중앙데일리

Hugs all around as Kaesong throws open its doors to tourists

KAESONG, North Korea ― This may sound strange, but I feel at home in North Korea. After all, despite the yawning political gulf that separates our two countries, Kaesong is just a 90-minute ride from Seoul. Last week I was among a convoy of some 35…

Jan 04,2008
Forgo the casinos for a nose around the churches

If there’s a lesson I learned on my trip to Macao last month, it’s to avoid the casinos and plan ahead, especially when booking a return ferry. As a 22-year-old, like most people my age, I did not plan ahead. And this is precisely how I ended up str…

Dec 28,2007
Picture-perfect, any time of year

KYOTO ― As you enter Saikyoji Temple, the first sound you hear is the strike of a gong, a meditative call that fills the temple grounds. Taebe, in her 80s, spends her days striking the gong. She asks visitors to shake hands with her, and they are su…

Dec 21,2007
The island that pleased an African king

GEOJE ISLAND, South Gyeongsang ― The views are fit for a king, and even for an emperor. The late Ethiopian ruler Haile Selassie took a sidetrip to Geoje Island during a state visit to Korea in 1968. Standing on Mangchi Hill, Selassie is said to hav…

Dec 14,2007
Lion City calms a roaring appetite

For years, I’ve been tempted to sign up for a special food tour to Singapore. That’s when local travel agents take you around on a trolley to three different restaurants every night, each for an appetizer, a main course and dessert. But I never wen…

Dec 07,2007
Saddle up for the sport of kings

Horses have always been somewhat of a mystery for me. Like many girls I’d grown up watching Elizabeth Taylor’s perfectly groomed steed in “National Velvet” and the volatile Ginger in “Black Beauty,” with its lean flanks and silky black mane. But wh…

Nov 30,2007
Getting back to nature down on the farm

YANGPYEONG, Gyeonggi ― The young farmer helped us on to the back of the tractor and we throttled over to the nearby paddy where we would get our first lesson in rice farming. First we had to learn the names of the different tools and procedures. “…

Nov 22,2007
Fruity journeys into persimmon country

SANGJU ― Pictures of persimmons drying are a defining image of the autumn harvest in Korea. Every fall during the drying season, photographers and tourists swarm into Namjang Village, a neighborhood in Sangju City in North Gyeongsang, home to abou…

Nov 16,2007
Religious harmony in Chilgok County

What Chilgok lacks in commercial and historical pulling power it makes up in terms of inner spiritual beauty. Its relative isolation from the mainstream tourist beat means Chilgok maintains a sense of tranquility that other Korean towns can only envy…

Nov 09,2007
Pampered with views of pampas grass

POCHEON, Gyeonggi ― The feathery waves of pampas grass on Mount Myeongseong have some sad stories to tell. However, this 20-hectare field near the peak of the 923-meter high mountain chooses to remain silent. Standing higher than the average grown-…

Oct 26,2007

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