BUSAN - Hunting them is illegal and considered cruel by animal rights activists, but whale meat has nevertheless long been a traditional delicacy. Its popularity here looks to be on the rise with a number of flourishing restaurants serving the dish. Steamed whale meat at a resturant in Haeundae, Busan. (The Korea Herald)Park, 56, who did not wish to give his first name, recently opened a whale mea

 Just 3 years old, Lu Hao already weighs 60 kg and is five times larger than the size of the average child his age.  When Hao was born in a Chinese hospital, he weighed only 2.5 kg, a normal size for a newborn. However, after three months, Hao began to gain weight rapidly.“His appetite is so good that for a meal he can eat three big bowls of rice, even larger than I and his mother,” Hao’s father L

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's No. 2 marker of mobile phones, unveiled new Galaxy Tab tablet computers in the United States in two sizes on Wednesday, eying a bigger market share on Apple Inc.'s home turf withultra-thin devices. Samsung unveils third tablet computer, the Galaxy Tab 10.1. (Yonhap News)Samsung announced pricing and other details for its third tablet computer, the Galaxy Tab 8.

 WEST HOLLYWOOD, California (AP) _ Authorities in Los Angeles say Lindsay Lohan's father has been arrested over allegations he held his girlfriend against her will and prevented her from calling police.Sheriff's investigators say deputies were dispatched on a domestic violence call at 9 p.m. Monday to Michael Lohan's apartment. (AP)A news release says the 51-year-old was booked for investigation o

Participants and hosts of MBC’s singer survival program, “I am a Singer.” (MBC)“Singer” show producer’s apology fails to silence criticsKim Young-hee, producer of the show “I am a Singer,” has apologized to viewers over a decision contradicting the show’s rules. The show has been mired in controversy over its decision to provide contestant Kim Gun-mo a second chance. Kim was supposed to be elimina

South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan will visit China next week for talks with his counterpart and other senior officials, the ministry said Tuesday, as the twocountries differ over how to deal with North Korea's uranium enrichment program.During the March 28-30 trip, Kim will hold talks with Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and pay a visit to Premier Wen Jiabao, the ministry said in a statemen

South Korean figure skater Kim Yu-na has taken her former agency to court to recover portions of her endorsement money. Kim Yu-naLee Kim & Partners, a Seoul-based law firm representing Kim, said Monday that the skater has filed a suit against IB Sports and that the first court appearance over their case was held last Wednesday.According to the law firm, Kim claims that IB Sports owes her 894 milli

Audi Korea, the local importer and distributor of luxury German car brand Audi, introduced the facelift version of the Audi TT sports coupe in South Korea Monday. Audi Korea introduced the new Audi TT (Yonhap News)The new Audi TT comes in two trims -- the Audi TT Coupe 2.0 TFSI Quattro and Audi TT Roadster 2.0 TFSI Quattro.They both come with a four-cylinder 2.0-liter gasoline engine that produces

North Korea on Sunday accused U.S. troops in South Korea of trespassing into the Demilitarized Zone and even partying inside it, threatening "human damage" if such provocations continue.The threat has been delivered to the South Korean military, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), which claimed that U.S. forces made 50 trespasses from March 1-8.  North Korean milit

South Korean figure skater Kim Yu-na arrived home on Sunday, with the world championships initially scheduled for this week in quake-ravaged Japan in limbo, and said she will concentrate on other commitments during her stay."I had been prepared for the championships and it's disappointing that I didn't get the chance to show it," Kim said at a press conference at the Incheon International Airport

WASHINGTON, (AFP) - The risk of thyroid cancer among people who were exposed as children to the nuclear fallout at Chernobyl has not declined nearly 25 years after the disaster, said a study released Thursday in the United States.The National Institutes of Health-led study examined more than 12,500 people who were under 18 at the time of the Chernobyl accident on April 26, 1986, and who lived near

(Yonhap News)Lee Si-young, a South Korean actress, isn't just a pretty face. She can now call herself a boxing champion. Lee took the national women's amateur boxing championship in the 48-kilogram division Thursday. At 28 years of age, she was the oldest competitor at the event, which was open to boxers from 17 to34 years old.After dominating Sung So-mi, a high school freshman, in the final, Lee

 PHNOM PENH (AFP) - Male foreigners over the age of 50 have been outlawed from marrying Cambodian women in the country under new rulesdesigned to crack down on sham marriages and human trafficking, the government said Wednesday.Foreigners who earn less than $2,550 per month are also barred from wedding local women, foreign ministry spokesman Koy Kuong told AFP, but the restrictions do not apply to

FUKUSHIMA, Japan (AP) _ They risk explosions, fire and an invisible enemy _ radiation that could kill quickly or decades later_ as they race to avert disaster inside a dark, overheated nuclear plant.The 180 emergency workers at Japan's crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi complex are emerging as public heroes in the wake of a disaster spawned by an earthquake and a tsunami. Japan's Self-Defense Forces's he

NEW YORK (AP) _ Four New York Times journalists covering the fighting in Libya were reported missing Wednesday, and the newspaper held out hope that they were alive and in the custody of the Libyan government.Editors last heard from the journalists on Tuesday as they were covering the retreat of rebels from the town of Ajdabiya, and Libyan officials told the newspaper they were trying to locate th

South Korea on Thursday welcomed an agreement with France to transfer centuries-old Korean royal books from Paris to Seoul between March and May beginning with the first shipment later this month.Officials from the national museums of the two countries signed the agreement in Paris on Wednesday to transport 297 volumes of the "Oegyujanggak" to Seoul in four shipments from March 28, according to th

South Korea said Thursday it will delay the repatriation of 27 North Koreans who had been set to cross the Yellow Sea border later in the day without four others who have defected here, citing a malfunction in the fishing boatthat was to carry them back home.The Unification Ministry said in a message to reporters that the South Korean Red Cross notified its North Korean counterpart of the delay th

Five South Korean residents and travelers who went missing after a massive earthquake hit Japan's northeast region were rescued on Wednesday, the foreign ministry said. Members of a British search and rescue team begin their search for trapped people as snow falls in Kamaishi, Japan, Wednesday, March 16, 2011. Two search and rescue teams from the U.S. and a team from the U.K. with combined numbers

LONDON (AP) _ London is preparing to mark the 500-day countdown to the 2012 Olympics with the launch of ticket sales for the first home games since 1948.With Tuesday marking exactly 500 days to go until the opening ceremony on July 27, 2012, organizers will open applications for the 6.6 million tickets on offer.The 2012 London Olympic Games logo (AP-Yonhap News)Demand is expected to be high for th

North Korea agreed Tuesday to the repatriation of only 27 of its 31 nationals held in South Korea after their wooden boat drifted to the South last month, withdrawing its earlier demand that all of them, including four who have expressed their wish to defect, be returned, officials said.The agreement, expressed through the Red Cross channel of the two countries, ends the deadlock that has lasted s