South Korea - The Korea Times

Pyeongtaek to host Alexander Sheykin’s accordion concert on Saturday

“Becoming the Wind to the World,” a storytelling-style music concert that invites audiences on a musical journey around the world through the accordion, will take place at 5 p.m. this Saturday at the Grand Theater of the Pyeongtaek Nambu Arts Center in southern Gyeonggi Province. At the heart of the performance is Alexander Sheykin, a master accordionist born in Uzbekistan to Russian parents, who has lived for two decades in Korea and has been actively performing across the country and internationally. With his versatile techniques and deep musical interpretation, he has devoted himself to showcasing the beauty of the accordion. According to the organizer, Acco Entertainment, this concert goes beyond a simple performance — it weaves together the music of Russia, France, Italy, Argentina, Switzerland and Korea into a single narrative through the lens of the accordion. Each country’s musical characteristics will be introduced with explanations, offering audiences an immersive experience of the accordion’s historical journey and emotional range. Sheykin grew up in a household whe

Sep 1, 2025By Bereket Alemayehu

Pyeongtaek to host Alexander Sheykin’s accordion concert on Saturday

Seoul Gaels to host community day to spread Gaelic football

Gaelic football, often described as a cross between football and rugby, may not be well-known in Korea, but it has a dedicated community of players excited to introduce the sport to more people. The Seoul Gaels GAA Club will host a Gaelic Football Community Day Saturday in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, offering the chance to experience a sport that has been played in Ireland for centuries, but remains new to many in Korea. The free event, running from noon to 4 p.m., is open to all ages and skill levels. Children can take part in fun taster sessions and games, while adults are invited to join a “bring-a-friend” program designed for beginners. Organizers say the focus is not only on sport but also on friendship and cultural exchange. "It’s not just about learning a new game, it’s about bringing people together,” said Neil Timmins, spokesperson for Seoul Gaels. “Gaelic football is fast, exciting and easy to pick up, and we’re excited to share it with the wider community in Korea.” The Irish Association of Korea will operate a booth introducing Irish culture, offering kids a

Aug 31, 2025By Jon Dunbar

Seoul Gaels to host community day to spread Gaelic football

RESTAURANT OF THE WEEK New Iraqi restaurant Babylon raises the bar for Middle Eastern dining in Seoul

Seoul has no shortage of kebab stands of varying quality. In smaller supply are more formal Middle Eastern restaurants, and most of the ones I've tried were slight letdowns. Babylon Restaurant, a newly opened Iraqi eatery nestled in central Seoul's Samcheong-dong, raises that bar. Babylon is owned by Abdulkareem Adnan, who has been in the restaurant business here in Seoul for about 17 years, working out of a tiny hole-in-the-wall shop in Namdaemun Market called Adnan Kebab. This new restaurant is quite a step up in ambience, offering a comfortable, modern space for customers to actually sit down and savor some pretty fantastic food. The dishes are mostly faithful to the flavors of Adnan's homeland of Iraq, but there are a few cases where ingredients and sides have been modified, either catering to local tastes or based on local availability, such as the sneaky appearance of what may have been chipotle mayo as a dipping sauce — probably not standard in Baghdad. Either way, the food seemed more coherently authentic than the menus at many other Middle Eastern restaurants here. Meals star

Aug 31, 2025By Jon Dunbar

[RESTAURANT OF THE WEEK] New Iraqi restaurant Babylon raises the bar for Middle Eastern dining in Seoul

MORNING CALM TALES Korea's 1990s coffee revolution

Something was brewing in Korea. It was my first week in Seoul when a few students invited me to a new coffee shop called Jardin, just down the block from the language institute. The place gleamed with chrome, track lighting and big windows that opened onto a busy street. Inside, young Koreans sipped espresso and cappuccino, chatting over jazz playing softly in the background. It could’ve been Paris or New York — except we were in a rapidly modernizing corner of East Asia, and this was the start of a cultural shift. Back then, most people still drank a thick mix of instant coffee, powdered creamer and sugar. It was served in a range of places: traditional cafés that took pride in perfecting a proper brew and the more notorious dabang — dim, smoky rooms often favored by older Korean men. The latter had a reputation, not always for their coffee. For many younger Koreans, especially after the successful Seoul Olympics in 1988, these places felt outdated and uninspiring. They wanted something fresher, cleaner and more stylish. And just like that, a coffee revolution began to bubble. K

Aug 30, 2025By Jeffrey Miller

[MORNING CALM TALES] Korea's 1990s coffee revolution

EcoLinks brings Korean innovation to Rwanda's water crisis

When Johnson Penn first arrived in Korea as an international student from Cameroon, he quickly realized that Seoul was not just a hub of technology and trade — it could also be a bridge for global climate action. Today, just five years after founding his startup EcoLinks, Penn is preparing to launch one of the most ambitious Africa-based water purification projects ever backed by the Korean government. Recently, EcoLinks was selected for the 2025 International Carbon Reduction Program run by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA). The recognition will allow the startup to begin a full-scale feasibility study for its Solar-Powered and Smart Tap-Based Water Purification Project in Rwanda. The initiative aims to install 150 decentralized clean water systems across seven underserved districts, providing safe drinking water to more than 210,000 people while generating significant carbon reductions. For Penn, the project represents both a technological milestone and a personal mission. “This is more than just technology transfer,” he said in an interview with The Korea Time

Aug 30, 2025By Alice Hong

EcoLinks brings Korean innovation to Rwanda's water crisis

New generation of Haebangchon, Gyeongnidan: 5 great new places to eat, drink, play

Things happen fast these days in central Seoul's multicultural neighborhoods like Haebangchon and Gyeongnidan. The past couple years have seen many heartbreaking business closures. Businesses there don't sink or swim based on profitability or customer demand, but landlords' whims. There are laws that protect their right to do business in a space for 10 years, but in many cases, not a day longer. At the same time, new establishments are opening up, sometimes right in the same spaces. Perch “Things change fast, and while that brings energy, it’s also a bit bittersweet — especially seeing long-time bars close down,” said Yoon Soo-young, owner of Perch. “It makes me feel mixed about where the neighborhood is headed, because I also really value the places and people who’ve been part of HBC for a long time. There’s still a strong local vibe, where bar and shop owners know and support each other.” Perch opened in late 2023, in a space inside a corner of Sinheung-ro, across the street from the former location of Hair of the Dog. It is a cozy place, offering indoor and outdoor seat

Aug 29, 2025By Jon Dunbar

New generation of Haebangchon, Gyeongnidan: 5 great new places to eat, drink, play

Korean pianist-composer Eunhye Jeong bridges cultures through music

Eunhye Jeong is a Korean pianist, composer, improviser and writer based in Seoul. Her artistry thrives on exploration, cultural reflection and fearless improvisation in jazz music. She is also a published writer known for her critical mind and diligent research. She continues to expand her musical world through collaborations with legendary artists and her own experimental projects. She has performed with Wadada Leo Smith, the multiple award-winning and Pulitzer Prize-nominated composer and trumpeter, as part of the N’da Kulture ensemble, which revisited one of Smith’s most celebrated albums, “Divine Love,” at the third CREATE Festival in 2019. Jeong’s versatility is also evident in duo performances with acclaimed cellist and improviser Okkyung Lee and recordings with pansori master Bae Il-dong. As a composer, she co-wrote the score for the short film “Ancestry” alongside Munyungo Jackson, Stevie Wonder’s percussionist. Her performances have taken her to distinguished venues such as the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the U.N. headquarters in New York and institutions in

Aug 27, 2025By Bereket Alemayehu

Korean pianist-composer Eunhye Jeong bridges cultures through music

One man's life through 5 regimes revealed in book, lecture

In March 2006, Dr. Kim Kyoung-jin, then nearly 70, decided to take a Russian language class at the Continuing Education Center at Sangmyung University, only to discover that the class was no longer available. Instead, he enrolled in an English language class in which students read newspaper articles together and discussed them. It was there that he met his instructor and future biographer, Samuel Alexander Denny, Jr. Over the course of many years, in class and afterwards during lunches with his students, Denny got to know Kim and delighted in the stories he told him about his life. After almost two decades of friendship, Denny decided to record the details of Kim’s life and publish his biography, “Five Nations, One Life: The Extraordinary Journey of Dr. Kyoung-jin Kim.” Born in 1936 to parents who had emigrated to Manchuria, Kim was raised in Changchun, then renamed Shinkyo by the Japanese, where his father worked as a public servant in the local administration. Manchukuo had been established as a puppet state in 1932 by the Japanese Kwantung Army, which installed Puyi, the depos

Aug 24, 2025By Matt VanVolkenburg

One man's life through 5 regimes revealed in book, lecture

BookTuber Nathan says reading is sexy

Reading is sexy, and if you’re not reading, you’re not sexy. At least, that’s what Nathan Truong likes to say on his YouTube channel, nathan’s nook. Based in Seoul, Nathan blends literary content with lifestyle vlogging, carving out his own space on the platform with a stylish approach to storytelling and his heart on his sleeve. Far from being overshadowed by the many other BookTubers out there, Nathan is having his moment. And his success makes a compelling case that reading is, indeed, sexy. An avant-garde take on BookTube Hailing from Los Angeles, Nathan is a Vietnamese American creator whose content resists easy classification. Nathan’s videos often blend literary commentary with snippets of avant-garde films, ambient street sounds he’s recorded and vignettes from his daily life in Seoul. A well-versed cinephile, he takes an experimental and deeply personal approach to video production. “I live as I shoot it. Or shoot as I live it?” he told The Korea Times. Citing Lithuanian filmmaker Jonas Mekas, Nathan explained the importance of seeking out small details others m

Aug 23, 2025By Emily Serby

Fatal workplace accidents remain alarmingly high for foreign workers

Despite ongoing safety initiatives, fatal industrial accidents involving foreign workers remain persistently high, data showed Thursday. According to a report published by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, 287 workers died in workplace accidents in Korea during the second quarter of this year. Of them, 38, or 13.2 percent, were foreign nationals. Officials say the figure reflects a troubling pattern in recent years. Noncitizens, who make up roughly 3.5 percent of the workforce, consistently account for about 10 percent of all occupational deaths. By industry, the construction sector had 138 deaths, with foreign workers accounting for 13 percent. In manufacturing, 67 deaths were reported, including 12 foreign nationals (17.9 percent). Other sectors recorded 82 deaths, including eight foreign nationals (9.8 percent). The 287 workplace deaths confirmed from April to June represented a slight improvement from the 296 reported during the same period in 2024. Yet a closer look reveals a persistent problem. Data from the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service, released earlier this we

Aug 21, 2025By Jung Min-ho

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