If you’ve ever wanted to be part of a torch-wielding mob, mark your calendar for the 2010 Jeongwol Daeboreum Fire Festival on Jeju, when an entire hillside is set ablaze.

The event is held during the first full moon of the Lunar New Year across Korea. The festival commemorates the practice of burning grassy fields to prepare them for the new growing season. This year’s 14th annual festival on Jeju was Feb. 13 and 14, with the climax hill torching the night of the 14th.

10-year-old video game is a national fixation in South Korea
Story by Alex Cybulski

Love is like the Protoss, Zerg and Terran duking it out | Credit: KBS Broadcasting
It is not unusual to turn on the television and see this commercial: decked out in matching leather jackets, with clear skin and perfectly groomed hair, a group of teenage boys pose for the camera. Punk pop plays in the background, telling of their youthful virility. Who are these heartthrobs? With their sponsors labeled on their motorcycle jackets ranging from Shinhan Bank to Samsung, …

Jeju Island offers so many hidden treasures that it can be a bit overwhelming. Looking at a map strewn with such enticements as Psyche Butterfly World, Love Land, and Nakcheon Village of Nine Guts (Shamanistic Ritual), it can leave one feeling that there certainly isn’t enough time in a year, much less a weekend, to take it all in. Thus, when spotting a rather nondescript sign for Jeju Art Park, you could be forgiven for driving right by. After all, it sounds like it might be a retired farm couple …

Like being hit by the infamous Apple itself, it came upon me one snowy evening in February to stray from my midnight essay writing routine and check the latest Facebook reel on the subject of ESL Teachers in Korea. Only two advertisements into my inspection, the words “Seeking Replacement Teacher for Position on Jeju Island” immediately seized my romantic heart and simultaneously thrust it into a swift commitment to international travel. Countless daydreams, e-mails, blogs, and Skype-talks later, the unpalatable task of connecting the American Indian Movement with the …