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RESTAURANT OF THE WEEK The Royal Food & Drink overlooks Seoul's restaurant landscape

RAS KOREA Garden party event returns to UK ambassador's residence

PINNACLE'S ITAEWON Tunnel celebrates 2 years of creativity, resilience

DJ Pablo Winchester spreads northern soul in South Korea

DJ Pablo Winchester in Japan / Courtesy of Pablo Winchester By Jon DunbarPaul, a British expat from Yorkshire in Northern England, moved to Korea “for a year” in 2009. Now, 14 years later, he's still here. After seven years of teaching in public schools, he moved on to a university where he's been working for eight years. By night, he goes by the name Pablo Winchester, spinning northern soul vinyl records in clubs across Seoul as well as Asia. “Northern soul attracts lifelong devotees, of which I am one,” he told The Korea Times. “I don't know what it is about this music, but it just reaches deeper than anything else I've ever heard. I have songs I've known for 30 years that still give me goosebumps when I listen to them again. The songs have an almost magical quality that I never tire of hearing.”He got his start DJing around 2012. One day, he was sitting in a bar with a friend, complaining about the quality of music heard around Korean bars.

TEMPLE ADVENTURES Beopju Temple should be at the top of anyone's travel itinerary

RESTAURANT OF THE WEEK Que Rico serves Mexican food in Pyeongtaek's ville

The food at Que Rico in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province / Courtesy of Shuttle DeliveryBy Mark BoeschThe “Ville,” adjacent to U.S. Army Garrison (USAG) Humphreys Main Gate in the Anjeong-ri village of Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, is home to a host of fantastic restaurants, cafes, bars and clubs. Restaurateurs began flocking to the area for the chance to serve U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) customers as USAG Yongsan underwent a slow relocation process to Humphreys over the last several years. For Pyeongtaek residents, this meant loads of new kebab spots, but also some really good Mexican food. There are a lot of really good Mexican restaurants in the area, but Que Rico is favorite to many and known locally for its authentic Mexican cuisine.Que Rico's proprietors Park Tae-sang and her husband Raul Ugalde Leon almost opened a jewelry studio instead. After traveling back and forth for four years between Korea and Cozumel, Mexico, the couple decided to open a taqueria and torteria, a Mexican restaurant with a menu focused on tacos and tortas, in Pyeongtaek. The couple rescued some tr

Busan's Goths on the Beach crafts hilarious take on new wave, surf rock

Goths on the Beach / Courtesy of Goths on the BeachBy Ali SafaviCombining 1980s new wave and surf rock with a tongue-in-cheek theatrical element, Goths on the Beach (GotB) is an exciting new band on the local scene.The Busan band has been making sad, gothy waves since forming last October. In that short time the group has already released an album, garnered international radio play (featured on BBC Stereo Underground, A1M Records Indie Rocks, Rock Rage Radio and Sounds from the Korean Underground, among other shows) and done a number of shows and festivals around the southern region of the Korean Peninsula, gaining a loyal fan base with their atypical stage performances and catchy songs. In a world that can be dominated by generic, plodding guitar bands, GotB is a last breath of fresh salt-sea air.The band's name in fact led to the style of music played by GotB. After a day on the beach in Busan, the band's two founders who introduced themselves as Kimberly Grave Roberts and Isaac Guillotine noticed there were a lot of goths on the beach. “We left Haeundae about an hour after t

LIFE'S OLLE TRAILS 13 Walking back, fast or slow

A stone wall on Jeju Island / Courtesy of Rachel Stine By Rachel StineI came to Jeju Island on Dec. 19, 2020. I was accompanied by my dog Miracle and the man I thought I would marry.On Dec. 29, 2022, I left, alone.During this time, I completed the Olle Trails, and healed three inner wounds I hadn't even realized I had.The first was OCD. While it's a genetic curse I'll always carry, I've made a full recovery from my May 2021 relapse. I'm off medication. That may not always be the case, but I'm hoping the new hiking boots and poles will keep me active and help stave off the minor flare-ups that can evolve into relapses.Modeling symptom management is important to me, because I also know I'm going to become a parent within the next few years. Whether I'm partnered or not, that dream is non-negotiable.Finally, I'm going to honor the humanity of political opponents, even if that makes me a target myself. My integrity is more important than any career. I can't scream at pe

LIFE'S OLLE TRAILS 12 Saying goodbye in Gueok-ri

Miracle the dog / Courtesy of Rachel StineBy Rachel Stine“Miracle's acting weird. You think I should take her to the vet?”I was at the home of two friends ― a couple that lived in a seaside apartment. We sat in front of their PlayStation 5, surrounded by beer cans and a mountain of fried chicken.“What do you mean, weird?” the younger one asked.I mashed the buttons on my controller. “I dunno. Not eating? She's just weird.” “Maybe she's stressed because of the move.”After so much reflection on the Olle Trails, I decided to return to Seoul to transition my career away from teaching. When I started packing our stuff into boxes, Miracle's eyes bulged out of her skull. Moving made her anxious.In fact, everything made her anxious. This was the same dog who had panic attacks when I took our quilts to the laundromat.Hairless except on her head and her feet, Miracle reminded me of a goth ballerina. A lady in Madison Square Park once described her as “dainty, with that little tail that flies out like a flag.” I adopted her from the cit

Japanese psych rocker celebrates 60th birthday in Korea

Sato Yukie performs with the band Moyu at The Studio HBC, Dec. 17, 2022. Korea Times photo by Jon DunbarBy Jon DunbarOne's 60th birthday is traditionally a big deal for Koreans. It's also a pretty significant milestone for Sato Yukie, a Japanese psychedelic and folk musician who has lived in Korea since 1995. He'll celebrate his “hwangap” with a series of four concerts with his band Kopchangjeongol from Wednesday to Saturday. In Korea, where the music scene didn't really explode until the 1990s, it's somewhat rare to find people of Sato's age at live shows. Sato pointed out that there are many good musicians in the scene who are still playing. But he also acknowledged that most of the people around are younger. “Of course, many young people play here (Hongdae). I am almost the same age as their parents. I am stimulated from them, and I preach 'learning from the past' to them,” he told The Korea Times. Sato Yukie performs with the band Yunawa Aidoru at The Studio HBC, Dec. 17, 2022. Korea Times photo by Jon DunbarWhile acknowledging that age is very important i