “Three Meals a Day” series ― and Seo Kyung-duk, a social activist and professor of general education at Sungshin Women's University, unveiled a YouTube video featuring Taylor on Tuesday, marking the 104th anniversary of the 1919 uprising against Japanese colonial rule over the peninsula.The four-minute clip illuminates the life of the former Associated Press (AP) correspondent who first wired Korea's Declaration of Independence to foreign media despite Japan's strict surveillance.“The Declaration of Korea's Independence says that it represents the voice of 20,000,000 persons, speaking in the name of justice and humanity,” read his 1919 article.Taylor also laid bare the atrocities committed by Impe

Gucci to hold fashion show at royal palace in May after cancellation

This photo taken on June 23, 2021, shows a front yard of Geunjeongjeon Hall, Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul, Korea. Courtesy of Park Jun-gyuItalian luxury brand Gucci will hold a fashion show at a royal place in Seoul in May, about six months after the event was canceled due to the Itaewon crowd crush, the Korean cultural heritage authority said Tuesday.According to the Cultural Heritage Administration, a department of its subcommittee in charge of preserving and managing royal palaces and tombs has recently conditionally approved a plan to hold the Gucci Fashion Show at Gyeongbok Palace on May 16 during a recent meeting.The event was originally scheduled for Nov. 1 but was canceled as the country was in grief after a total of 159 people were killed in the crowd crush during Halloween celebrations in Seoul's Itaewon neighborhood on Oct. 29.This Aug. 24, 2022 image file captured from the Instagram of Vogue Korea shows its photo taken at Cheong Wa Dae. Courtesy of Vogue KoreaIf the show is held in front of Geunjeongjeon, the main hall at the palace, as planned, it will mark the first ti

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