Share your Haerang travel stories Korail Tourism Development will hold a travel story contest on its flagship rail cruise Haerang to celebrate its seventh anniversary.Participants can submit their stories and experience riding the Haerang from Sept. 3-13, and the rail tour operator will announce the winners on Sept. 18.The winners will be offered the chance to ride the “hotel train” for two days starting in October, and see Korea’s beautiful landscapes and seascapes.The Haerang, launched in Nove

FIFA presidential candidate Chung Mong-joon urged the global soccer governing body’s electoral and ethics committees to investigate officials and regional soccer associations for violation of election rules in order to sway votes in favor of his European rival. Chung Mong-joon, the FIFA presidential candidate, speaks at a news conference in Seoul on Thursday. (Yonhap)In a press conference in Seoul on Thursday, the Korean candidate accused Salman Bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa, president of the Asian Foo

Once beloved and called Korea’s representative online multiplayer racing game, “Kartrider” seeks to further go full throttle with enhanced user interfaces and a few new surprises to regain the former glory of its nascent years.It has been 11 years since the country’s first racing game with cute characters was launched and created a stir and loyal fan base.Kartrider’s main character Dao (Nexon Korea)Cho Jae-yun, Nexon Korea’s point man in charge of Kartrider, said it owes a debt of gratitude to t

The chief nuclear envoys from South Korea and China held talks on Tuesday on ways to resolve a long-running standoff over North Korea's nuclear weapons program, officials said Tuesday, a day before President Park Geun-hye and Chinese President Xi Jinping hold a summit in Beijing. South Korea's chief nuclear envoy, Hwang Joon-kook, arrived in Beijing earlier in the day and held talks with his Chinese counterpart, Wu Dawei. Hwang said the Tuesday meeting was aimed at fine-tuning the North Korean n

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said that it would partially open the Asia Culture Center in Gwangju to the public this Friday. A nighttime view of the Asia Culture Center in Gwangju, which is slated for partial opening this week. (Yonhap)The complex’s facilities such as the ACC Archive & Research, ACC Creation, ACC Theatre and ACC Children centers will hold cultural programs everyday between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. They will also invite people to tour the facilities three times a day. Th

PYEONGCHANG, Gwangwon Province -- The morning light reflects off the surface of the Pyeongchanggang River glittering with the sound of the flowing water echoing in the quiet atmosphere.As the county’s main event -- a buckwheat blossom festival commemorating the 1930s writer Lee Hyo-seok -- is about to kick off this week attracting visitors to its vast field of white flowers, this river and its water valleys will also be filled with avid fly fishers.Fly fishing in Pyeongchang River (Park Hyong-ki

On the 28th floor of Sheraton Seoul D Cube City Hotel in Guro-gu, southwest Seoul, there is nothing much to see from the window of its fitness center but a panoramic view of the area that includes apartment complexes near Shindorim Station.But after a hearty meal at the hotel’s signature Feast buffet restaurant serving a variety of Asian cuisines ranging from Korean and Chinese to Japanese and Thai, visitors will feel the urge to burn some calories at its 24-hour gym.Once you press the start but

Until a few weeks ago, dessert fiends who wanted to taste Mont St. Clair’s famous cakes could only find them at the Japanese brand’s first overseas outpost in Seoul’s Banyan Tree Club and Spa. Now, one can find them at two more locations in Korea. Mont St. Clair’s two new Korean outlets sell around 100 varieties of desserts, pastries and bread. (Mont St. Clair Korea)Mont St. Clair’s second overseas boutique launched on Aug. 11 at Hyundai Department Store’s Coex branch, and the third outlet opene

It’s hot, it’s humid and you find yourself too tired after work to even head out to the gym and run a few laps on a treadmill to refresh your mind and body.When lacking self-motivation and self-esteem in the summer, maybe it is time to try exercising with a professional to guide and push you, and help you regain your confidence.Working out with a personal trainer is obviously more expensive than doing it yourself at a fitness center in your neighborhood. But trainers can not only provide health

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Tuesday that it would create multipurpose cultural centers in Seoul in an effort to rediscover Korea’s traditional arts and culture and spur the development of Korean content.In partnership with Hanjin Group, the government will build a high-tech facility called “K-Experience” next to Gyeongbokgung Palace to allow tourists to experience the country’s traditional and modern arts and culture.The center, which will be built by 2017 on the former site

Corruption, scandal, money laundering, internal strife, fraud, power and FBI investigations – the recent allegations surrounding FIFA have all the elements of a Hollywood movie.Chung Mong-joon (Yonhap)Oscar winner, producer and actor Ben Affleck, who is soon to be the next Batman, will produce a movie about FIFA’s alleged misdeeds over the last 20 years, recently involving the bidding processes for the Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022 World Cups. The star of this drama may play Charles “Chuck” Blazer,

A nuclear reactor along the west coast suddenly halted operation due to a malfunction caused by problems in the coolant pump, the state-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. said Saturday. The Hanbit No. 2 reactor at the nuclear power plant in Yeonggwang, 320 kilometers southwest of Seoul, stopped at 2:59 a.m., the company said.One of the four coolant pumps was found to have a problem, which led the reactor to shut down automatically. A fire also broke out caused by overheating in a circuit breake

The widow of former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung on Saturday returned home after her rare visit to North Korea, a trip which she hoped could pave the way for inter-Korean dialogue and cooperation.But Lee Hee-ho, 93, failed to have a much-anticipated meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un who extended her the invitation for a four-day visit to the North that started Wendesday."I visited North Korea with a sense of duty, believing that I should contribute to helping inherit the spirit

The number of people diagnosed with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in South Korea remained unchanged for 34 days at 186 as of Saturday.The country's death toll from the disease also has remained unchanged at 36 for the past 28 days.Ten patients are still hospitalized, but nine have already tested negative for the disease and are recovering from other complications caused by MERS.MERS is a viral respiratory disease that is also known as camel flu and is often linked to countries in the A

A United Nations agency for telecommunications said Saturday it has not been notified of North Korea's bid to change its standard time, amid rising concerns the move may further isolate the country.The remark came as North Korea said Friday it will push back its standard time by 30 minutes to mark the 70th anniversary of liberation from Japan's colonial rule. Accordingly, North Korea's clocks will be moved back a half-hour starting on the upcoming Aug. 15 anniversary.Currently, the two Koreas us

The first Korean musical shown on Broadway and London’s West End, the first Korean musical to perform more than 1,000 shows and the first Korean musical to reach an audience of more than 130 million worldwide -- “The Last Empress” -- is now on its 20th anniversary open-run in Seoul.After premiering in 1995 at the Seoul Arts Center, the historical production became an unforeseen local and international success never-before experienced in Korea, setting milestones in the country’s relatively short

Naver, South Korea’s biggest search portal, will launch a real-time mobile broadcasting app featuring the country’s hottest and newest K-pop singers and idol bands for the global audience and fans next month.In partnerships with Korea’s major entertainment and talent agencies including SM and YG, the global V app will stream the stars’ live concerts and their daily activities behind the scenes with real-time English subtitles.Also, the video streaming app will have communication features enablin

The United States is willing to show flexibility in nuclear talks with North Korea, if resumed, as demonstrated in a recent deal with Iran, a key Washington official on Pyongyang said Monday."We have long been open to dialogue with the DPRK and we have made quite clear to the DPRK that we are willing to engage in discussions on a range of issues," Sydney Seiler, the U.S. special envoy for the six-party talks, told reporters here. The DPRK is the acronym for the North's official name, the Democra

South Korea and the United States will work even more closely together to reunify the two Koreas, Seoul's point man on Pyongyang said Monday.Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo made the remark during an address at a security conference, saying the South Korea-U.S. alliance is "key" to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula."South Korea and the U.S. will work even more closely together to defend the values important to achieving a peaceful reunification of the Korean Peninsula, such as human

Comic artist Kim Mi-kyung is a realist. She also has a bit of a dark side. People had often told her that she was too honest to create funny, cute characters and cartoons. But Kim said her character traits have proven to be useful in creating comics such as “How I Got Married” and “Fantastic Cosmetic.” She has been writing comics under a pseudonym Kim Fanta, named after a soft drink she used to enjoy drinking when she was young.“Comics that I have created over the years were mostly based on my e