Seoul South Korea

seoul -- Five family members fell 65 feet to their deaths from a Ferris wheel Monday after the car they were riding in unexpectedly overturned at an amusement park, police said. Two members of the family in the car hung on and survived without injury, police officer Yoon Jae-man said.

A MONTH AFTER North Korea tested a nuclear bomb, making the Korean peninsula a more dangerous place, the peninsula's other nation stepped forward with its response. Or rather, its lack thereof. On Monday, South Korea announced that it would impose no new sanctions on its northern neighbor. South Korea's reluctance to crack down on Kim Jong Il's regime could undermine the coming six-nation disarmament talks, scheduled for next month and involving both Koreas and the U.S., Japan, Russia and China.

The Olympics are anything but politics-free. More than 50 years of history--from the 1936 Berlin Games to the fisted black-power salutes of American medalists Tommie Smith and John Carlos at Mexico City in 1968 to the coming Summer Olympiad in Seoul, South Korea--attest to that.

Nightlife here doesn't always involve pie-eyed businessmen belting out "My Way" in a karaoke bar. In the northeast section of Seoul, an area dominated by four large universities, the nighttime crowds are younger, hipper and more international. Yonsei University, known for its international studies program, and Hongik University, with its liberal, chic art students, mean Seoulites here are more accustomed to foreigners carousing among them.

Behind this city's ultramodern facade, beyond the endless concrete walls and drab, boxy buildings that line the downtown streets, hides a unique, traditional culture where rare treasures like the kaleidoscope-painted palaces of Korean kings can be found. Seek them out and you'll find other surprises, like busy herbal medicine markets, colorful folk villages and tranquil teahouses.

The Olympic clock is ticking: On small digital displays in hotels and government offices and on a huge scoreboard mounted above the plaza in front of City Hall, South Koreans are counting the days until the Olympic Games begin Sept. 17. But it is early August that many observers of North Korea, worried about terrorist attacks, are anxiously awaiting.

The traffic is notorious. The air is toxic. Real estate prices are among the most ridiculously inflated in the world. Residents and visitors alike can recite a long litany of complaints about Seoul, a city of 10 million that is as sprawling as Los Angeles and as congested in areas as Mexico City. So the South Korean government has come up with a novel solution: move. This week, an evaluation committee designated a patch of land 70 miles to the south as the likely future capital of South Korea.

According to eyewitnesses, an American was robbed here Sunday. But there was some consolation. People of Seoul stopped Americans on the street near the city's sports complex to apologize for the decision that cost boxer Roy Jones of Pensacola, Fla., a gold medal. There were similar reactions from Korean Broadcasting System commentators who criticized as unfair the 3-2 decision by non-Korean judges that Jones, 19, had lost to Korean boxer Park Si Hun in the 156-pound class.

Angelenos who would like to revitalize the Los Angeles River might want to visit the Cheonggyecheon stream in Seoul. The clean waterway flows placidly through the busy commercial heart of this city of 10 million, tucked between towering skyscrapers and bordered by lush grasses, walkways and artwork. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa visited the Cheonggyecheon (pronounced Chong-ee-chon) on Monday, his first morning in South Korea and the midpoint of a 16-day trade mission through East Asia.

On hazy days, this city looks like nothing as much as a bowl of poured concrete topped by a noxious yellow cloud. The surrounding mountainsides have been blasted away to build grim slabs of high-rise apartments with the names of the conglomerates Samsung or Hyundai stamped on the sides. After being destroyed during the 1950-53 Korean War, Seoul was slapped back together in the 1960s and 1970s. The mantra was, do it fast, do it cheap.

Nightlife here doesn't always involve pie-eyed businessmen belting out "My Way" in a karaoke bar. In the northeast section of Seoul, an area dominated by four large universities, the nighttime crowds are younger, hipper and more international. Yonsei University, known for its international studies program, and Hongik University, with its liberal, chic art students, mean Seoulites here are more accustomed to foreigners carousing among them.

The traffic is notorious. The air is toxic. Real estate prices are among the most ridiculously inflated in the world. Residents and visitors alike can recite a long litany of complaints about Seoul, a city of 10 million that is as sprawling as Los Angeles and as congested in areas as Mexico City. So the South Korean government has come up with a novel solution: move. This week, an evaluation committee designated a patch of land 70 miles to the south as the likely future capital of South Korea.

Three U.S. soldiers were assaulted on a Seoul subway over the weekend, and one was briefly abducted by South Korean university students on their way to an anti-American demonstration, the U.S. military reported Sunday. The U.S. Embassy here lodged an immediate protest with the South Korean government over the incident and the way it was handled by local police. There were sharply conflicting versions of who was at fault in what apparently started as a brawl on the subway.

Several thousand nurses and other workers walked off their jobs at eight hospitals Wednesday, joining a strike by South Korean airline, chemical and metal workers. As the new workers joined the strike, however, 1,600 pilots at Korean Air ended their two-day walkout. The nation's other airline, Asiana, remained strikebound. The workers were protesting President Kim Dae Jung's corporate reform programs, which workers blame for causing mass layoffs. The government called the strikes illegal.

Roh Yoon Soo has sat in his tiny newsstand kiosk in the heart of downtown Seoul six days a week for the past 15 years, and never before has he sold as many newspapers as he did on Monday. "I sold 10 times the papers today that I do in an ordinary day," said the ruddy-faced Roh, 55, his wide grin showing a few silver teeth and a personal joy that went far beyond his profits. "All of the Korean people are very happy today," he said. "From today, I think, we will all begin to live well."

In a country purged of normal politics by an authoritarian government, national issues are often taken to the streets. Since the anti-government protests broke out June 10, student leaders have put more than 100,000 followers into street demonstrations. Word was passed on Seoul's more than 20 college campuses, and for Friday night's demonstrations leaflets were distributed downtown asking for support and designating assembly points.

Behind this city's ultramodern facade, beyond the endless concrete walls and drab, boxy buildings that line the downtown streets, hides a unique, traditional culture where rare treasures like the kaleidoscope-painted palaces of Korean kings can be found. Seek them out and you'll find other surprises, like busy herbal medicine markets, colorful folk villages and tranquil teahouses.

Ticketmaster Online-CitySearch, the Pasadena company that has created dozens of Web guides for cities in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Australia, will build its first site for Asia in partnership with Korea Information & Communications Co. The site, to be announced Tuesday, will focus on recreation, entertainment, arts and shopping in the South Korean capital of Seoul. The site will also use Ticketmaster Online-CitySearch's technology for offering online auctions and personal ads.