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Joseon Images 'Wind Eaters' - Bicycling in Seoul

Bicycles at Byeokjegwan in Gyeonggi Province, circa 1910-1930s. /Courtesy of Diane Nars CollectionBy Robert NeffIn the mid-1890s, bicycles were extremely popular in Korea, especially in the foreign community. Foreign bicyclists zipped through the streets veering around lumbering oxen, dodging the hooves and teeth of cantankerous Korean ponies, laughing at the yapping dogs and barely avoiding collisions with Korean pedestrians who were amazed and irritated with the antics of their foreign guests. It wasn't long before progressive young Koreans began to covet these “wind eaters.” Yun Chi-ho, a Korean official, was said to have been one of the first Koreans to ride a bicycle in Seoul. His exploits were the talk of the town and his bicycling skill was attributed to the supernatural. Others soon followed.In a letter home, an American missionary described her neighbor, a young Korean nobleman, riding his bicycle proudly through the streets:“[He] goes sailing by on a nice new street that is just done and looks very fine. He wears his usual hat, tho I don't see how he keeps

Mar 24, 2020
[Joseon Images] 'Wind Eaters' - Bicycling in Seoul

Superfood company provides Bad*ss meals

Bad*ss Superfood meal / Courtesy of Melanie KimBy Hallie BradleyAs people around the country are sitting at home, avoiding strangers, but still trying to maintain some normalcy, eating habits have likely gone out the door. But they shouldn't. It is exactly when an illness is sweeping the country that a strong immune system is vital and Melanie Kim, creator and owner of Bad*ss Superfood is delivering natural plant-based meals to doorsteps to keep those immune systems strong and at fighting capacity. “Our meals are optimized with the perfect balance of plant-based protein, hydrating fresh produce and nutrient-dense superfood ingredients,” Kim explained.A superfood is a food that is considered especially beneficial for health and well-being. Nutritionally dense foods like blueberries, kale, salmon, sweet potatoes, nuts and acai berries are often cited as some of the top superfoods as they contain antioxidants, healthy fats and phytochemicals. “People tend to underestimate the power of natural food and superfoods because we're so used to eating convenience-store-process

Mar 24, 2020
Superfood company provides Bad*ss meals

Expats caught ignoring anti-coronavirus directions to face deportation

Workers prepare to disinfect as a precaution against the new coronavirus at a local market in Seoul, Wednesday. APBy Jung Min-hoThe government said Thursday it will deport foreigners who do not comply with COVID-19 measures despite being suspected or confirmed of having the coronavirus.The Ministry of Justice has unveiled stronger measures against foreigners who do not follow health authorities' requests to be tested, treated or quarantined.“If they refuse to comply with requests by health officials, we will immediately enforce the new rules, including deportation and entry ban,” the ministry said.If any foreigners cause financial damage by violating the health measures, the ministry said it will continue to seek compensation from them.The ministry said it made the decision after a foreigner, who had been confirmed to have the virus, refused to follow the self-quarantine guideline and visited shops and restaurants. The ministry did not reveal details of the incident.In an unprecedented move, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a level-1 travel advisory for all countrie

Mar 19, 2020By Jung Min-ho
Expats caught ignoring anti-coronavirus directions to face deportation

Korean-American business leader committed to Korea-US friendship

By Kang Seung-wooSunny Park, founder of U.S.-based janitorial service company General Building Maintenance, has endowed a scholarship of $220,000 (273 million won) to Berry College in Georgia, which will fund two American students to study in Korea, a move to promote better cultural understanding.Sunny Park, president of the American Korean Friendship Society / Korea Times filePark, who also serves as president of the American Korean Friendship Society, has funded the General Davis Korean-American Friendship Scholarship for 11 years, named after the late Korean War veteran. “I intend to play a role in helping Korea and the United States build friendly cooperation,” Park said in a media interview.“Many students of Berry College will be able to learn about Korea and the scholarship program is a way to express gratitude to the deceased Korean War veterans and their descendants.”Under the scholarship program, two seniors of the college will participate in the Bahrom International Program at Seoul Women's University or another similar program in Korea, which is exp

Mar 18, 2020By Kang Seung-woo
Korean-American business leader committed to Korea-US friendship

South Dakota woman faces difficulty teaching in South Korea due to coronavirus

By Morgan MatzenMar. 15 ― A South Dakota woman who is on a visa to teach English in a private elementary school in Busan, South Korea, is unable to work because her school is closed over concerns with the coronavirus.Tatum Dean, who is from Mitchell, S.D. and graduated from the University of South Dakota in December 2018, moved to Busan in June last year. Her E-2 visa lasts as long as she has a job at her school Chungdahm, but she's on a one-year contract to teach.South Korea is the site of the second-largest coronavirus outbreak. The CDC has advised a Level 3 warning level for South Korea since February 24 for people to avoid any nonessential travel to and from the country.The worst impact is in Daegu ― about an hour-long bus ride from Busan ― where the virus spread rapidly throughout the city after a 61-year-old woman exhibiting symptoms of the virus went to her Sunday church service at the Shincheonji Church of Jesus building in mid-February.After that service, health officials diagnosed the anonymous woman as South Korea's 31st coronavirus patient, and declared her Patient Zero f

Mar 17, 2020

Reading Korean history, culture in early magazines

A cover of The Korea Magazine/ Courtesy of Steven ShieldsBy Steven L. Shields(slshields@gmail.com}As we in Korea are hunkering down during the current health crisis, the Royal Asiatic Society-Korea Branch (RASKB) has made available an electronic version of The Korea Magazine (1917-19) for your reading enjoyment. James Scarth Gale, the publisher, was a Canadian Presbyterian missionary educator who arrived in Korea in 1888. Unlike the more general nature of the earlier periodicals, The Korea Magazine was billed as a missionary monthly. Reading some of Gale's comments in the final edition of the magazine, it seems clear that freedom of the press was severely restricted by the Japanese imperialist authorities. It is well known the Japanese wanted to suppress and erase the Korean language and culture.Among some of the first Westerners who lived in Korea were many prolific writers and scholars. They had few outlets for their writing, so some of the more enterprising among them started English-language magazines. The names of the editors, publishers and writers in these early periodicals ar

Mar 17, 2020
Reading Korean history, culture in early magazines

Krav Maga studio relocates to Gangnam

Gideon Roth, right, works with a student on hand-to-hand defense and combat/ Courtesy of Krav Maga SeoulBy Hallie Bradley “It's no secret, although people often act like it is, that women are targeted more, assaulted more, threatened more and attacked more than men. As a young girl my biggest fear was assault, and especially sexual assault,” began Krav Maga Federation (KMF) Korea instructor and manager Rachel Goodgion. Formerly a student, Rachel attended Krav Maga classes avidly under head instructor Gideon Roth and lead instructor Gareth Anthony and is now an instructor herself. “Now, I know that wherever I go, I am safe as long as I'm breathing. I'm not afraid to go certain places anymore either. I'm not afraid, and I'm absolutely dying to educate other women about self-defense and bring that confidence back to us all,” Goodgion said. “I want to see women being as powerful as they really are, and most importantly, remind women that they, themselves, are worth defending.”KMF Korea, the only legitimate certified Krav Maga gym in this part of Asia,

Mar 17, 2020
Krav Maga studio relocates to Gangnam

Joseon Images The First Noble Patient

Members of the Korean Foreign Office in Seoul circa 1883/84. Robert Neff CollectionBy Robert NeffHorace N. Allen is often credited as being the first Western doctor to live and work in Korea. But that honor goes to an American doctor named Huntington who came to Korea in 1883 to work for the Korean Customs Service ― he only lasted a few weeks before he was fired. Huntington's replacement was Allen, who arrived in the summer of 1884. For the most part, he led a relatively quiet life in Seoul until the Gapsin Coup on Dec. 4, 1884. During a party held to celebrate the inauguration of the postal service, Prince Min Yong-ik ― described as “one of the most prominent Corean noblemen [and] cousin to the queen” ― heard a fire alarm and rushed out to investigate. He was attacked by a sword-wielding assassin and received horrendous wounds before he managed to stumble back inside.In his diary, Allen wrote that when he arrived at the building he found the prince “in horrible condition all blood and gore and attended by fourteen Corean doctors who made great objections to my hero

Mar 10, 2020By Robert Neff
[Joseon Images] The First Noble Patient

KBeauty Collective brings cosmetics companies forward

A group of KBeauty enthusiasts post in face masks at a KBeauty Collective event./ Courtesy of Unity JacksonBy Hallie Bradley“Beauty is a concept. Beauty is a state of mind. Caring for yourself is not vanity. And we're a bit tired of businesses trying to control the review game and turn it into a marketing mouthpiece,” explained Unity Jackson, one of the founders of the KBeauty Collective that was launched last year. Along with Dot Moore, the two KBeauty enthusiasts began the collective for independent beauty bloggers, skincare fans and Korean beauty beginners in order to stand up against the industry's 'marketing machine,' and instead share real and honest information about Korean skincare products. They take reviewing to the next level by testing products on the collective's members so that they can learn and share more extensively. The independent group does not sell, market or produce any beauty products but seeks to provide the best information for people of any age, and with any skin type, shade or sensitivity. Both Moore and Jackson are longtime beauty product revie

Mar 10, 2020
KBeauty Collective brings cosmetics companies forward

'Passion Island' or 'Yeoljeongdo' amid Yongsan highrises

A restaurant that sells yeoljeong galbi (that could be translated as “passion ribs”) in Namyeong-dong, Seoul. / Korea Times photo by Kim Ji-sooBy Kim Ji-sooLarge-scale apartment redevelopment projects are fast changing Seoul's landscape. Towering concrete blocks stand in spaces once occupied by small businesses in two-story buildings. In that sense, visiting the neighborhood known as “Yeoljeongdo,” or Passion Island, near the former USO building and Namyeong Station in northern Seoul, is like walking into another time zone.Surrounded by 21st century high-rises, Yeoljeongdo has only small buildings that look like they might date back to the late 1970s or 1980s and fill a few of the Namyeong-dong streets. The stores' exteriors mostly exhibit a gritty version of Korea and seem to hark back to a time that only those over 50 may recall. Hearty Korean dishes are to be found on many of the menus here, like roast pork belly and kimchi stew. The area has pork rib restaurants, bakeries with a building structure reminiscent of Korean snack shops frequently seen in the la

Mar 10, 2020By Kim Ji-soo
'Passion Island' or 'Yeoljeongdo' amid Yongsan highrises
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