Lifestyle

Overseas trips, most sought-after post-pandemic activity: survey

People wait to check in at the departure area of Incheon International Airport, Wednesday. Yonhap By Kim RahnKorean and foreign nationals alike said that they want to travel abroad once there is a sense of normalcy after the COVID-19 pandemic is over, a survey revealed, Thursday.According to the survey conducted on 203 foreign nationals and 214 Korean nationals by the Corea Image Communication Institute (CICI) from March 21 to April 4, 96 percent of the foreign respondents and 86.5 percent of Koreans picked overseas trips as the activity they want to do the most when they become free from the concerns of the virus crisis, indicating their desire for overseas travel after more than two years of strict international travel regulations.The second-most sought-after activity is “eating out freely without limits to the size of groups,” with 54.2 percent of foreign nationals and 62.2 percent of Koreans saying so, when multiple answers were allowed. Also, 54.2 percent of fo

Chung Bora shortlisted for 2022 International Booker Prize

Chung Bora, the author of “Cursed Bunny” / Courtesy of ArzakSouth Korean novelist Chung Bora has made it to the shortlist for the 2022 International Booker Prize, one of the three largest literary awards in the world.The author of "Cursed Bunny" was among the six finalists for the British prize, established in 2005 to honor an author and translator equally for a single work of fiction translated into English, the event's organizer announced on social media Thursday (local time).Anton Hur, a Sweden-born Korean who translated the book into English, was also put on the list along with Chung."Cursed Bunny" is a collection of 10 science-fiction short stories on curses and revenge.Novelist Park Sang-young of "Love in the Big City," who was longlisted for the prize together with Chung last month, was not included this time.It is the third time a South Korean author has advanced to the final stage of the prize. Han Kang's "The Vegetarian" and "The White Book" were shortlisted for the prize in 2016 and 2018, respectively, and Han was the winner in 2016.The winner will be announced

DAILY FORTUNE - APRIL 08, 2022

LG honors 4 heroes who saved lives

Clockwise from upper left, Kim Ha-soo, Lee Kwang-won, Lee Ki-sung and Song Young-bong were selected as recipients of the LG Humanitarian Award. / Courtesy of LG FoundationBy Kim Hyun-binLG Foundation has presented awards to four neighborhood heroes for saving the lives of other people. Three of them ― Kim Ha-su, Lee Kwang-won and Song Young-bong ― jumped into the sea to save people who were drowning, and the fourth, Lee Ki-seong, rescued three elderly people from a fire. They were selected as recipients of the LG Humanitarian Award, which was established in 2015.Kim Ha-su, 70, was walking to a convenience store in Geoje City, South Gyeongsang Province, in February when he saw a person floating out in the open sea. Noticing that the man was breathing while not moving at all, Kim went out to rescue him. He immediately took off his coat and jumped into the cold water. “I thought that the life of a young man could be in danger, so I jumped into the water,” Kim said. “Of course, I just did what I had to do.”Lee Kwang-won, 42, meanwhile, was working at a restaurant

Emerging Korean artist brings new perspective to MENA cultures

Kim Sin-ae's Libyan version of “Kiss” inspired by Gustav Klimt's “The Kiss” / Courtesy of Kim Sin-aeBy Kwak Yeon-sooUntil the spring of 2020, Kim Sin-ae put in long hours at work as a ground staffer at Qatar Airways. After the pandemic-related shutdowns hit, like thousands of airline workers, she found her world upended. However, the pandemic granted time and she relished it by finding a new hobby. “During the time I was at home, I did some soul searching. I realized art was something I had to start doing because it felt fulfilling,” she said in a recent interview with The Korea Times.Although she hadn't majored in arts, art had always been a passion of hers. Kim uses an Apple Pencil and iPad to draw digital illustrations. Her works feature Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) cultures because she wants people to reexamine their perceptions of the region.“Living in Qatar for seven years, I got to know the richness and diversity of Arab cultures beyond their distorted portrayals in the media. I noticed that there are very few people who loo

INTERVIEW New generation of Korean literary translators brings more diverse voices to English market

Translators' behind-the-scenes roles deserve wider recognitionBy Park Han-solOn the evening of March 10, Anton Hur was alone in his apartment in Seoul, spending his fifth day in self-isolation after testing positive for COVID-19.What interrupted his aimless stream of thoughts that day was an email from the British publishing house, Honford Star, saying, “Congratulations!”With that, Hur became longlisted for the 2022 International Booker Prize, one of the world's most significant awards celebrating literature translated into English, as the translator of Chung Bora's genre-defying short story collection, “Cursed Bunny.” Now, the rest of his days in quarantine could be spent musing about how his life might change.Then, another email came, this time from the publisher Tilted Axis Press. Park Sang-young's queer novel, “Love in the Big City,” which he had also translated, had been nominated for the International Booker prize as well!“That was when I was like, is this a joke? A prank? A COVID-19 fever dream?” the 41-year-old translator recall

Tourism sector excited as outbound rush set to begin

Fully vaccinated passengers queue up in the international departures area at Incheon International Airport, Sunday. YonhapBy Lee Hae-rinThe ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which entered its third year in January, has been akin to torture for travel-loving Koreans as they have been discouraged from traveling overseas. The interior ministry's announcement on Wednesday increasing the weekly number of international flights to the United States, Europe and other quarantine-free countries by 100 flights starting next month came as a relief by signaling a looming resumption of outbound tourism. Tourists and those who are engaged in the local tourism sector, including travel agencies, are excited about the resumption of overseas tourism. “The past more than two years of the pandemic has felt so long and frustrating as we were discouraged to travel overseas,” Kim Yoon-ah, 29, a Pangyo-based educator, told The Korea Times, Wednesday. “Now that the quarantine restrictions have been lifted for travelers, I am ready to go anywhere possible.”Another person, Ki Soo-hee, a Seoul-

'Not Seoul' photography exhibition allows audience to interpret city in own way

Street photographer Chae Kyung-wan, who goes by his penname, K. Chae / Courtesy of K. ChaePhotographer captures streets of Seoul during COVID-19 pandemic By Kwak Yeon-sooChae Kyung-wan, who goes by his penname, K. Chae, is a street photographer who travels around the world to express what he sees with photography. He takes pictures of people, cityscapes, landscapes, wildlife and anything of interest in his path.He has traveled to 85 countries to capture unrehearsed moments in life. His most recent plan to travel to Central Asia was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing him more time to capture the beauty of Seoul instead.“I always thought I would take pictures of Seoul when I grew older and found travel uncomfortable. Until the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Seoul was the place where I spent time in the off-season. But things have changed over the past two years,” he said during an interview with The Korea Times, Tuesday. Chae started roaming the streets of Seoul and capturing small moments that people often miss. However, he explained that his approach to taking pictures

Among outstanding journalists in Korea

The Korea Times reporter Ko Dong-hwan, right, who writes for the politics and city desk, receives an award at the annual Korean Association of Newspapers Award at Press Center in downtown Seoul, Wednesday. The award recognized 54 winners from different local news outlets nationwide who helped their companies contribute to improving the country's journalism industry. The award was held a day before the National Newspaper Day. Courtesy of Korean Association of Newspapers

Jeju pushes to resume visa waiver program for int'l travelers

Jeju International Airport / Korea Times file The southern island of Jeju is moving to resume its visa waiver program for international travelers, which has been suspended for the past two years during the COVID-19 pandemic, local officials said Wednesday.Jeju Province officials have recently visited the culture, land and justice ministries and requested they discuss the reinstatement of visa-free entry during upcoming meetings of the central COVID-19 response body, they said.Local business and tourism organizations have also lobbied political parties and government agencies to have the suspension lifted.The policy aimed at boosting tourism on the resort island was introduced in 2002, allowing international travelers to stay for up to 30 days without a visa.The measure was halted Feb. 4, 2020, following the outbreak of the pandemic. International flights were also suspended at Jeju International Airport in April 2020.With the latest wave of infections showing signs