It’s a cold day on Halla Mountain. Gnarled trees cast ghastly shadows on the forest floor. We’re hunting a group of Koreans who’ve taken cover on the far side of a ravine. I take up a defensive position with Zach and Pete on the opposite ridge. As the wind blows bitter cold through the leaves, we see figures in camouflage fatigues moving through the underbrush. I flip the safety off my AK-47 and watch in silence as they break through a tangle of thorn bushes. …

Rumour has it that there are some beautiful things under the waters of ocean surrounding this rock of an island, but believing is in the seeing. There are two options for viewing these underwater wonders: scuba gear or submarine. The latter is more practical and easy with two submarines operating on the South side. The Seogwipo submarine is located at the very end of the point in Seogwipo harbour (past Cheonjiyeon falls), and shares a building with a boat tour place so enter the left side …

The open smile and warm eyes belonged to Myeong Gwan Ok (명관옥) as she greeted me on arrival at Yae Ji Won (예지원) in Bomok Village, not far from Seogwipo’s city centre. Visits to Seoul have kept Gwan Ok very busy during the last month or so. A couple of weeks ago time allowed her to share knowledge about her craft with me. Gwan Ok calls her craft Hanji Art Craft and if translated literally, one would be saying Korean paper art craft: A craft …

Korean drama on a grand scale, “Taewangsasingi”, has been on TV screens since mid September. Starring Korean wave actor Bae Yong-joon as Gwanggaeto the Great (391-413) it follows the life of Gwanggaeto and his reign. A reign that establishes the Goguryeo kingdom as a dominant power on the Korean peninsular. The drama itself is a twenty four part mix of history and fantasy with movie extravagance for the small screen.
Some of the drama’s reported $44 million budget was used to build an impressively sized set out in the Jeju …