Herbs for everyday health – Medicine to improve focus and cognitive abilities, while calming the nerves – During the summer, hot temperatures often linger into the night, making it hard to sleep and to recover from the day’s work. As fatigue piles up, students and office workers who are under constant pressure, while…
Sharing a passion for Korea It ‘s almost one week ago since I got back from another exciting trip to Korea with some of my hapkido students. After my first trip to Korea, in 1994, I couldn’t imagine that this country would have this great of an impact on me. Since 2000, I…
A journey into steam It’s late Friday night, almost Saturday, and the sauna my friends and I’ve come to in Apgujeong-dong is quiet and peaceful, a sharp contrast to the frenetic dance clubs and bars on nearby Rodeo Drive or down the street in Garosugil’s chic wine bars and sake houses. Those are…
Yeouido, a vacation in central Seoul Park-goers enjoy the bike path and the giant fountain at the riverside Mulbit Square in Yeouido, Seoul, amid foggy, humid weather on August 5. (photo: Jeon Han) Yeouido, an island in the Hangang River, is so prominent in the national psyche that when people compare the size…
Beat the summer heat with onions People and their health consciousness are two things that cannot be taken apart. Food has always played a central role in consoling the body and the soul, while enduring the sweltering hot summers and frigid cold winters. Although ginseng and the famous chicken-based soup samgyetang is most commonly enjoyed…
Bukhansan Mountain reveals Seoul’s hidden beauty The Hidden Wall (center) is known for offering one of the best views of Bukhansan Mountain. To the left is Insubong Peak and on the right stands Baekundae Peak, the highest of the mountain’s many peaks.(photo: Jeon Han) Seoul, the capital city, got its original shape when…
10 Bukhansan viewpoints: public parks via subway “Joseon is a country of mountains. Wherever you step your foot, you cannot miss mountains.”So wrote Claude-Charles Dallet (1829-1878), a French Catholic missionary, when he arrived in Korea in the mid-19th century. As Dallet says, mountains are everywhere in the country, whether in the heart of…
Koreans use the expression saram naemse, “the smell of the people,” to express the feeling of being surrounded by humanity. This sense of being together as one with a crowd, even in the absence of a relationship between each individual, is an important part of Korean culture. When people seek this scent of humanity, one of the first places they go to is the local sijang, or market
The Fairy and the Woodcutter: tragic love, Korean-syle The Fairy and the Woodcutter is one of the most popular of all Korean folktales. Almost all children in Korea grow up reading a version of this love story. The story has three well-known versions that differ mainly in plot length. The following is a…
Life Trail follows the path of Catholic martyrs in Seoul Seoul’s Seosomun Historical Park is where a great number of Catholics were executed amid the persecutions that took place during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). Earlier this year, it was officially designated as a “historical park.” Pope Francis will honor the martyrs during his…
