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Chicken and Waffles in SeoulIArtSeoul will be hosting their second brunch pop-up on Sunday. This time they will be serving?waffles made by Chef Emily Walden Harris and homemade fried chicken prepared by “Chef Jonathan.”Chef Jonathan is a seasoned private chef with a Bachelor's Degree in Culinary Arts Management from the Culinary Institute of America, and has worked in numerous positions in over 16 countries,?ranging from sous chef, culinary arts instructor, and as a managing partner. Chef Jonathan also has several distinctions further corroborating his talents, such as Certified Executive Chef, Certified Culinary Educator and Certified Food Service Management Professional. For more information on Chef Jonathan visit his website. http://chefjohnathan.com/home/Brunch includes?a main dish, a dessert and bottomless mimosas or a beer bucket for 35 000 won.The two brunch seating will take place from 11am to 1pm and then from 1pm to 3pm. For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/iartseoul.Seoul Players call for directorsSeoul Players has placed an open call for direct

Jun 4, 2019

DMZ music fest dances for 'borderless world'

DJ Jigue, founder of Cuba's Guampara Music / Courtesy of Guampara Music By Jon DunbarThis weekend's DMZ Peace Train Music Festival is unlike other summer music festivals in Korea, partly because of its message of peace and partly due to its location in Cheorwon County, Gangwon Province, a stone's throw away from North Korea. “The DMZ Peace Train Music Festival brings together an outstanding line-up of South Korean and international artists to sing songs of peace and transcend politics, economy, and ideology to experience freedom and peace,” the festival organizers said in a press statement. The headliners of the festival this year, its second edition, are former Velvet Underground founding member John Cale performing with Se So Neon frontwoman of So!YoON!, as well as half-Korean Chinese rock legend Cui Jian and Korean folk duo Chung Tae-chun and Park Eun-ok who celebrate their 40th anniversary this year. The festival's acts come from far and wide, representing count

Jun 4, 2019By Jon Dunbar
DMZ music fest dances for 'borderless world'

Joseon Images Buried at Yanghwajin's cemetery for foreigners

Seoul Foreigners' Cemetery at Yanghwajin in western Seoul / Courtesy of Robert NeffBy Robert Neff The Jeong-dong area, with its beautiful old churches, diplomatic compounds and Deoksu Palace, is often associated with the history of early Korean-Western relations. But there is another place that, according to historian Donald N. Clark, “encompasses more of the history of the West in Korea than in any area of like size” ― Seoul Foreigners' Cemetery at Yanghwajin.This cemetery, located between the Han River and Hapjeong Station on Seoul Metro lines 2 and 6, is the final resting place of about 400 people ― mainly Americans and Europeans. As Clark noted, “a walk along the cemetery paths is a tour through the entire century of the Western impact on Korean life.”Amongst the gravestones are tales of young lives ended before they really began; love rivalries and socially frowned-upon romances; victims of disease, accidents and conflict; and even a few of long, happy lives. Every stone represents a life and history that should be remembered. Like the stones of its inhab

Jun 4, 2019
[Joseon Images] Buried at Yanghwajin's cemetery for foreigners

Wasteupso aims to end grocery waste

Wasteupso founder Kychele Boone, right, poses with Seong Hyeon-jin, owner of Kew and Leaves tea store which hosted a Wasteupso pop-up event on May 12. / Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar By Jon DunbarThe community-based zero-waste grocery store Wasteupso is having a demo day on June 15 at Happiness Studio, near Noksapyeong Station on Seoul Metro Line 6. Its stand-out name meaning “no waste” in Korean, Wasteupso aims to revolutionize the grocery shopping experience in Korea.“The name aims to be as literal as possible while still making people think,” Wasteupso founder Kychele Boone told The Korea Times. “Most zero-waste shops have a name that is not as literal which has a tendency to confuse consumers or it is simply overlooked altogether. I wanted the name to stand out and be noticed for what our overall goal is and not just a trend in the current market.”Wasteupso has been hosting pop-up events so far, with the aim to open a brick-and-mortar store.“Our overall aim fo

Jun 4, 2019By Jon Dunbar
Wasteupso aims to end grocery waste

Jung Woo-sung campaigns for better treatment of refugees in Korea

Actor Jung Woo-sung, 46, listens as reporters ask him questions during a press conference in the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Seoul, Tuesday. He met reporters to share his experiences about the Rohingya people at Kutupalong Refugee Camp in Bangladesh. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukActor says hatred doesn't help, laments fabricated stories about Yemeni refugees By Jung Hae-myoung Cause-driven celebrities are rare in Korea. Stars are usually cautious when asked to voice their opinions about sensitive issues, such as refugees, because their candid views could backfire and invite a backlash and bombardment from people who don't agree with them. Jung Woo-sung is not one of them. Jung, who is well-known as a celebrity with “few bad comments” partly because he is portrayed as a man of integrity and good deeds, did not shy away from speaking up for the human rights of refugees, a highly sensitive issue that divided the nation last year after a total of over 500 Yemeni refugees arrived on the southern scenic island of Jeju from January to Ma

Jun 2, 2019
Jung Woo-sung campaigns for better treatment of refugees in Korea

Seoul hospital welfare helps Yemeni refugee couple with premature baby

Alsa, right, and Mahmood, second from right, listen to Cheung Youn-joo, left, interpreting as a nurse explains signs to watch for that might show the baby is getting sick. Korea Times photo by Ko Dong-hwan By Ko Dong-hwanOn May 28, two days after the birth of Alsa and Mahmood's daughter at Seoul Medical Center, the parents learn from a maternity nurse how to care for the infant after they leave the hospital the following day. Born weighing 2.48 kilograms in the 37th week of Alsa's pregnancy through a natural delivery, the baby is in a postpartum care unit while the Yemeni refugees' eyes are riveted on a Korean interpreter speaking Arabic in a small room next to the delivery unit.The baby was not quite normal ― her brain seemed to have stopped developing five weeks prior to the delivery, making her head smaller than the medical norm and its shape a little out of proportion. When Alsa's labor pains began, Mahmood did not realize she was about to give birth. This delay

Jun 2, 2019By Ko Dong-hwan

Small restaurants struggling to revive Gyeongnidan-gil

The lower end of Gyeongnidan-gil, once lively with walk-in shops and restaurants, now offers mostly darkened storefronts at the ground level. / Korea Times photo by Jon DunbarBy Kyung LeeAs the tally of empty spaces increases along Gyeongnidan-gil in Seoul's foreign neighborhood Itaewon, existing small businesses refuse to hang up their gloves in a fight to re-nurture the charms that once enlivened the neighborhood's diverse appeal.By employing their own grassroots methods, restaurateurs located in alleyways diverging from the main street say it is imperative they maintain close-knit relationships with other struggling owners while potential customers continue to overlook what Gyeongnidan-gil still has to offer. “We obviously welcome and build connections with new businesses,” said Anna Kim, co-owner of the nearly two-year-old brunch cafe Summer Lane. “If there are establishments nearby that are successful, we would like to share with them insights that can attract a larger inflow of customers.”Between the bars, cafes, boutiques and other shops that operate in

May 28, 2019

Auspicious beginnings for RASKB's annual Garden Party

The Royal Asiatic Society Korea Branch (RASKB) Garden Party is held at Habib House, the U.S. Ambassador's residence in Jeong-dong, central Seoul, in June 2015. / Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar By Steven L. ShieldsOn May 2, 1959, a tea party for members of the Royal Asiatic Society Korea Branch (RASKB) was held at Changdeok Palace, in the private garden of Her Imperial Majesty the Empress Dowager of Korea. Popularly known by expatriates as Queen Yun, she hosted several events for members of the RASKB until her death in 1966. Not only did Her Majesty welcome members into her private residence, but she also arranged for special tours of the palace and gardens, as well as Jongmyo, the royal ancestral shrine. Those places were closed to the public in those days and remained inaccessible for many years. The queen also organized concerts of traditional court music, exhibitions of art and other cultural events for the RASKB.Queen Yun was the widow of the last emperor of Ko

May 28, 2019By Jon Dunbar

Masonic lodge holds charity concert

Members of Lodge Han Yang pay a recent visit to Haesimwon Orphanage Seoul. / Courtesy of Lodge Han YangBy Jon DunbarNot many people here know the Freemasons have a lodge in Seoul. And that may be just how a secret society wants it. However, Lodge Han Yang, opened exactly 110 years ago today, doesn't shy away from the greater community when it comes to making a difference.Lodge Han Yang is planning a charity concert in support of Haesimwon Orphanage Seoul this Friday at View 33 Itaewon. Performers include Jay and Yoomi, The Jazzda Brothers, Krishnapelli & Friends, JangJak Groove and DJ Big Easy.On May 29, 1909, that same lodge was opened and consecrated somewhere in Jeong-dong, an area in central Seoul known for its foreign legations. It has seen a lot of turbulence throughout its history. Not much is known about its early years. What is remembered was published in 1953 in the Grand Lodge of Scotland Yearbook, and further updates were prepared in 1995 and 2005. We know it started small, with membership of around 30 for the first few years, composed mostly of foreign merchants, mis

May 28, 2019By Jon Dunbar

No. of foreign residents in Korea up 8.6% last year

The number of foreigners staying in Korea increased by nearly 9 percent in 2018. gettyimagesbankThe number of foreigners staying in South Korea increased by nearly 9 percent last year, with the rate of illegal foreign workers also rising 15 percent, government data showed Tuesday.According to data released by the Ministry of Justice, 2,367,607 foreigners were residing in the country as of the end of 2018, marking a rise of 8.6 percent from a year earlier.As a result, the proportion of foreigners, including short-term stayers, in the nation's population rose to 4.57 percent last year, compared with 3.5 percent in 2014. In other words, between four and five out of 100 people in South Korea are foreigners.By nationality, Chinese nationals, including ethnic Koreans, still form the largest group of foreign nationals, accounting for 45.2 percent, or 1,070,566, of the foreign population, the ministry said.Thais came next with 197,764 residents (8.4 percent), followed by Vietnamese with 196,633 (8.3 percent), Americans with 151,018 (6.4 percent), Uzbeks with 68,433 (2.9 percent) and Japanese

May 28, 2019
No. of foreign residents in Korea up 8.6% last year
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