For cultures that follow the lunar calendar, today is New Year’s Day. Here in the U.S., many of us simply refer to it as Chinese New Year. But the truth is that communities in and from Vietnam, Korea, Mongolia, Tibet, and elsewhere have their own traditions and foods built around the day. Kelly Choi is the host of "Top Chef Masters" and is a Korean-American. She is personally acquainted with the Korean New Year, or “Seolnal,” as it’s often called. She shares her recipes for the celebration.

Recipes after the jump.

One of the few remaining Korean women who Japanese troops forced into sexual slavery during World War II has died. Advocates for the few still alive say Japan should officially apologize and compensate the "comfort women." Dr. Katherine H.S. Moon is a professor of political science at Wellesley College and author of “Sex Among Allies: Military Prostitution in U.S.-Korea Relations." She elucidates the history of the women and the underlying tensions that likely makes a Japanese apology out of the question.

In March, a South Korean warship was torpedoed, killing 46 sailors and sinking the vessel. Recent evidence strongly implicates North Korea as the most likely power responsible for the attack, though Pyonyang denies any involvement. Now, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has said his country will boost its defense, sever all trade with North Korea and deny North Korean merchant ships access to their sea lanes. The U.S. has backed the South Korean stance. 

But this is not the first time North Korea has taken a hostile maritime policy, nor is this the most explicit act of aggression by Pyongyang.

When President Obama continues his week-long Asia trip today in South Korea, he’ll get a look at the long aftermath of the Korean War. There are still approximately 28,000 United States soldiers stationed in South Korea. That's about 12,00 fewer than six years ago. Joining us now to explain why there are still so many U.S. troops committed is Robert Kaplan, senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, and a correspondent for The Atlantic.

A baseball tournament with so few games is vulnerable to upsets that leave behind the best teams, but not in this World Baseball Classic: Korea and Japan will play tonight for the championship after clearly establishing themselves as the best teams in the tournament.

Korea’s got it all: pitching, defense, speed and power, and they’re playing at the top of their game. They whacked a stacked Venezuelan team 10-2 on Saturday to get to the final. It’s inconceivable to me that some sad-sack organization like the Pirates or the Royals doesn’t turn over $50 million to the Korean Baseball Organization and buy themselves an all-Korean, instant contender.

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Reports coming out today that communist authorities in North Korea have detained two American journalists. A South Korean newspaper and a TV station said the two Americans — both women — were arrested on Tuesday near a river on North Korea's border with China. For more we are joined by John Sudworth, BBC Correspondent in Seoul, South Korea.