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Tue, January 22, 2019 | 11:16

Opinion > Columnists > Kim Ji-myung >

Stable national leadership

“History never looks like history when you are living through it.” This is a statement by American educator John W. Gardner.

Kim Ji-myung | 2018-04-06 15:33

Time for k-thrillers?

When Barbara Zitwer asked me the statistics on Korean thrillers and their translated English versions last week, I could not find answers through searching. Why? Because Korea's literary classification system does not have “thriller” as an independent category.

Kim Ji-myung | 2018-03-09 01:50

In defense of intrusive interviewing

This argument may look like playing the devil's advocate against the much publicized and praised practice of “blind interviewing” or “blind hiring” or even “background-blind hiring,” challenging one of the aggressive Moon government's policies.

Kim Ji-myung | 2018-01-12 18:23

Dark horses of literary translation

The three winners of the 2017 Global Korean Literature Translation Award - Agnel Joseph, Sung Eungee and Janet Hong - beamed at the award ceremony on December 11 in front of the judges (except for one in New York), gurus and friends of the community for Korean literature in English. Among participants in the ceremony were Dr. Kim Seong-kon, president of LTI Korea, Prof. Ross King of the University of British Columbia, Prof. Wayne de Fremery, Prof. Krys Lee, Prof. Chung Eun-gui and Prof. Sora Kim-Russell. Novelist Bae Suah came to the ceremony to meet her translator Janet Hong, who flew from ...

Kim Ji-myung | 2017-12-15 16:45

Sweeping problems under the rug

Behind a problem child there are always problem parents, my counselor friend told me. Traditional Korean custom, as far as I remember, was to hide a family member with mental or psychological problems from society. Those handicapped or mentally-troubled members of the village were taken as signs of curses from goblins or punishment from above. The family usually tried to discount the seriousness of the problem as a temporary drop of energy or a lack of spirit. They were not welcome nor accepted as full members of society. But they did not seem to have accumulated anger and frustration, which...

Kim Ji-myung | 2017-11-17 18:02

Wartime family 'meeting point'

“There are 3,919 underground shelters in this city including the underground floors of public buildings, local administration offices, large buildings and metro stations. The shelters can accommodate more than twice Seoul’s current population of about 10 million.” So said a Seoul city spokesman, not recently, but back in 2010 after the North Korean bombardment of Yeonpyeong Island that killed two civilians and two soldiers. I don’t know exactly how anti-raid or anti-missile attack facilities across the nation have been improved by the central and local governments since then. Kim Jong-un has...

Kim Ji-myung | 2017-10-20 17:20

On literary translation awards

In 1970, The Korea Times celebrated its 20th anniversary of its foundation as the first English daily in this nation. Around that time, “Snow Country” by Japanese writer Yasunari Kawabata was announced as the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature. To most Koreans, it was shocking news, as the prize had been deemed as targeted to the Western hemisphere. The news inspired editor-in-chief Hong Soon-il with a vision to establish an annual contest for literary translation as a celebration of The Korea Times anniversaries of foundation. Hong thought the best Korean novels needed to be translated...

Kim Ji-myung | 2017-09-22 17:38

Remembering Rev. Kang Won-yong

The late Rev. Kang Won-yong was a religious visionary. And he had the ability, leadership and luck to translate his ideals into reality. He established the Korea Christian Academy (KCA), which was a religious, academic and influential activist organization, in the 1970s, '80s and '90s. German President Richard von Weizaecker was a good friend of his. One day during a discussion with young women leaders in 1975, he predicted, “In a few years, you will see, the demands and zeal to change the reality of Korean women will explode like a high-pressure steam-pot.”

Kim Ji-myung | 2017-08-25 17:38

Coding: a ticket to the Future

“Computer code is not a cryptic activity reserved for geniuses and oracles. In fact, in a few minutes you will be writing some computer code yourself!” This is the first sentence in Wiley’s “Coding for Dummies.” I bought the book instead of “Coding for Kids” which looked more difficult to understand against my expectations. But what an analog and anachronic approach this is. Let me tell you the shortcut I found to get into the world of coding.

Kim Ji-myung | 2017-07-28 17:10

On diplomatic protocol

By Kim Ji-myung Neither the President of Korea nor of the United States seem to care much about diplomatic protocol, by what we have witnessed during their summit in Washington D.C.Before leaving Seoul, Wednesday, President Moon Jae-in asked his staff to reduce the level of protocol required in the seeing-off and welcoming-back processes. The size of the entourage from the Cabinet accompanying him was reportedly kept to a minimum.U.S. President Donald Trump, on his part, also seems to be the last person to pay attention to formalities. Upon their first encounter the two leaders may have...

Kim Ji-myung | 2017-06-30 16:56

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Children deserve better