Moran, a black Labrador retriever, can do more than just sit and roll over. She has special skills that no human and most pet dogs lack.With a keen sense of smell, the 30-kilogram Lab can track down missing persons miles away who are trapped in natural disaster areas or deep in the mountainous woods. She can help firemen and police solve mysteries on whether the missing victims are alive or dead.Moran is a rescue dog for the Special Rescue Team in Dobong-gu. The team, which works closely with th

Train ride to Korean rural regionsKorail is offering train tour packages to city slickers seeking to get away from their city lives and travel to rural areas to experience their food and farming culture this month.In partnership with government agencies such as the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Rural Development Administration, Korail’s “Rail Green” train tour will enable travelers to visit traditional farming villages.The train will take them to places such as Gwangyan

Bernhard Butz, the culinary director at the Millennium Seoul Hilton, appears to be a tired and stressed chef at first glance.But it’s only natural that he looks that way after hearing his story and understanding what kind of responsibilities he has for the hotel.He manages five specialty restaurants, a bar and a deli, in addition to making sure breakfast, lunch and dinner are served properly to the highest standards.  Pastries called “Namssants” designed and made by Bernhard ButzAnd that’s not a

Caribbean Bay to unveil ‘Mega Storm’ Caribbean Bay, the world’s largest indoor/outdoor water park, is getting set to introduce the world’s largest funnel water slide -- Mega Storm.The new attraction is only the second of its kind in the world, following Yas Waterworld’s Dawwama ride in Abu Dhabi. Caribbean Bay’s Mega Storm measures 355 meters, roughly 1.5 times bigger than the Dawwama. The large-scale inner tube waterslide will take riders through an exhilarating series of heart-stopping quick d

It was a dream come true for Yang Ji-hoon, a 1990s a cappella singer, producer and songwriter, to come back, produce and sing pop music for the public after almost two decades away.He now wants to share his experience of rediscovering his artistic passion with people who long for a life in arts and entertainment. Yang seeks to pass on his know-how through books and songs in what he calls the JihoonOwl’s Project, which is also the name of his independent band.“I have about 10 projects in mind I w

Former FIFA vice president Chung Mong-joon said Wednesday that he would carefully consider running for the top job at the world’s football governing body.“I will decide on whether to participate in an election after consulting with officials in the global football community,” Chung said in a press conference in Seoul.Chung, who served as FIFA’s No. 2 man from 1994 to 2011 and chief of the Korea Football Association from 1993 to 2009, helped Korea co-host the World Cup in 2002 with Japan.By Park

Four emerging Korean music groups will be performing at the K-pop Night Out concert on the sidelines of MIDEM, one of the world’s biggest music tradeshows, in Cannes, France this week.The four are: The Barberettes, a retro girl group; Loro’s, a modern rock band; Coreyah, a Korean classical music gukak ensemble; and Rock ‘N’ Roll Radio, a rock band.Representing Korean music in their respective genres, they will be performing for about three hours on June 6 at the Palais des Festivals venue, accor

For Lee Sae-rom, the lead clarinetist of the Incheon Philharmonic Orchestra, music equals energy. “My definition of music is that it equals energy,” said Lee, 30, in an interview. “Playing the clarinet has given me the energy. It can also give the audience ― the listeners ― the energy and the comfort they need.”This is what the young artist constantly keeps in mind when planning for her recitals or practicing and performing with the Incheon Philharmonic. Music ― whether classical or non-classica

Rail cruise in KoreaKorail Tourism Development is gearing up to promote its nationwide rail cruise called Haerang in an effort to attract more foreign tourists during the summer.The Haerang cruise express offers three-day and two-day tourism programs enabling travelers to see Korea’s beautiful landscapes while staying overnight in the train’s hotel-style rooms.It travels as far as Jeonju City in North Jeolla Province, where travelers can visit its famous hanok villages of traditional Korean home

GEIRANGER, Norway ― The moment you step on a ferry and travel on the waters of Geirangerfjord, surrounded by snow-peaked mountains and glittering waterfalls, all you can say about the place is: It’s mesmerizing.Feeling the cool, fresh sea breeze hitting your face on the top deck of the ferry, and watching the fjord’s incredible nature, the trip is an instant tonic for all the stress, anxiety and burdens you may have bought from the office.The fjord’s waterfront landscape is indescribable. Geiran

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Tuesday that it has appointed professor Song Cheol-eui of Seoul National University’s Department of Korean Language and Literature as the 10th director general of the National Institute of the Korean Language.Song, who will head the institute over the next three years, has written a number of articles in the fields of language policy and education for academic journals. As a well-known figure in the Korean language academic circles, he has contrib

‘Korea Night’ in LAThe Korea Tourism Organization will hold “Korea Night” at LA Dodgers Stadium on June 17 when the Dodgers and Texas Rangers face off in a Major League Baseball match.Korean players Ryu Hyun-jin, a starting pitcher for the LA Dodgers, and Choo Shin-soo, a Texas Rangers outfielder, will participate in the promotion of Korea to the some 50,000 spectators at the stadium, according to the KTO.K-pop girl group 2NE1’s CL will throw the first pitch of the game, and Korean rock singer Y

Koreans take the fewest vacations in the world, according to a survey by Expedia, the world’s largest online travel company.They go on a vacation for about eight days a year, well below the world average of 20 days. The French take about 30 days of vacation.The company’s 2014 survey showed that this was mostly because of the negative perception of vacation by Korean bosses, and their tight work schedule.Faced with Korea’s longstanding rigid labor policy, Expedia seeks to change this by increasin

Hadong Wild Tea FestivalHadong County in South Gyeongsang Province will host the 19th Hadong Wild Tea Cultural Festival from May 22-25.The festival will include programs to educate about Hadong’s unique tea history that dates back to the Unified Silla era.It will also have programs where visitors can hand-pick wild tea leaves from the gardens, and make teas, with demonstrations on tea-drinking etiquette for the young.Hadong officials said the festival will hold sideline events such as singing co

The 2015 Summer Universiade in Gwangju between July 3 and 14 will not just be about college athletes and teams from around the world completing for shiny medals.The sports gala will also hold festivals, music events and art exhibitions that best represent the host city.The Gwangju Universiade Organizing Committee said the “Cultureversiade” would be held on the sidelines of the games in line with the University Games’ concept of “Eco-friendliness, Peace, IT and Culture,” or “EPIC.”In partnership

The Korean Culture and Information Service said on Thursday that it would launch a program called “Hello, Mr. K,” aimed at promoting the Korean culture and arts to foreigners living in the country.The agency, which is part of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, will begin the series with a concert at Yonsei University in Seoul on Friday, inviting some 1,600 foreign students studying in Korea. The event will include a live dance performance using LED technology, and nongak, a traditional

Children play in an alleyway. Women wash clothes by a stream. Girls carry their baby sisters and brothers on their backs. These are the scenes from the lives of ordinary Korean people in the 1950s and ’60s captured in the paintings of artist Park Soo-keun. Fifty major paintings by Park depicting life immediately after the Korean War are on display at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza in an exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of the artist’s death. Park is one of Korea’s first generation of W

Kim Ah-young, director of the Center for Islamic Studies, often finds herself in the middle of a tug-of-war between Christianity and Islam.As a devout and open-minded Christian who seeks deeper understanding of Islam, her action is sometimes branded as “dovish” by hawkish Christians. Muslims don’t always find her stance convincing and trustworthy either, given centuries of hostility between the two religious groups.But her mission is clear ― to bring the two religions closer together through mut

Lee Seung-hun’s career story is filled with failures. But when he looks back and adds all those failures up, Lee said, it equals success.He is now living his dream, working as a creature technical director at the world’s biggest special effects movie company, ILM, with his family in San Francisco. “Star Wars” producer George Lucas founded ILM, which is currently part of the Walt Disney Company.“Be tenacious, commit and execute. It’s really hard, but that’s the best advice I can give to the young

Koo Kyo-seong has a lot on his mind these days.Whether riding his skateboard during lunch hour or sitting at his office desk surrounded by animated figurines, all Koo thinks about is how to make “MapleStory” more visually engaging and entertaining.As the chief concept artist for MapleStory, Nexon Korea’s fantasy adventure multiplayer online role-playing game, he is faced with the heavy burden of making the company’s all-time favorite PC game sustainable in this rapidly-changing mobile environmen