Global Community

Swedish art exhibition

 Swedish Ambassador to Korea Anne Hoglund, sculptor Karin Wiberg, and the East Asia Cultural Project chairman Kim Sang-woo pose next to a sculpture at an art exhibition held at the residence of the ambassador in Seongbuk-dong, northern Seoul, Tuesday. / Courtesy of Kim Sang-woo

Han River Riders group says farewell

HRR members cycle through Paju earlier this year. / Courtesy of HRRBy John RedmondMembers of the Seoul based cycling group, the Han River Riders (HRR), gathered to officially close the club at Dillinger’s Bar and Grill in Seoul on Saturday.What started as a Facebook group of cycling enthusiasts founded by Tim Travis in 2007 quickly grew to almost 4,000 members.The aim of the HRR was to promote safe cycling through regular weekend rides and provide information on the more grueling peninsula tours, including the Seoul-to-Busan ride.Other events included the annual Gran Fondo 50-kilometer self-timed race beginning and finishing in Yangpyeong, northeast of Seoul.Aside from providing regular cycling-related news and events, the HRR provided information links and discussions on litigation and insurance following cycling accidents. Korean laws are tricky in this area and the end results can be quite costly.The gathering on Saturday was attended by 100 members with Travis thanking everyone, stating he needed to move on.“Thanks again for everything and a great sendoff. It’s

Irish Association holds Christmas lunch

By John RedmondThe Irish Association of Korea (IAK) is running its year-end Christmas party at Dillinger’s Bar and Grill in Itaewon on Saturday.Guests are invited to help raise funds to promote Irish culture in Korea.The IAK is a nonprofit voluntary group that promotes Irish culture in Korea through events catering to Irish residents and also giving Koreans and others the opportunity to experience and learn more about Ireland and its culture. One of the highlights of the IAK calendar is the annual St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.There are about 1,000 Irish citizens living in Korea at any one time.The Christmas dinner offers live music and spot prizes.The evening begins at 8 p.m. and the 10,000 won entrance fee includes a mulled wine or house cider.Visit facebook.com/irishassociationofkorea for more info.

Punk band Food for Worms to play farewell show

Food for Worms performs at GBN Live House in Mullae-dong in this Feb. 18 file photo. The band has one final show this weekend as singer Kyle Decker, center, is leaving the country.By Jon DunbarThe Daegu-based punk band Food for Worms (FFW) is having one last show, as lead singer Kyle Decker returns to the U.S.“The mixed emotions I have about this is staggering,” Decker told The Korea Times. “As happy as I have been here, if I'm going to do more than I'm doing now, I have to pull the trigger.”He’s entering a master’s degree program in special education at the University of Illinois in Chicago, with the ultimate goal of teaching high school students with high-incidence disabilities.Since August 2013, Decker has been a mainstay of the Daegu punk scene, organizing punk shows and charity events for Liberty in North Korea (LiNK), as well as forming his band. “It’s been a big part of my life in Korea and the reason I'm now friends with so many awesome people, but everything must end I guess,” said guitarist Michael Travers.“It open

(1716) Incheon City (II)

(1715) Incheon City (I)

(1714) Bully by flaunting one's connections

(1713) Fishing (III)

Seoul to present European Christmas market

The 8th European Christmas Market will take place at the Seongbukcheon Fountain Square in Seoul this weekend. Under the theme “Sharing and Love at Christmastime,” the Seongbuk Global Village Center set up the market in cooperation with the Seongbuk Merchants Association and the embassies of Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland and Ukraine. Following an opening ceremony featuring live music and performances, guests can pick up gifts or try gourmet treats at food and market stalls.The market will be open from noon to 8 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.Food prices will range from 5,000 won to 10,000 won, with market item prices beginning at 5,000 won upwards.Proceeds will be donated to multicultural families in the low-income brackets.To get to Seongbukcheon Fountain Square, take exit 2 of Hansung University Station on Line 4.For more information, visit global.seoul.go.kr or call (02) 2241-6381~4.

Rugby club shaves mustaches for charity

Members of the Seoul Survivors Rugby Football Club and volunteers pose at the Hidden Cellar in Haebangchon, Seoul, Sunday. Courtesy of John RedmondBy John RedmondMembers and friends of the Seoul Survivors Rugby Football Club gathered to raise funds for local orphanages in a “Movember” shave-off at the Hidden Cellar in Itaewon, Seoul, Sunday. Movember, a portmanteau of mustache and November, is an annual month-long event where men grow mustaches that are auctioned and then shaved off, with the funds raised going to charities. The concept originated as a men’s health awareness fundraiser in Adelaide, South Australia, in 1999. Seoul Survivors has used the campaign to raise funds for local orphanages such as Huam-dong Youngnak Orphanage and Eastern Welfare Infant Care Ho.Money raised is used to buy bedding and blankets for babies given up for adoption at the Eastern Welfare Infant Care, as well as to provide educational and sporting resources to Youngnak Orphanage, one of Korea’s oldest orphanages of mixed-race children, that was originally started in North Korea.