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Gwangju's Nirvana prepares to enter cycle of rebirth

Another landmark pub is closing down in Gwangju. Nirvana, located near the Asia Culture Center, will have one final live music event featuring local band Malarkey Saturday at 10 p.m. before shutting its doors for good on June 20. "There are many reasons we are closing. I suppose if Nirvana had been very successful financially, we might be staying," Caleb Sekeres, the American co-owner, told The Korea Times. Nirvana was primarily a cocktail bar, but it also had a good selection of beers and whiskies. The focus was affordability rather than a wide selection, with the Moscow mule as its signature cocktail. It also hosted events and offered food specials from time to time. The bar takes its name both from the Buddhist concept of salvation and the Seattle grunge band, although the vibe fits more closely with the peacefulness of the former. "Nirvana’s name comes from both Buddhism and rock music," Sekeres said. "(My wife and business partner) Yunoo was a DJ for many years and has a strong love of world music. I grew up playing classical music and fed on classic rock and the pianists of my er

May 26, 2025By Jon Dunbar
Gwangju's Nirvana prepares to enter cycle of rebirth

Reform Party candidate criticized over dual wage proposal

A powerful labor group and human rights activists for migrant workers are criticizing Reform Party presidential candidate Lee Jun-seok over his campaign pledge to introduce a separate minimum wage system for noncitizens. Lee, the former leader of the People Power Party, advocates for a tiered minimum wage for foreign migrant workers, suggesting pay could vary by origin country or skill set. He argues this would ease burdens on small businesses and alleviate labor shortages. His proposal faces strong opposition from human rights groups, who condemn it as discriminatory and a violation of international labor standards. During a press conference Thursday at the headquarters of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, which has more than 1 million members, its representatives called the idea “unconstitutional” and urged the presidential hopeful to respect their human rights. “This election should be about ending the politics of discrimination and hate and moving toward a society where the rights of all workers are respected. But instead, we’re moving backward,” the organization s

May 23, 2025By Jung Min-ho
Reform Party candidate criticized over dual wage proposal

BOOK REVIEW A memoir of loss, transformation and quiet wonder: 'Five Seasons in Seoul'

There are books you read, and there are books that stay with you — gently haunting you, reminding you of places you’ve been and feelings you thought you’d buried. Christine Newell’s "Five Seasons in Seoul" is that rare kind of memoir. Gorgeously written and deeply felt, it offers more than just a travelogue of a year spent abroad. It’s a meditation on grief, identity and the strange, winding journey toward healing — a book that moved me deeply, not only because of the author's honest and lyrical storytelling, but because, as a long-term expat myself, I saw shadows of my own life in her story. The premise may sound familiar: A woman, emotionally adrift after the death of her father and the slow unraveling of a once-promising career in musical theater, decides to uproot her life and move to Korea for a year. But what Newell offers is far from the expected “finding yourself abroad” genre tropes. Her book is refreshingly vulnerable, wise beyond its years and anchored by a narrative voice that is both self-deprecating and luminous with insight. We meet Christine in a state o

May 22, 2025By Jeffrey Miller
[BOOK REVIEW] A memoir of loss, transformation and quiet wonder: 'Five Seasons in Seoul'

Immigration raids spark rural labor crisis

When presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung visited Changnyeong, a small county with some 55,000 residents in South Gyeongsang Province on May 10, representatives of its farmers used the opportunity to convey their single most urgent request: Stop the ongoing crackdown on undocumented migrant workers. On April 14, five government ministries and agencies launched a crackdown on undocumented foreign workers ― a campaign that is set to continue through June 29. Criminals and those who threaten the livelihood of citizens are among the main targets, according to immigration officials. But for many citizens, especially farmers in rural regions, the effects are not what was hoped for. “Many farmers here say their livelihood is now under threat because they can no longer find workers after the beginning of the crackdown,” said Sung Bo-kyung, head of an emergency committee formed in Changnyeong over the issue. “It is a very serious problem. If farmers fail to remove garlic scapes between around April 10 to May 10, their crops for this year will be ruined.” This localized crisis in Changn

May 21, 2025By Jung Min-ho
Immigration raids spark rural labor crisis

BOOK REVIEW 'Tiger Season' explores 1960s DMZ and camp town tensions

“In the old Korea storybooks they called the Imjin River ‘The Water Dragon’ and on that freezing night so long ago, Eddie Profar had heard it roar.” So reads a sentence on the first page of Gojan Nikolich’s “Tiger Season: A Novel of Korea,” set in 1968 during what some have called the “Second Korean War." Taking place amid negotiations to free American sailors seized by North Korea earlier that year, the novel explores the lives of both the soldiers living on an American base and the Korean women working in the camp town ("gijichon" in Korean) outside its gates. While a handful of novels have taken midcentury encounters between GIs and so-called “business girls” as their subject, these books tend to focus on intercultural relationships as the heart of the story. "Tiger Season," on the other hand, is more interested in painting a detailed picture of the social and political environment in which a fatherless young man from Minnesota and a young woman orphaned during the Korean War could meet in the late 1960s, while also telling a gripping story involving DMZ night pa

May 21, 2025By Matt VanVolkenburg
[BOOK REVIEW] 'Tiger Season' explores 1960s DMZ and camp town tensions

Seoul Events creates spaces for cultures underrepresented in Korea

On a recent night in western Seoul’s popular and vibrant Hongdae district — known for its busking, K-pop scene, shopping and dance clubs that pulse until all hours — a different type of event was taking place at Yeti Restaurant: Sufi Night, hosted by Seoul Events. The event offered a gathering that emphasized connection, culture and music beyond borders. The restaurant was filled with a lively, diverse crowd of Koreans and people from all around the world, coming together for an evening of musical performance, cultural exchange and community. Events like this aim to create a space for those living abroad to find a sense of belonging, while also offering a bridge to the local scene. The night featured an assortment of performers. Attendees mingled, enjoyed a diverse musical program and experienced firsthand how Sufi music can transcend language and background. Each performer contributed to an atmosphere that was both vibrant and soothing. Park Eun-seong, who regularly teaches Indian-style dance and yoga at Raas Studio in Seoul, blended contemporary and Indian dance forms. Saxophoni

May 20, 2025By Antonia Giordano
Seoul Events creates spaces for cultures underrepresented in Korea

Steve Gallas presents comedic 'Scenario' at Lit Lounge

"I should have thought of that." That's what Steve Gallas wants audiences to think when they watch his comedy. An American resident of Seoul, Gallas has been a part of the local comedy scene for a number of years. A producer as well as a comedian, he has performed and put on shows in many different venues in the city. His latest special, titled "Scenario," will be hosted by Lit Lounge in Itaewon this Friday. The venue, one of the most vibrant and exciting in the area, is a hotspot of cultural activity, boasting many different events in a week. Among these are comedy open mics, where Gallas also regularly performs and hosts. However, "Scenario" will be a full-length show of tried and tested material. "I have been consciously working on this special for a little over a year now," Gallas told The Korea Times. However, he explained that he might have written some of the jokes even earlier than that. "It all depends on whether it's a good fit," he said. Covering a wide range of topics from the mega-rich to the film industry, the special is a presentation of Gallas' unique comedic voice. Since

May 19, 2025By Rory Kelly
Steve Gallas presents comedic 'Scenario' at Lit Lounge

RESTAURANT OF THE WEEK I really love you Fatty Burger

When I first arrived in Seoul in October 2012, searching for a decent artisanal hamburger outside of the Itaewon area generally resulted in futility. In those days, the local burger industry was dominated by Big Box chains, offering once-frozen, ultra-processed, lukewarm patties that almost always came complete with a jambalaya of mystery sauces. This is no longer the case. In just over a decade, Seoul’s burger scene has blossomed into the most vibrant in all of Asia. Fueled by a growing demand for delicious, affordable and often innovative creations, grillmasters across the city have laid down roots and are serving up some of the best sizzling beef on this side of the planet. And while fast food giants still dominate the city’s main drags and shopping centers, it is in the alleys and side streets that the nation’s foremost burgersmiths ply their trade. One such hidden gem is Fatty Burger. This small, congenial joint adjacent to Bongeun Temple opened its doors in April 2024 and has quickly developed a reputation for having the best smash burgers in southern Seoul's Gangnam Distri

May 19, 2025By Zack Wilson
[RESTAURANT OF THE WEEK] I really love you Fatty Burger

Seoul Shakespeare Company stages 'Romeo and Juliet'

Romeo and Juliet are fiction's most famous lovers, the title characters of what may be Shakespeare's most famous play. Almost everyone knows their broad outlines of their story. However, many have never seen it performed and, if they live in Seoul, won't get a lot of chances to see it in English. Jason Cutler, director of Seoul Shakespeare Company's upcoming production of "Romeo and Juliet," is aware of the pressure this puts on the troupe. "We have a responsibility to [the audience]," he told The Korea Times. This production took pains to stay true to the original text but still may surprise some theatergoers, Cutler says. "Our goal from the outset has been to perform OUR Romeo and Juliet," he said. He added that while they aim to make the play relatable to modern theatergoers, they are not seeking to "remedy" aspects that seem discordant. Indeed, it's possible that modern sentiments, tending to sympathize with the young lovers, may be the opposite of the play's original audience, who would most likely have sided with their parents. Such differing interpretations add to the challenging

May 19, 2025By Rory Kelly
Seoul Shakespeare Company stages 'Romeo and Juliet'

Indonesian band White Shoes & the Couples Company to tour Korea

The Indonesian pop sextet White Shoes & the Couples Company is returning to Seoul, two years after their last gig, bringing back their sentimental collection of smooth, gentle songs influenced by 1970s Indonesian movie soundtracks, retro disco beats, 1930s jazz and everything in between. The band gets its name from a fad back then of students wearing white shoes at the time, coupled with inspiration from Big Brother and the Holding Company, Janis Joplin's band. "The first thing that we thought of for a band’s name, like it shouldn’t sound like a band’s name," Rio Farabi, acoustic guitarist and vocalist, told The Korea Times. "Back in time when the band started, there were so many bands with a straightforward name — The Upstairs, Kebunku, Sekarwati, The Sastro, Brisik, etc. — so I think it's better to sound a bit different." The group formed in 2002, a couple years after the members first met while studying at the Jakarta Institute of the Arts. Since their first mini-album release in 2008, the band's lyrics are almost entirely in their native language. But that didn't stop them

May 18, 2025By Jon Dunbar
Indonesian band White Shoes & the Couples Company to tour Korea
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