NEW YORK — Korea may have its bread pilgrimages, but Manhattan has taken the bakery craze to another level: $60 for a single loaf of rye bread. RYE by Martin Auer, an Austrian bakery that opened in Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood in September, has quickly become one of the city's most talked-about food destinations, drawing crowds and widespread media attention for its unusually expensive sourdough rye bread. The 1.5 kilogram loaf costs $60, but customers can also purchase half a loaf for $30 or a quarter for $15. Located on Lafayette Street, the bakery specializes in just one type of bread. Its minimalist interior looks more like a high-end retail showroom than a traditional bakery, with customers able to watch the bread-making process. The bread contains just three ingredients: organic rye flour, water and salt. According to the bakery, the dough undergoes a fermentation process lasting up to 24 hours, using a sourdough starter more than 50 years old. But the price has raised eyebrows, particularly because a comparable loaf from the same bakery sells for roughly $16 in Austria. The baker

NEW YORK — Witches, vampires and superheroes may never go out of style, but Americans are looking to everything from horror movie characters to squishy stress toys for Halloween costume inspiration this year, as internet trends shape their choices. Topping Google's 2026 Frightgeist list of trending Halloween costume searches is Buddy the Unicorn, the seemingly cheerful but sinister character from the horror movie "Buddy." In second place is NeeDoh, a line of colorful, squishy stress toys that have gained popularity on social media. Nikki, a character from the horror film "Obsession," ranks third. Other trending choices include Agamemnon from "The Odyssey," Lily Love Braids from the video game "Poppy Playtime" and Verity from "Minecraft," according to Google. The rankings reflect the biggest increases in online searches rather than the most popular costumes overall, highlighting how quickly movies, games and viral products can influence Halloween costume trends. Traditional favorites, however, remain popular — particularly among children. Witches, superheroes and princesses continue to

NEW YORK — Korea may have its bread pilgrimages, but Manhattan has taken the bakery craze to another level: $60 for a single loaf of rye bread. RYE by Martin Auer, an Austrian bakery that opened in Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood in September, has quickly become one of the city's most talked-about new food destinations, drawing crowds and widespread media attention for its unusually expensive sourdough rye bread. The 3.3 pound (1.5 kilogram) loaf costs $60 (80,000 won), while customers can purchase half a loaf for $30 or a quarter for $15. Located on Lafayette Street, the bakery specializes in just one type of bread. Its minimalist interior looks more like a high-end retail showroom than a traditional bakery, with customers able to watch the bread-making process. The bread contains just three ingredients: organic rye flour, water and salt. According to the bakery, the dough undergoes a fermentation process lasting up to 24 hours, using a sourdough starter more than 50 years old. But the price has raised eyebrows, particularly because a comparable loaf from the same bakery sells for roughl

SEATTLE — For Lee Min-ha, a 46-year-old Korean living near Seattle, eating out has become a luxury her household can no longer afford. "Everything has gotten so expensive that eating out is completely out of the question," Lee said. "I've been buying groceries almost exclusively on sale for quite some time now. Living in America is getting harder and harder, and every day I wonder how things got this bad." A meal at a casual Korean restaurant can easily cost a family of four more than $100 once taxes and tips are included, making even an occasional family outing an increasingly expensive proposition. Lee's frustration reflects a widespread concern among Korean voters ahead of Tuesday's U.S. midterm elections. The 2026 Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Voter Survey, conducted by Asian & Pacific Islander American Vote and AAPI Data, found that 86 percent of Korean American registered voters considered inflation and the cost of living very or extremely important in deciding how to vote. The figure was 90 percent among Asian American respondents overall, underscoring the importance

SEATTLE — A former U.S. diplomat said it is "very unusual" for Korean lawmakers to have their official visits disrupted by visa complications, suggesting that stricter interpretations of U.S. immigration rules may be behind the recent difficulties. Henry Haggard, a former minister counselor for political affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul who now heads a Washington D.C.-based geopolitical advisory firm, said additional screening for applicants with criminal records is normal, but such procedures have historically rarely prevented senior officials from traveling to the United States on official business. "It is normal for any official or citizen with a criminal record — Korean or otherwise — to have to go through a more complex application process, but it is very unusual for such additional processing to lead to lawmakers or those traveling for official business to have to cancel their trip or to get refused," Haggard told The Korea Times on Wednesday. His comments came after Rep. Jin Sung-joon, chair of the National Assembly's defense committee, disclosed that his U.S. visa appl