A woman takes a picture of the new Office of the President from a section of Yongsan Park temporarily opened in June. That section and all of the former U.S. military base that has occupied the land since 1945 will be turned into a huge park in central Seoul. The Yongsan-gu District is on the north bank of the Hangang, in the center of Seoul. Yet, most Koreans have never been allowed to see a large portion of Yongsan even though it sits in the middle of their cap

Gim (dried laver), is one of Koreans’ staple foods, usually eaten with rice. / Courtesy of gettyimagesbank Seaweed is one of those things present in many Korean dishes that can strike newcomers as odd. But after trying a few of the dishes that contain bits of seaweed, or come wrapped in crinkly black-green laver, most people are likely to develop a taste, if not a craving, for it.    A wide variety of seaweed from diff

A corgi puppy shakes itself dry after getting soaked. / Courtesy of gettyimagesbank Korea has gone through a cultural shift in terms of public attitudes toward animals. Eating dog meat was once common while keeping pets indoors was considered unusual. Dogs were raised to keep thieves away rather than provide companionship.   Yet, public attitudes have changed dramatically in recent decades, with a growing number of people keeping pets as companions or “family members.

Migrant workers pluck cabbage at a farm in Chungju, Chungcheongbuk-do Province. The Korean government will invite more than 50,000 migrant workers to Korea in the remaining months of this year, as part of its effort to deal with labor shortages in the shipbuilding, manufacturing and service industries.   According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the number of job vacancies stood at 230,000 as of June, the highest since February 2018.   The labor shor

Artists with disabilities at the opening ceremony of “Into the People, Into Harmony,” an exhibition at Cheong Wa Dae’s Chunchugwan in central Seoul, August 31. / Courtesy of Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism An art exhibition highlighting the works of disabled artists was held at Cheong Wa Dae, the former presidential compound.    The exhibition was designed to support artists with disabilities and present their works to the pu