NKorea’s Kim issues ‘important’ guidelines on how to bolster the army and protect sovereignty
Washington Post

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un issued “important” guidelines on how to bolster the army and protect the nation’s sovereignty at a high-level ruling Workers’ Party meeting, state media said Sunday, an indication that Pyongyang may be ready to conduct an atomic test anytime.

North Korea said last month that it would conduct its third nuclear test to protest international sanctions toughened over its long-range rocket launch in December. The U.S., South Korea and other countries have urged the North to scrap its nuclear test plans or face grave consequences.

SKorea envoy says NKorea nuke test seems imminent
AP via Google News

South Korea’s U.N. ambassador said Monday a North Korean nuclear test “seems to be imminent.”

Ambassador Kim Sook said there are “very busy activities” taking place at North Korea’s nuclear test site “and everybody’s watching.”

Kim told a press conference that in the event of a nuclear test, he expects the U.N. Security Council to respond with “firm and strong measures.”

Michelle Rhee Gets an Education
New York Times Magazine

In your new book, “Radical,” you recount that while growing up in a Korean-American household in Toledo, if your brother brought home a bad grade, your mother would ground you, not him. Can you explain her thinking?

My mother is a very traditional Korean mom. I grew up with clear roles as the girl of the family, and one of them was being responsible for my brothers and specifically to make sure my younger brother was doing well in school. Korean culture is very lenient on boys.

Attending a North Korean school … in Japan
CNN.com

On the surface, it resembles just about any other high school in Japan — or any high school in most places around the world.

Students sit quietly studying math, science and English; some struggle to stay focused, looking at the clock and waiting for the bell to ring. When the school day ends, some move out to the sports fields for rugby or soccer practice, while others study music in emptying hallways.

What makes this school different is the pictures of two men scattered throughout the building — portraits of North Korea’s founder Kim Il Sung and previous leader Kim Jong Il.

‘Gangnam Style’ Reaches N.Korea
Chosun Ilbo

Not even North Korea has been spared the global phenomenon that is “Gangnam Style.” The Chosun Ilbo has footage of North Koreans watching a video of rapper Psy’s smash hit.

Caleb Mission, which supports North Korean defectors, acquired the video while trying to find out how South Korean entertainment plays in the North. The mission, along with the Chosun Ilbo, gathered information in a Chinese border city last month.

The Walking Dead star Steven Yeun on Glenn’s changing role as the prison and Woodbury collide
Channel Guide Magazine

CGM: Was the roar you let loose after freeing yourself and killing the zombie Merle [Michael Rooker] sicced on you at Woodbury a thesis statement for who Glenn has become this season?
Steven Yeun: You know, that scream actually wasn’t scripted — that just came out of the scene. Dan Sackheim, who was our director for that episode, gave me free rein in that moment to just play. I was kicking stuff over and falling and picking myself back up and it was so crazy and intense. And finally, once that actual hit happened, my only reaction was to just let it out. So, yeah, you could call it a thesis statement, but I don’t think Glenn is done growing. Glenn is still very much a young man — and when traumatic things like that happen, sometimes with youth you kind of overstep your boundaries, as well. I think people will be interested to see how far he takes this.

Small roles, powerful performances
Los Angeles Times

Moon Bloodgood: Vera, “The Sessions”

Moon Bloodgood may be familiar to audiences for starring roles in “Terminator Salvation” and TNT’s “Falling Skies,” but in “The Sessions,” she’s almost unrecognizable — and she couldn’t be happier. As Vera, the caregiver for polio-stricken Mark O’Brien (John Hawkes), the stunning actress is stripped of all glamour, “hair pulled back, wearing funky clothes, and I tried to walk in a really frumpy way,” she says.

“It was so nice to play someone who didn’t have to look pretty in front of the camera. You get to be loose and real and relaxed.”

Fresh Footage From Community’s Changlorious Return
TVLine

The more things change — or Chang, if you will — the more they stay the same. However, Community, which (finally) launches its fourth season this Thursday (NBC, 8/7c), is about to turn that adage on its head with the not-so-triumphant return of Ken Jeong‘s Ben Chang.

Last seen living in the vents of the dastardly City College, the onetime troublemaker returns to Greendale early in Season 4 — but, alas, he’s no longer Chang. Instead, the character is suffering from — dun, dun, dun! — Changnesia and goes by the name Kevin.

Reality Check: Hines Ward is still cooking
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A particular joy in Food Network’s “Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off” (Sundays) is knowing that the two remaining contestants who are not self-proclaimed, gotta-win-it foodies have done well so far.

Until this week. Low-key Hines Ward continues to turn out some of the most-liked plates. In this week’s episode, he managed to create some nicely done quesadillas and miniature cupcakes.

Rogge confident Pyeongchang will overcome debt obstacle
Reuters

International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge is confident Pyeongchang will host a successful Winter Olympics in 2018 despite fears that preparations could suffer as the South Korean town battles mounting debts.

Figure skater Kim Yu-na to perform with Michelle Kwan in Special Olympics closing ceremony
Yonhap News

South Korean figure skating star Kim Yu-na will perform with her idol, Michelle Kwan of the U.S., in the closing ceremony of the Special Olympics World Winter Games in PyeongChang, organizers said Monday.

Concert to commemorate Korean immigration to isles
Honolulu Star Advertiser

The Korean American Foundation Hawaii is commemorating the 110th anniversary of Korean immigration to the islands with a concert, “Seulgidoong: Korean Rhapsody,” at 7 p.m., March 2, at the Hawai‘i Convention Center. An 11-person ensemble will merge traditional Korean music with a contemporary style.

How to travel to North Korea
CNN Travel

You would think with tension so high, the isolated state would be off-limits to tourists. But it’s not. Here’s how to get in and the best times to go

Man Hurt as Samsung Phone Explodes in Pants Pocket
Chosun Ilbo

Another Galaxy smartphone has exploded and injured its owner. Bupyeong Fire Station in Incheon on Sunday said a 55-year-old man reported the previous day that his smartphone battery blew up in the pocket of his pants.

Sun-Kissed Moon

Falling Skies star Moon Bloodgood welcomes KoreAm into her L.A. home. With her just-renewed series, a critically acclaimed indie film, a loving husband of one year and a baby on the way (plus her ever-proud mom always nearby), the actress shares that, at 37, she’s happier than she’s ever been.

story by OLIVER SARIA
photographs by MITCHELL NGUYEN MCCORMACK/Corbis

Moon Bloodgood’s mother Sang Cha greets me at the gate leading into the front yard of her daughter’s Venice bungalow. I’m not surprised to see her here. Five years ago, when Bloodgood last graced the cover of KoreAm, Sang Cha was present for the cover shoot, which portrayed Moon as an elegant starlet in Hollywood’s Golden Era. In that article, Moon, then in the midst of filming What Just Happened, starring Robert De Niro, was reflective about her sometimes difficult childhood in Orange County. She talked about being raised in poverty with her older sister, Caitlin, by her immigrant mother who divorced Bloodgood’s Dutch-Irish father when she was 3.

This time around, the 37-year-old actress is very much focused on the near future with a baby—her first with husband Grady Hall, whom she married last August—due in early December and a critically acclaimed film, The Sessions—in which she co-stars with Oscar-nominated/ winning actors John Hawkes, William H. Macy and Helen Hunt—set to premiere on Oct. 26. Moon—pun intended—has certainly entered a crucial phase in her life and career.

As I wait in the living room, she emerges from the back bedroom after an afternoon nap. She is five-and-a-half months pregnant, her hair is tousled, her baby bump protrudes from a loose cotton dress, she’s not wearing any makeup, and she practically glows. Her skin radiates; her sun-bleached hair casts an aura; and she exudes a yogi’s contentedness. There’s so much hormone-induced magic in the room, I could spontaneously lactate. Continue Reading »

In North Korea, Putting a Female Face Front and Center
New York Times

Ri Sol-ju, the wife of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, is adding a new look to the nation’s leadership. Until she began accompanying Mr. Kim in public appearances in recent weeks, holding his arm and smiling at what appear to be adoring crowds, there had seldom been a woman’s face among the North’s power circles, which are filled with grim-faced party secretaries in Mao suits and military generals in their olive-colored uniforms.

Since North Korea’s state-run news media revealed Ms. Ri’s identity on July 25, ending weeks of speculation, the outside world has learned a bit more about her, most notably that she has been a YouTube star of sorts.

BCRO announces formation of Korean American GOP committee
PolitickerNJ

Bergen County Republican Chairman Robert Yudin today announced the formation and addition of the Korean American Republican Committee (KARC), a new committee under the umbrella of the Bergen County Republican Organization.

Yudin said the BCRO formed KARC to enhance the relationship between the Bergen County Republican Party and the county’s growing Korean-American community.

East Bay woman, 82, dies of injuries from January attack, sexual assault
San Jose Mercury News (Calif.)

An 82-year-old woman who was beaten and sexually assaulted on her daily walk in January died of her injuries Tuesday, and police are still seeking the public’s help in locating her attacker.

Sun Kwon was found, bloodied and beaten, around 9:15 a.m. Jan. 28 in a side parking lot at a tire store in the 10700 block of San Pablo Avenue. Police said her attacker or attackers had severely punched or kicked her head and may have used old tires to hide her body until she was found by a store employee.

New charge in UT sexual attack case
KXAN (Texas)

According to UT police, on June 24, Ji Hun Choi followed the victim from the intersection of 21st Street and Guadalupe to her dorm at Roberts Hall. When the victim went to her dorm he held the door open for her and followed her up the stairs. As she walked up the stairs, he began to photograph her with his phone and grabbed her from behind.

Originally, officers charged the suspect with a lesser charge, assault causing bodily injury and improper photography, a state jail felony. After further investigation, police said that Choi intentionally and knowingly touched the victim without her consent, therefore committing sexual assault.

Seoul Sausage Joins Food Network’s Great Food Truck Race in Addition to Planned Brick-And-Mortar
LAist

The owners — Chris Oh, Yong Kim, and Ted Kim — grew up together in Korean American families in NorCal, attending the same school since they were younsters. Against their parents’ wishes the guys chased their love of cooking and started up a small business serving up Korean sausages with flair from Chris’s apartment. Since then they’ve developed a stable of encased Korean BBQ flavors like galbi, kimchi, spicy, garlicky pork, and of course a vegetarian sausage for the meat-free crowd. They’ve also recently added “sausage and balls” to their repertoire — the balls being made from Korean kimchi fried rice. (Hey, someone had to take over the innuendoes in Starry Kitchen’s absence.)

They’ll compete with eight other teams on the season which is fully wrapped. It remains to be seen who won the grand prize (a food truck and a $50,000), but whatever the outcome might be, we just hope it doesn’t push back the opening of the brick-and-mortar any more. We’re ready for a sausage fest!

Moon Bloodgood – Moon Bloodgood’s Killer Pregnancy Dreams
ContactMusic.com

The Terminator Salvation star, who is five and a half months pregnant, is convinced her worries about becoming a parent are affecting her sleep.

She tells U.S. talk show host Conan O’Brien, “I’ve had a frequent dream where I’m killing someone. I had a dream where I was killing a woman and she was broken into pieces, and I just kept hammering in her face. I don’t know what this means, this is awful!

“I think I’m afraid of making a mistake, or I’m going to do something bad as a parent. But I have this dream where I kill someone and sometimes it’s a woman, sometimes it’s a dragon. (I blame) too much spicy food!”

The supermodel’s guide: Where to shop in Seoul
CNNGo

She’s walked the runways from Paris to New York for the likes of Dior and Armani and was the face of MAC, Saks Fifth Avenue and Levi’s.

On top of all that, she’s also a writer, painter and a prolific cartoonist.

And although it would probably be difficult to make any type of clothing look bad on that body, Korea’s top supermodel Song Kyung-ah, 33, is extremely picky about shopping.

We asked Korea’s top supermodel about her favorite fashion haunts and where to shop in Seoul.

Fencing: Korea’s Kim Jiyeon takes sabre gold
Reuters

South Korea’s Kim Jiyeon beat Russian Sofya Velikaya 15-9 to win the Olympic women’s sabre gold on Wednesday.

The number five seed had earlier ended American Mariel Zagunis’s bid for a third successive gold with a 15-13 semi-final victory.

Zagunis, the flag-bearer for the United States at the opening ceremony, held a commanding 8-2 lead and then a 12-5 advantage, but grew tentative as the bout progressed.

The Most Homoerotic Olympic Fencing Dispute Ever
Buzzfeed

During yesterday’s men’s bronze medal foil fencing match, Byungchui Choi of South Korea faced off against Andrea Baldini of Italy. Early in the match Choi felt that a touch Baldini scored was not legal, but rather had hit him in the butt.

The suits have sensors on them to help the judge determine if a hit was legal. Note the green light that goes off behind Baldini (on the right) when he touches Choi. That means that a legal censor was triggered in Choi’s suit.

First Asian American Olympian to Win Gold Turns 92, Recounts Practicing Diving into Sand Pit
NBC Los Angeles

California native and Olympic diver Sammy Lee had to train in a sand pit because Asian Americans – or other minority groups – could not use the public pool, but that didn’t stop him from winning the gold in the 1948 London Olympics.

“In my day, they said you had to be white to win the gold, because the white man has a ‘better looking body,’” said Lee, who turned 92 Wednesday.

Photos from Lee’s legendary career as the first Asian-American to win Olympic gold cast him in stark contrast to his much larger teammates.

33 beautiful islands to visit in Korea
CNNGo

We bet you didn’t know Korea has more than 3,300 islands. Here’s the prettiest one percent

Look who’s Wie-ly grown up! US teen golf star Michelle Wie swaps white shorts for Matthew Williamson gown at Olympics party
Daily Mail (U.K.)

Attending the party with fellow golfer Jeehae Lee, from South Korea, 22-year-old Wie looked sensational in the embellished red and nude floor-length sleeveless dress, which featured elaborate asymmetrical detail, a high neckline and a racy, thigh-high slit.

The golfer – who has played the sport in her native Hawaii since she was just four years old, and became the youngest player ever to qualify for a United States Golf Association (USGA) amateur championship aged 10 – excitedly tweeted about her evening at Omega House.

Korea to Launch Mini-Satellite in U.S.
Chosun Ilbo

A team led by Prof. Jin Ho at Kyunghee University will launch a miniature satellite jointly developed with scientists at University of California, Berkeley.

The satellite dubbed CINEMA and weighing just 10 kg, will be launched into space aboard the Atlas 5 rocket at Vandenberg Air Force Base on Thursday, the researchers said Wednesday.

CINEMA is 30 cm long and 10 cm wide and high. Its mission is to fly 800 km above the Earth and detect electrically charged particles in space and gauge changes in the earth’s magnetic field.

Suspect arrested in UT sexual attack
KXAN (Texas)

University of Texas police late Monday afternoon arrested the man accused of attacking a woman at her campus dorm throughout the weekend.

Ji Hun Choi, 21, was booked into jail at 5:20 p.m. after he was already inside the police station, police said.

Dan Rutherford Campaigns For Governor in Korea
NBC Chicago

State Treasurer Dan Rutherford is taking his campaign for governor to Asia this week. Rutherford is on a six-day junket to South Korea, sponsored by that country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, to drum up business for Illinois.

62% – Most Asian Americans Describe Themselves by Country of Origin
Pew Research Center

About six-in-ten Asian Americans (62%) say they most often describe themselves by using the country where they or their family originated (e.g., Chinese or Chinese American). One-in-five (19%) most often describe themselves as Asian or Asian American, and 14% most often describe themselves as American.

First Armenian Korean Festival Set for September
Asbarez (Armenia)

Talents, culinary feasts, music, and traditions of two vibrant and historical peoples will come together this fall for a unique event. The 1st Annual Korean Armenian Festival is slated to take place on Saturday September 15 through Sunday September 16, 2012. The two day affair will take place at Crescenta Valley Park and promises to be a fun filled day for families and children of all ages

Korea Tackles Record Drought
Wall Street Journal

The prolonged dry spell has prompted the government to set up a disaster relief center to coordinate responses and set aside 7 billion won for drought-relief efforts.

Provincial governments in many parts of the country have been drilling wells and supplying residents with drinking and agricultural water. As of Tuesday, about 80% of the country was rated at the most extreme drought level.

S.Korea to build navy base on frontline island
AFP via Google News

South Korea’s navy is to build an advance base on a frontline island to bolster defences near the disputed Yellow Sea border with North Korea, officials said on Tuesday.

The navy has been given local government approval to reclaim 23,489 square metres (250,000 square feet) at Baengnyeong island to build the base, said an official at Incheon city, west of Seoul, which oversees the islands.

Overseas Korean community leaders reconnect with Seoul
Korea Times

Over 400 community leaders and executives from approximately 70 different nations around the world met in the Sheraton Grande Walkerhill Hotel for the 13th World Korean Community Leaders Convention.

The event was hosted by the Overseas Koreans Foundation to give Koreans around the world, who may find themselves increasingly distant from their culture, a chance to form a solid link to their home country and to discuss the role Korean community associations can play in strengthening cultural networks.

Daniel Henney wins Best New Actor
Han Cinema

“Shanghai Calling”, featuring Hallyu actor Daniel Henney, won two awards at the 15th annual Shanghai International Film Festival.

The 32-year-old actor of Korean and American descent won Best New Actor for his role in the romantic comedy that centers on the theme of intercultural romance and the obstacles that arise when Sam, a top notch lawyer from New York, is relocated to Shanghai.

S.Korea robot manufacturer to launch ‘K-pop star robots’
Straits Times (Singapore)

According to Dongbu, the robot ‘will be able to fully reenact movements and dances of stars’ using more than 20 artificial motor ‘joints’ installed all over its body. In addition, users can make the robots look like their favourite stars using attachable artificial skin.

Users will be able to download the latest songs and dances via Android and Apple application stores and link them to the robot, said the company.

Moon Bloodgood on ‘Falling Skies’ Season 2
Crave Online

On “Falling Skies” she plays Dr. Anne Glass, a medic who treats the human resistance and helps fight the aliens. Anne’s story continue in the second season; which is currently running on TNT.

Previously, Bloodgood appeared in movies like Pathfinder and Terminator Salvation, and I saw her next movie Six Sessions earlier this year at Sundance. After all of that viewing, it was a treat to sit with Bloodgood one on one and catch up on everything she’s done in her career.

Arizona’s Refsnyder Named CWS Most Outstanding Player
Yahoo Sports

The Korean American adoptee was named the top player of this year’s College World Series, which was won by U of A.

He hit .476 with 2 HR and 5 RBIs during the series, leading all other players in home runs (2), hits (10), runs scored (6), total bases (16) and his five runs batted in tied him for first.

Basketball bridges U.S.- North Korea gap
Dayton Daily News (Ohio)

It’s not surprising North Korea didn’t know what to make of Luke Elie and the rest of his American teammates when they first landed in Pyongyang a little over a week ago.
According to several sources, they were the first American basketball team to visit North Korea since the bitterly-divisive Korean War, which began 62 years ago today.

Utah native Dia Frampton performs tonight in Utah
Salt Lake Tribune (Utah)

As if tonight’s concert calendar weren’t packed enough, Utah native Dia Frampton performs tonight at 7 p.m. at The Complex in Salt Lake. Tickets are $20 at SmithsTix.

Frampton finished in second place during the first season of the NBC series “The Voice.” But she was robbed.

Book Review: Making Paper Cranes by Mihee Kim-Kort
Huffington Post

Mihee, a Korean American Presbyterian immigrant woman, takes us on a journey of honest self-discovery employing a wry sense of humor, keen cultural insight and an ability to ask and respond to powerful questions with which we can all identify.

South Korea’s Lee defends stance on North
Washington Post

Facing growing criticism that his hard-line stance toward North Korea has backfired, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak defended the strategy, and said there are signs his approach is beginning to work.

Lee has said that Seoul will provide aid and security to its neighbor only after Pyongyang denuclearizes. Speaking on Monday, he said that controversial strategy had yielded a breakthrough: In recent meetings between the Koreas, the North has been willing to discuss its nuclear program. Though talking about the arsenal is far different than dismantling it, the subject itself was previously off limits.

In Falling Skies Moon Bloodgood: Softer, more cerebral
Philippine Star

What do you like most about your character, Anne Glass?
I really enjoy the fact that she’s a doctor. I think she’s very admirable. She doesn’t talk about herself often, is extremely selfless, always calm, rational, fair, and with reason. I admire her because I’m not always that way, and she is always selfless and very maternal towards everyone.

What would be the most difficult part of doing the series?
The subject matter is heavy and there’s lot of depth and weight, and you have to take yourself to that level. You’re supposed to be hungry and scared and you’ve lost your family. When we were working, the subject matter weighed on me at times. Sometimes I wanted levity, so I’d go home, watch some comedy on TV and have a beer because I just needed some sort of change. But I think no matter how much I resist it, I gravitate towards these subject matters because I like the drama and that’s where I feel most comfortable.

All grown up: Q/A with Priscilla Ahn
Oregon Music News

When you aren’t making music, what do you like to do?
I started taking a pottery class at the beginning of the year. I sorta suck at that, but I’m glad I tried! [Giggles] Now that it’s fall, I’m really wanting to make soups, and make the house smell like pumpkins, and just do a lot of cooking and be a home maker. So, when this tour is over, I’ll be doing a lot of that. I’m a home body.

SNSD officially joins Universal Music Group for U.S. debut
allkpop

SM Entertainment previously announced plans on releasing SNSD‘s upcoming album “The Boys“ worldwide, and it seems their plans on doing so have been officially confirmed!

On Oct. 12, SM Entertainment revealed that SNSD will release a maxi single (similar to a mini-album) in the United States sometime in November through the well known Universal Music Group under Interscope Records, which currently houses extremely famous talents such as Lady Gaga, Eminem and the Black Eyed Peas.

For Pyeongchang region, a golden opportunity in 2018
Travel Weekly

Now that South Korea has been named the host of the 2018 Winter Olympics, the Korea Tourism Organization is hoping that publicity building up to the sporting event seven years hence, along with associated infrastructure development, will spur foreign interest in, and visits to, the region surrounding host city Pyeongchang-eup.

Luis Maravi, spokesman at the KTO’s New York-area office in Fort Lee, N.J., said that Pyeongchang county, set in the scenic Taebaek Mountains about 110 miles east of capital city Seoul, is South Korea’s most popular outdoors-oriented getaway destination for domestic travelers. It might hold similar appeal for U.S. visitors, he added — if only they were also in the know.

The man behind Kim Jong-il Looking at Things
The Next Web

Undoubtedly, one of the most famous and most loved Tumblr blogs is Kim Jong il Looking at Things, which was founded one year ago by a 26-year old Portuguese guy named JR and has over 50,000 followers. In fact, when you search for “kim jong-il” on Google, his Tumblr is the 3rd result.

CBM: Who is the man behind Kim Jong-il looking at things?

JR: This is gonna be the most boring answer you’ve gotten. I’m just a regular guy, honestly. I’m 26 and I do what every regular, well-adjusted 26-year-old does, which involves lots of things I’ll probably regret in 15 years.

NKorean leader’s grandson arrives in Bosnia to enroll to an international high school
AP via Washington Post

Officials in Bosnia say North Korean leader Kim Jong Il’s grandson has arrived in the country to enroll at a private high school made up of international students.

A border police spokeswoman said 16-year-old Kim Han Sol entered the country at Sarajevo airport Wednesday afternoon on a regular flight from Vienna.

Why David Henry Hwang Wrote ‘Chinglish’
Wall Street Journal

The Tony Award-winning Chinese American playwright returns to Broadway with his new play “Chinglish.”

The comedy, which begins performances at the Longacre Theatre tomorrow and officially opens Oct. 27, is about the hilarity and politics that ensue when a U.S. businessman tries to secure a lucrative contract in China for his family’s sign-making firm. The lead producers of “Chinglish,” Jeffrey Richards and Jerry Frankel, are bringing the play to Broadway after a sold-out run at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago.

“In its own way, I would call it a groundbreaking comedy,” Richards said in an interview. “There’s never been a play, a comedy like ‘Chinglish,’ on Broadway. It explores relations today between the Chinese and Americans and our relationship. It’s very much cutting-edge in its way.”

The play was inspired by Hwang’s own business trips to China, which he has taken in the past six years amid China’s interest in Broadway-style musicals. “I happen to be the only even nominally Chinese person who’s written a Broadway show,” Hwang said. “So people would call me over for meetings and there’d always be plans to build a theater district in China.”

What’s so great about Seoul? Residents and visitors disagree
CNNGo

Most of Seoul’s residents love living in the Korean capital. Most visitors love the city too. But when it comes to why, their opinions diverge.

The findings emerged from a survey of 3,827 citizens and foreigners carried out by the Seoul City government. Seoulites said that Han River was the most charming aspect of Seoul, while palaces came in second, reported Yonhap.

In contrast, visitors to Seoul liked Korean food best, and the city’s friendly people. A new addition to the list for visitors was Korean saunas (jjimjilbang), which came in eighth in terms of popularity.

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