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2011 Safe Seoul Festival

By Shim Hyun-chul More and more disasters are occurring around the earth, including the recent earthquake in Japan, tornados in the United States and volcanic eruption in Iceland. Though humans cannot overcome the power of Mother Nature, safety education would at least minimize damage from such natural disasters. Fire engines, firefighting helicopters, ambulances and other rescue equipment all gathered in Yeouido Park, Seoul, last week, for the 2011 Safe Seoul Festival, co-hosted by Seoul City and Samsung Fire and Marine Insurance. Children, along with parents and teachers, experienced various programs, from those on fire and disasters to traffic accidents and other daily dangers. This was the festival’s fifth year and it has become the largest of its kind in Korea. This year an earthquake experience facility was installed to provide citizens with chances to try an evacuation drill during earthquake and some 100 firefighters and more than 20 safety related organizations joined the festival.

May 26, 2011

Coming-of-Age Day

By Shim Hyun-chul In Korea, at 19 one can apply for a driver’s license and buy liquor and tobacco. No more parents’ consent for signing up for a credit card or taking out insurance. Coming of age allows people to do some 150 things they couldn’t do previously. Of course, this freedom comes with legal responsibility. The third Monday of May is “Coming-of-Age Day.” Teenagers who turn 19 celebrate the day with friends, family and lovers. The coming-of-age ceremony has existed in Korea for a long time. When a child becomes an adult, the males wear a “gat,” a Korean traditional hat made of bamboo and horsehair, and the females tie up their hair in a bun during the ceremony, and the custom dates back to the Goryeo Kingdom (936-1332). On Monday, a coming-of-age ceremony was held at Namsan Hanok Village, central Seoul. Some 139,000 people born in 1991 became an adult that day and were told about morals that adults should know, wearing traditional Korean costume. At the event, 20 foreigners who also came of age experienced the traditional culture.

May 19, 2011

Play Haechi!

By Shim Hyun-chul One horn comes out of the yellow head. The lion-like body is covered with scales and wears a bell around its neck. It has wing-like feathers and is known to live by a swamp in summer and pine forest in winner. This is an imaginary animal named Haechi, which is believed to guard the royal palaces. Standing for justice and integrity, the mythical animal was chosen as a symbol of Seoul City in 2008. The "Play Haechi" exhibition at Dongdaemun History and Culture Park in downtown Seoul sees the imaginary animal taking a step closer to Seoulites, especially children. The exhibition is composed of seven themes and introduces the background of Haechi and how it was selected to represent Seoul City. A variety of programs await young visitors. Children can work out puzzles, make Haechi's face with clay or sing along to "Haechi Song." They can also read Haechi fairy tales, watch animations and play games. The exhibition runs through Jun 18 and admission is free. Call (02) 2266-7188 or visit http://blog.naver.com/playhaechi for more information.

May 12, 2011

Hwajinpo Aquarium

By Shim Hyun-chul Who collected all this shellfish? The place reminds one of early days, collecting shells on the beach. After passing the shellfish room, visitors walk into an underwater heaven, where fish swim overhead and coral reefs roll gently in the tunnel-shaped aquarium. The Hwajinpo Aquarium, one of the largest in its kind on Korea’s east coast, is located in Goseong-gun, Gangwon Province. Visitors can look out on the beautiful scenery by the East Sea and Hwajinpo Lake at the ship-shaped aquarium. The aquarium displays some 40,000 shellfish of 1,500 species including rare specimens, crustaceans and coral reefs, and the fish exhibition, which houses about 3,000 fish in a 300-ton overhead underwater tunnel. There is a 3-D theater on the second floor, featuring films such as “Hwajinpo Becomes a Lake,” “Ocean Day,” and “Amazing Underwater Trip.” For more information, visit www.hwajinpoaquarium.com or call (033) 682-7300. shim@koreatimes.co.kr

May 5, 2011

Experience with your five senses

By Shim Hyun-chul The aromatic smell of powdered soybean for injeolmi, a kind of glutinous rice cake, fills the room. Some 20 visually-impaired people gathered for a rice cake making course at the National Folk Museum of Korea, next to Gyeongbok Palace, central Seoul. Though they cannot see the “dough” they hold, they can feel the warm and soft rice cake with their hands. After making it, they taste it and feel its glutinous texture fully in their mouth. Park Ok-ja, who is visually-impaired, and participated in the program, said it gave her an opportunity to make rice cakes by herself. "I was diffident about cooking by myself, but it was more fun and meaningful than I expected. I will try it at home," Park said. The museum offers customized experience programs for the physically challenged. The "Five Senses Folk Experience" program aims to provide the real experience of traditional culture such as rice cake making through the various senses including sound, touch, taste and smell. There are two courses in the program ― rice cake making and pottery making ― available f

Apr 21, 2011

Yeouido Spring Flower Festival

The smell of cherry blossoms adds sweetness to the spring breeze of Yeouido. The pale pink of flimsy petals of the cherry blossom falls slowly. The seventh Han River Yeouido Spring Flower Festival is held through Monday at Yeouiseo-ro, a street located at the back of the National Assembly Building. The annual festival features some 1,440 cherry blossom trees along with azalea shrubs, forsythia flowers, magnolia and apricot trees decorating the street, also known as Yunjung-no. Street performances such as mime and modern dance will be staged during the festival and florists will exhibit floral decorations. The organizer is lending running shoes and baby carriages as a part of a “women-friendly” festival project. The Yeongdeungpo District Office regulates traffic for the festival — the 1.7-kilometer section from the southern part of Seogang Bridge to Yeoui2 Bridge and from Mapo Bridge to Yeoui-downstream Interchange. The venue is close to Yeouinaru Station on subway line No. 5 and the National Assembly Station on subway line No. 9. A shuttle bus for the venue op

Apr 14, 2011

Forsythia festival

By Shim Hyun-chul Luscious breezes and warm sunshine welcome in spring, as flower buds wait their time to show off their blossoms. Yellow forsythia flowers cover the mountains — a yellow watercolor on a blank canvas and a child writing a poem under forsythia blooms also greets the new season. The 14th Mt. Eungbong Forsythia Festival was held Wednesday, creating a jubilee amid the cascade of yellow. Elementary school students took part in drawing and writing contests, soaking up the sunlight. The festival venue is close to the center of town and less crowded than other spring festivals, making a perfect destination for a spring outing with family or a lover. It is especially popular among young students, as the “messenger of spring.” Mt. Eungbong, located near Eungbong Station on the Jungang subway line, is more like a small hill, taking only about 10 minutes to climb to the top. But the mountain is one of the best places to see a night view of downtown Seoul and the Han River, as well as sunrise on the river.

Apr 7, 2011

Hwagae market

By Han Sang-hee Before Internet shopping malls and offline outlets, Koreans used to gather around marketplaces to purchase food, medicine and other daily necessities. Some markets were once-a-month events, while others were held once every three to five days. Hwagae Market, located near Mt. Jiri, was one of the most popular markets in the country. Located between the two provinces of Jeolla and Gyeongsang, it was an ideal place to buy goods from both areas and it still runs as a market, as well as become a popular tourist spot. The main products at the market were and still are mountain vegetables. When The Korea Times visited last month, sellers were getting ready for another busy day, displaying their newest products, arranging their fresh and dried vegetables at the front and making samples for visitors to try. Next to the market are small stalls where you can taste local food, from corbicula soup and fried sweetfish to sweetfish sushi. With more people questioning the origin of products the market has also arranged colorful and welcoming signs on the stalls, complete

Mar 31, 2011

Spring herbs

By Shim Hyun-chul Taste young, fresh herbs this spring, budding amid winter’s last cold spell. Local markets are filled with a variety of spring greens, boasting their yellowish green color and full of the fragrance of the new season. Shepherd’s purse is a typical Korean spring green. Full of vitamins, calcium, iron and phosphorus the herb is a tonic for lethargic people as the seasons change. Edible shoots of fatsia are usually served parboiled and with red pepper paste and vinegar. SSeumbagwi, a bitterish lettuce, and mugwort should also not be missed. How about a bowl of green bibimbap, rice with assorted vegetables, for lunch today?

Mar 24, 2011

Urban agriculture

By Shim Hyun-chul Imagine having fresh, healthy vegetables on your table right from kitchen garden, adding green to gray, dreary city. Residents of Gangdong District in eastern Seoul can have their own garden, full of fresh vegetables. The district launched environment-friendly urban agriculture project last week, promoting a vegetable garden for a house campaign. Aiming to fight climate change and prevent urban heat island effect, the district encourages its residents to raise their own vegetable. At the proclamation ceremony of the project on March 8, urban agriculture experts introduced how to make small indoor gardens with garbage furniture or polystyrene boxes and distributed seedlings for free. The ward office has developed urban vegetable patches in Dunchon-dong and plans to expand the patches to Gangil, Goduk and Amsa area this year. In the long-term, the district will create a museum of agriculture and Agri-park, combining farming experience with tourism.

Mar 17, 2011By Shim Hyun-chul

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