A Celebration of Korea’s Finest Cuisine 2009

Date: 8th July 2009
Venue: Banqueting House, Whitehall Palace

Understanding Korean culture begins by understanding Korean food. Korea is a nation of great depth and character with a people known for their tenderness, generosity, kindness and warmth. Hospitality is one of Korea’s oldest customs; where it is one of life’s simple pleasures to welcome friends, family and guests to share in and enjoy their food.
The celebration featured nine of Korea’s leading Chefs, each producing dishes that delighted the senses and offered an introduction to the culinary wonders of Korea. To accompany the creations of these Korean Chefs, the evening’s entertainment included a Hanbok fashion show displaying a selection of traditional national dress and a live cooking demonstration, revealing the secrets behind some of Korea’s favourite dishes.

Date: Friday 10th July; the first being held from 17:00-18:00 and the second from 19:00 – 20:00
Venue: Korean Cultural Centre, Grand Buildings, 1-3 Strand, London WC2N 5BW
Admission: Free (Booking Necessary)

Korean Cultural Centre UK announces the forthcoming workshop revealing some of the key skills behind Korean cooking. The event will be led by popular, Korean television Chef, Un Sook Yoon.

The workshop will be split into two sessions and held in the Hall of The Korean Cultural Centre on Friday 10th July; the first being held from 17:00-18:00 and the second from 19:00 – 20:00.

Both sessions will feature:
1) A Master Class with Chef Un Sook Yoon on how to cook the legendary and most popular Korean dish, Bul-Goggi (Sweetly marinated BBQ Beef).
2) An Introduction to Kim-chi and how it can best compliment a meal.
3) Q + A session with Chef Un Sook Yoon

The master class will also be followed by a tasting session, with dishes including:
Royal Chap Chae: A noodle dish featuring Asia’s popular Glass Noodle. The noodles, sliced vegetables and beef are gently stir fried in sesame oil and served with a sweetened soy sauce. This now staple of the Korean diet was first created in the 17th century for the 15th King of the Joseon Dynasty, Gwanghaegun.

Jeon: In Korean, Jeon refers to a style of savoury pancake; Jeon as with western pancakes can include a range of ingredients according to one’s taste. Pajeon, a green onion with seafood pancake will be served along with a vegetarian alternative.

Deokbokki: Is a heated Korean rice cake and served in a hot spicy sauce, for the food tasting the dish Royal Deokbokki will be served where the spices are replaced with a sweet soy sauce.

For more information about the Introduction to Korean Cooking Workshop and to reserve your place, please contact: info@kccuk.org.uk or phone 020 7004 2600.

Asiana website, dreams and stories incorporated

Asiana Airlines (President & COO Young-Doo, Yoon) announced the opening of its new website on July 1 (www.flyasiana.com).

In bringing together content that was once spread across four different websites (www.flyasiana.com, www.ladyasiana.com, www.asianalittles.com and www.cyworld.com), access to information about the company has been made easier.

The greatest advantage of the new website is its simple arrangement that allows users to navigate it more easily. It contains three themed sections that specifically invite users to discuss their hopes and dreams, thereby making for strengthened communication.

The first section entitled “Asiana Dream” aims to help people from all walks of life fulfill their innermost dreams and does this by introducing a new dream topic every quarter that people can participate in. So, in the latest topic, people can write in with their dreams of studying abroad among which three winners will be selected to whom free tickets will be given and their stories made into a video film.

The second section entitled “Asiana Green” outlines 13 different things people can do when travelling in active support of the environment. Visitors who agree to join in the campaign are provided with free eco-friendly reusable bags and memory sticks, among other gifts.

The third and last section entitled “Asiana Story” recounts the instances when Asiana Airlines was able to make significant contributions to society and tells the stories of renowned figures who have previously flown on Asiana Airlines.

On top of the gifts and prizes already mentioned, Asiana Airlines is giving away an additional 15,000 vouchers that one can exchange to have a professional photo taken at a photo studio to those who have participated in a survey regarding the new website and a further 250 hotel and meal vouchers and tickets to concerts in a special prize draw. It is also providing on a first come first served basis 5,000 sticker books to children who are flying abroad on holiday, as of July 18.

Discover Japan #6: Miyagi Prefecture (THE EAST Campaign in Association with Japan National Tourist Organization London Office)

Miyagi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku Region on Honshū island.
The capital is Sendai and Miyagi Prefecture was formerly part of the province of Mutsu.
Mutsu Province, on northern Honshū, was one of the last provinces to be formed as land was taken from the indigenous Ainu and became the largest as it expanded northward.
The ancient capital was in modern Miyagi Prefecture.
In the 3rd month of 2nd year of the Wadō era (709), there was an uprising against governmental authority in Mutsu Province and in nearby Echigo Province.
Troops were promptly dispatched to subdue the revolt.
In Wadō 5 (712), the land of Mutsu Province was administratively separated from Dewa Province.
Empress Gemmei’s Daijō-kan continued to organize other cadastral changes in the provincial map of the Nara period, as in the following year when Mimasaka Province was divided from Bizen Province; Hyūga Province was sundered from Osumi Province; and Tamba Province was severed from Tango Province.
During the Sengoku period various clans ruled different parts of the province.
The Uesugi clan had a castle town at Wakamatsu in the south, the Nambu clan at Morioka in the north, and Date Masamune, a close ally of the Tokugawa, established Sendai, which is now the largest town of the Tōhoku region.
In the Meiji period, four new provinces were created from parts of Mutsu: Rikuchū, Rikuzen, Iwaki, and Iwashiro.
The area that is now Aomori Prefecture continued to be part of Mutsu until the Abolition of the han system and the nation-wide conversion to the prefectural structure of modern Japan.
Date Masamune built a castle at Sendai as his seat to rule Mutsu.
In 1871, Sendai Prefecture was formed.
It was renamed Miyagi prefecture the following year.

Location
Miyagi Prefecture is located 300 kilometers northeast of Tokyo, the capital of Japan, and lies in the central part of the Tohoku region.
Sendai, the prefectural capital, is located at longitude 141 degrees east, and latitude 38 degrees north.
Miyagi Prefecture is bordered by the Pacific Ocean on the east, and the waters off the coast are noted for their rich fishing grounds, as well as lovely sightseeing spots such as the islands of Matsushima.
Matsushima is considered one of the three most scenic sites in Japan.
The mountain ranges of Zao, Funagata and Kurikoma show off their splendor and beauty in each of the four seasons.
The Sendai Plain lies in the central region where numerous granaries abound.
The wealth of natural surroundings including mountains, rivers, seas and plains, makes Miyagi Prefecture an ideal place to live.
With a total area of 7,285 square kilometers, Miyagi is home to approximately 2,370,000 people (as of 2003).
A large number of them have distinguished themselves in various fields.

Business
Miyagi Prefecture is an important production center for high-quality rice, vegetables, livestock products and more.
In response to changes in production and logistics both domestically and internationally, it is striving to establish “independent agriculture.”
In pursuance of this, it is promoting a variety of support programs for farmsteads, including the development of areas such as production centres, development of specialty products, utilization of biotechnology and new technologies, advancement of production bases, and an information network for agricultural management.
It is also committed to developing the environment to allow farming villages to become “places for communication” and more attractive to the urban population.
There are great expectations for our forest, such as the production of wood materials and playing a part in the preservation of the global environment.
In order to respond to these expectations, the prefecture has been promoting the production of Miyagi’s original, high quality wood materials through the utilization of our abundant woodland resources, and the active development of our forests.
Miyagi is very fortunate to have the world-class Sanriku fishing ground.
Inshore, offshore and deep-sea fishing are all popular, and aqua-farming of sea products, such as silver salmon, kelp, oysters, seaweed, scallops and sea squirt, is also highly valued.
However, production has been facing severe situations due to international fishery regulations as well as a reduction in and aging of the work force.
The prefecture has been attempting to implement various measures with the aim of developing a more prosperous fishing industry and a stable supply of safe and high-quality sea products.
These measures include the management of aquatic resources, an increase in aqua-farming activities, infrastructure development to protect the marine environment, improvement of quality and hygiene management and fostering of managerial bodies and personnel.

PEOPLE #14: Ichiro Suzuki

Ichiro Suzuki (born October 22, 1973, in Kasugai, Nishikasugai, Aichi Prefecture, Japan) is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the Seattle Mariners. Ichiro moved to the United States in 2001 after playing nine years for the Orix Blue Wave in Japan’s Pacific League. When the Blue Wave posted him after the 2000 season, Ichiro’s rights were won by the Seattle Mariners and he signed a contract with them. He became the first Japanese-born everyday position player in the major leagues.In 2001, Ichiro finished first in both batting average and stolen bases, the first player to accomplish this feat since Jackie Robinson. He set several MLB records in 2004, including a single-season Major League record with 262 hits. He has won a Gold Glove award in each of his first eight years in the majors as an outfielder.Ichiro is the first MLB player to join Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (The Golden Players Club). He was also selected the 2007 All Star Game MVP, going three for three and hitting the event’s first ever inside-the-park home run.
Ichiro got off to a rather slow start in 2008, hitting only 0.259 in April (30 for 116). However, he got back on track during the mid-point of the season and on September 17, 2008, he recorded his 200th hit against Ron Mahay of the Kansas City Royals. Ichiro has now become the first player ever to start his career with 8 straight 200-hit seasons, and just the second ever to have a streak of 8 consecutive 200-hit seasons at any point in their career, tying the record set by Wee Willie Keeler.On September 25, 2008, Ichiro singled off of Dustin Moseley of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for his 1800th career hit in game 1,277 of his MLB career. This makes him the fastest player starting his career after 1954 to reach that plateau, beating the previous record held by Wade Boggs of 1,352 games.On September 26, 2008 in a game against the Oakland Athletics, Ichiro was driven in by Raul Ibanez to record his 100th run of the season, his eighth such season. The run also made the 2008 season Ichiro’s eighth consecutive season with 200 hits and 100 runs. He is now tied with Lou Gehrig and Willie Keeler as the player with the most seasons with 200 hits and 100 runs.

Ichiro finished the 2008 season with 213 hits, tying him with Dustin Pedroia for the most in the MLB. In a game against the San Diego Padres on May 18, 2008, Ichiro stole two bases, giving him a career total of 292, surpassing the previous team record of 290 set by Julio Cruz, who played second base from 1977 to 1983. Cruz, who now does Spanish-language broadcasts of Mariners games, was watching from the broadcast booth as Ichiro broke his record. As of September 15, 2008, Ichiro has 43 stolen bases on the season, giving him 315 in his MLB career and 514 in his professional career including 199 in Japan. On July 29, Ichiro became the youngest player to have amassed 3,000 career hits (1,278 in Japan + 1,722 in the U.S.) in the highest professional league available to him, breaking Ty Cobb’s record of 34 years, 8 months, and 1 day. After he returned to the Mariner training camp, he was suffering from fatigue and missed three games. After being examined by a doctor, he was found to have a bleeding ulcer. Seattle Mariners Manager Don Wakamatsu placed Ichiro on the 15-day disabled list. Ichiro was reactivated on April 15, 1 day after the Mariners home opener. In his first game of the 2009 season, Ichiro went 2-for-5 against the Angels, his final hit of the night being a grand slam for his 3,085th career hit, tying him with Isao Harimoto (who had been flown out to witness the event) who holds the record of most career hits in Japanese baseball league. Ichiro surpassed the record in total number of hits from both Japan and America the following night in his second at bat.In 2009 he was named # 30 on the Sporting News’ list of the 50 greatest current players in baseball. A panel of 100 baseball people, many of them members of the Baseball Hall of Fame and winners of major baseball awards, was polled to arrive at the list.On June 2, while hosting the Baltimore Orioles at Safeco Field, Ichiro hit a lead-off single in the bottom of the 1st inning, marking his 26th straight game with a hit. This established a new Mariners franchise record for consecutive games with a hit, as well as a career high streak for Ichiro.

Korean Air Sponsors Russia’s State Hermitage Museum

Korean language guide service has become available for the first time at Russia’s State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, as Korean Air today announced the official launch of the new Korean multimedia guide. Korean Air also signed an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) for further sponsorship over a five year period to produce the museum’s promotional materials, such as visitor guide maps and exhibition posters.

Korean Air and the State Hermitage Museum hosted a sponsorship ceremony at 15:00 pm (local time), Monday, June 29, at the Pavilion Hall of the State Hermitage Museum for 40 guests including Mr. Yang Ho Cho, Chairman and CEO of Korean Air, Professor Mikhail Borisovich Piotrovsky, Director of the State Hermitage Museum, Chairman Alexander Prokhorenko of the St. Petersburg Government Committee for External Relations, Mr. Gyu-Hyung Lee, Korean Ambassador in Russia among others.

“Korean Air is excited to introduce the Korean language, a proud legacy of our culture, in the multimedia tour guide services of the State Hermitage Museum today. We believe that this sponsorship will enhance the level of cultural exchanges between Korea and Russia,” says Mr. Yang Ho Cho, Chairman and CEO of Korean Air.

“Our further sponsorship agreed through the MOU today is another long-term means to contribute to the State Hermitage Museum. This is the latest move in Korean Air’s commitment to enhancing cultural ties between nations and people. As a ‘corporate cultural ambassador,’ we will continue to look for ways to connect communities and cultures around the world,” Mr. Cho added.

The State Hermitage Museum is one of the largest and most renowned museums in the world, with 2.9 million works of art and one of the oldest galleries and museum of human history and culture in the world. More than 2.6 million visitors annually tour six buildings to view the vast collection.

The previous multimedia guide had provided information about the artworks on display in six languages – Russian, English, German, French, Italian and Spanish. Through Korean Air’s sponsorship, Korean has become the first Asian language included in the guide and tens of thousands of Korean visitors can now appreciate the State Hermitage Museum’s 352 display pieces in more depth with lively explanations in the Korean language.

As a leading global carrier, Korean Air has made continuous efforts to spread Korean cultures around the world. Since February 2008, the airline has been sponsoring the multimedia guide service of the Louvre Museum in Paris, introducing Korean language service.

Korean Air will expand its partnership with the world’s prestigious museums and develop various methods to contribute to global cultural understanding.

♦ Special events to celebrate the launch of Korean language service
Starting from July 1, Korean Air will present special edition baggage name tags, printed with the world renowned artwork “Woman Holding a Fruit” by Paul Gauguin, to First and Prestige class passengers traveling on Incheon-Moscow and Incheon-St. Petersburg routes.

Travelers flying Korean Air from Incheon to Moscow or St. Petersburg in all cabin classes will also be offered 50% discount coupons for the new multimedia guide, providing detailed explanation of the Hermitage collection in seven languages.

In addition, Korean Air will introduce its “Flying Art Ambassadors” service on the St. Petersburg-Incheon route later this year. Selected and trained cabin attendants will provide information about museums, tour programs and other cultural knowledge about St. Petersburg to passengers departing from Incheon. On Korea bound flights, the Ambassadors will introduce museums and cultural and tourist sites in Korea to Russian passengers, using Korean Air’s City Guidebook published in 2008.

Discover Korean Food #10: Dr. Sook-Ja Yoon's "Chicken Salad" (THE EAST Campaign in Association with The Institute of Traditional Korean Food)

This dish is made with the fat-less chicken breast and vegetables seasoned with apricot seed sauce.
The apricot seed, which tastes sour, helps warm our body.
When the lungs are dry, it helps moisten them and also increase moisture in our body, especially in the stomach.

*Ingredients
* chicken breast 300g, sake 1 tea spoon, salt 1/4 tea spoon, black pepper 1/8 tea spoon
* yellow, red, green paprika 1/4 each, respectively
* apricot seed sauce: apricot seed 20g, vinegar 2 table spoons, sugar 2 table spoons, honey 1 table spoon, salt 1 tea spoon, lemon juice 1 table spoon

*PREPARATION
1. Coat sake on the chicken breast, scattering black pepper over it for basic seasoning. Heat up the pan, spread vegetable oil on the pan and cook the meat on both sides. Tear it apart into 0.7cm by 6cm pieces.
2. Cut the paprikas into halves and remove their seeds, and slice them into 0.5cm by 5cm pieces.
3. Make apricot seed sauce.
4. Mix in the chicken meat, yellow, red and green paprikas and apricot sauce.

*Tips
* Instead of pan-boiling, the chicken breast may be boiled in water.
* For the paprika, other vegetables may be substituted.
* The apricot’s endodermis can be removed after soaking in boiling water.

About The Institute of Traditional Korean Food
The Institute is a professional research organisation established and devoted to the research, development, popularisation and globalisation of traditional Korean food. It was founded in 1998 then moved on the 8th of November 2001 to the current location: 164-2 Waryong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.

Slim, stylish Cyber-shot cameras by Sony offer superb picture quality and outstanding value

Two slim, stylish Cyber-shot digital cameras from Sony offer outstanding quality and value to suit every pocket.
The Cyber-shot W180 and W190 are the perfect no-fuss choice for anyone who needs to capture family moments, holidays and nights out.
Both models look great with slim, clean lines and a choice of silver, black or red colour finish options. Ideal for first-time photographers, they’re beautifully easy to use, with a simple slide switch to select photo/movie/playback modes. For maximum creative freedom, a choice of seven Scene Selection modes adjusts camera settings automatically to suit virtually any subject.
While they offer superb value, the Cyber-shot W180 and W190 don’t compromise on class-leading picture quality and easy-to-use features.
A high resolution of 10.1/12.1 effective megapixels (W180/W190) ensures crisp, detail-packed enlargements to A3 size and beyond. Pristine picture quality is further enhanced by the high-quality 3x optical zoom lens. Smart zoom boosts maximum magnification to a frame-filling 18x for W190 and 17x for W180 for even more dramatic close-ups. There’s also a generously-sized 2.7” Clear Photo LCD screen for a bright, clear view of images and quick confirmation of camera settings.
Improved Face Detection recognises up to 8 faces in a scene, fine-tuning focus and exposure for better-looking portraits. For even happier people pictures, Smile Shutter automatically takes a picture when your subject smiles.
SteadyShot image stabilisation reduces the effects of camera shake when you’re shooting handheld. A special shooting mode boosts sensitivity to ISO 3200, letting you freeze moving subjects with faster shutter speeds or capture atmospheric interiors without flash.
Also supplied, the latest version (4.2.01) of Picture Motion Browser software (for PC) makes it easy to manage and share your collection of digital photos and video clips and for uploading these to YouTube, Picasa or other image and video sharing web-sites.
The Cyber-shot W180 and W190 compact digital cameras are available from July 2009.