The flags of participating nations wave in a sea breeze blowing through Saemangeum, May 16, 2023. (Photo by Saul Latham) If you are a scout, about to attend the 25th World Scout Jamboree 2023 in Saemangeum in South Korea this August, you must know that Buan’s local community in southwestern Jeollabuk-do Province is busy setting the scene for this major youth and culture event. Under the theme “Draw Your Dream,” the World Scout Jamboree will be held in Saemangeum for 12 days from

A forager works the mud flats near the island of Haseom on Buan's west coast, June 16, 2023. (Courtesy of Saul Latham) On the westernmost end of Buan’s Byeonsan Penin sula, Kim Jeong-hwa sits happily feasting on a fresh crab in his quaint, impeccably tidy seafood restaurant set on a tiny village street by the sea. He is a friendly man, toughened by 25 years of exposure to the region's w onderful natural elements and yet gentle and calm, softened and humbled by country living. 

People flock to the former presidential office known as Cheong Wa Dae, April 22, to enjoy an exhibition and the site’s charms ahead of the anniversary of its opening to the public last May. (Courtesy of Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) Cheong  Wa Dae, the former presidential office and residence, is marking the first anniversary of its opening to the public with special events.     The t wo events both began in June: an&nb

Itaewon, Seoul (Courtesy of Yongsan District) About eight months have passed since a crowd crush in Itaewon, Seoul, killed 159 people, who had gathered there to celebrate Halloween on Oct ober   29.   The scars from the tragedy still remain deep in the hearts of people. Itaewon used to be a youth-oriented entertainment hub, but many of them stopped visiting the neighborhood following the deadly crush of people. As a result, sales at most businesses there plummeted,

Outside a Syracuse, New York, restaurant in June 2019, local Korean War veterans hold up “The Korean War and its Legacy,” a history book for elementary, middle and high school students published by the Korean War Legacy Foundation that year. (Photo by the Korean War Legacy Foundation) As the Korean War began on June 25, 1950, the month of June in South Korea has been about remembering the soldiers and patriots who died protecting their homeland. Along with efforts in Korea, devotees

President Yoon Suk Yeol, speaking from the Office of the President’s disaster control center on May 11, announces the COVID-19 pandemic will officially end on June 1. (Yonhap) On June 1, Korea officially began treating COVID-19 as an endemic, and the lives of its people have changed significantly.     Korea has eliminated nearly all restrictions related to the pandemic, including mandatory quarantines, believing t

A surf instructor, right, shows two beginners basic surfing techniques at Gisamun Beach, Yangyang-gun County, Gangwon-do Province, on the east coast of Korea, May 27, 2023. (Photo by Saul Latham) The Korean wave, or hallyu, may be sweeping the world, but on the once-insular Peninsula  –  or at least the southern part of the Korean Peninsula  –  many Koreans have become obsessed with another kind of wave, surfing.   Korea’s history of surfing dates b