Global Community

(398) Traditional mask dance (II)

(397) Traditional mask dance (I)

NZTE to hold New Zealand Food Connection in Busan

By John Redmond The New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) will host a private trade show at the Paradise Hotel, Busan, on March 9. Called the New Zealand Food Connection 2011, the trade show will showcase Kiwi food and beverages to Busan-based food industry people, including hotels, restaurants, bars, distributors, and retailers. The three-hour event to be held at the hotel’s Grand Ballroom will include two presentations targeting industry people. Graeme Solloway, NZTE’s trade commissioner to Seoul, will present “New Zealand Food and Beverages Industry” and Choi Ji-a, ceo of O’ngo Food Communications and adjunct professor on food and nutrition at Ewha Womans University will speak on “New Wave of Consumption: A Complete Food Experience.” It will be followed by food tasting on representative New Zealand products including meat, seafood, fruits and wine. “The New Zealand government, food and beverage industry groups, and individual firms are all committed to producing premium quality food that is safe and can be trusted,” said Solloway. New Zealand food comp

Middle Eastern cultural experience arrives in Seoul

By John Redmond Middle Eastern Culture, Dance & Art Club in Korea (MECDACK) will host a belly dance dinner party “hafla” at the Saffron Restaurant, Ibis Hotel in Myeong-dong on March 5. This family-friendly, alcohol-free event for people interested in food, music, dance and culture of the Middle East will begin at 8 p.m. for a three-hour run. A hafla generally involves dinner and social dancing at a Middle Eastern restaurant in Seoul and focus on providing an educational, interactive cultural experience, as opposed to entertainment. Now in its fourth year, MECDACK, founded by Belynda Azhaar, is a social club and information source and holds regular meet-ups in Seoul with the occasional free belly dance lesson and surprise guest performances. MECDACK also has a serious side, and actively follows the current affairs of the Arab world. Many members were key contributors to the Aid Gaza Benefit Night held in Seoul February 2009. This fundraiser raised awareness for Palestine and $3,000 for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) Special Gaza Appeal. Azha

Seoul Womens Plaza to host Intl Womens Day celebration

By John Redmond People around the world are preparing to mark the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day (IWD), which falls this year. In Seoul, celebrations for IWD comprise a cocktail reception followed by theater and musical performances, including highlights from the play “Face”’ by Haerry Kim, performed for the first time in Korea at the Seoul Women's Plaza Art Hall in Daebang-dong on March 8. Beginning at 6 p.m., the event will include a display by traditional Korean women drummers and dancers, concluding with the cutting of the “centenary cake.” Park Hyun-kyung, president of the Seoul Foundation of Women and Family, will officially open the event. The evening has been organized by an informal group of expat and Korea women who wanted to mark this special day consistent with the theme “Unite _ To End Violence Against Women and Girls.” The theme for the celebration of International Women’s Day supports the campaign initiated by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, in an effort to implement international standards to end impunity and ensure ac

Expats commit to ending bear bile farming

By Kelly Francis It may be the year of the rabbit. But the Asiatic black bear, commonly known as the “moonbear,” is center stage for a growing number of expatriates this year. The Bear Truth, a grassroots campaign in Seoul, will join Rep. Hong Hee-deok of the Democratic Labor Party for a street campaign to raise public awareness about bear bile farming. The Bear Truth is a volunteer division of national NGO Green Korea United. The street campaign will happen against the background where the issue of banning bear bile farming is currently on the agenda at the National Assembly for the first time. Should you spot the group’s notorious “dancing bear” in your neighborhood, American activist Matt Legreid invites you to stop and pose for a picture with the cozy critter, and maybe purchase a stuffed bear and learn a thing or two about the animal. Also, Craftwork’s Taphouse and Bistro will launch Jirisan Moon Bear India Pale Ale in April, where a portion of the proceeds from the new draft will go to support an end to bear bile in farming. “It’s an important issue,” sai

(396) March 1st Independence Movement (II)

(395) March 1st Independence movement (I)

(351) Weather forecast (II)

(394) Current event: foot-and-mouth disease (I)