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Sat, November 17, 2018 | 23:56

Opinion > Columnists > Kim Ji-myung >

Solving historical puzzles

Stories of the murder, mysterious death and poisoning of kings and queens inside royal courts are a familiar and intriguing topic of fables and history around the world. And the 519 years of the court history of the Joseon Kingdom is no exception. In many cases, puzzles remain surrounding the truth of these intriguing royal deaths.

Kim Ji-myung | 2015-09-25 14:19

'The Korean Mind'

I am writing this article in the hope that somebody will help me get in contact with the author of “The Korean Mind.” Subtitled “Understanding Contemporary Korean Culture” and published by Tuttle Publishing Company, the book is on sale at a major downtown bookstore in Seoul and on the Amazon website.

Kim Ji-myung | 2015-08-28 17:07

Korean moms are strong

“Women are weak, but mothers are strong.” And someone said, “Being a mother is learning about strengths that you did not know you had, and dealing with fears you did not know existed.” Korean mothers are famed for their conspicuous dedication to family and children.

Kim Ji-myung | 2015-07-31 17:17

On changing foreign textbooks

Did you know that 11 Koreans - experts and staff - work year-round to convince the authorities of other countries to revise parts of their textbooks? I am talking about the CEFIA (Center for International Affairs) of the Academy of Korean Studies. The center is in charge of finding and correcting mistakes, errors and distortions on facts about Korea in school textbooks of other countries.

Kim Ji-myung | 2015-07-03 17:13

Bringing truth to light

Kim Moon-ja is a Korean-Japanese historian born in 1951. I know almost nothing about her, except for the information printed in her book. She wrote “The Murder of Joseon Queen and the Japanese,” which was published in 2009 by Koubunken Co. in Japan

Kim Ji-myung | 2015-06-05 17:01

How big is a 'kan'?

One big difficulty that researchers of Korean history face is the issue of units. Length, area, weight, volume and time seem to have been measured by a variety of standards, depending on periods and areas. Old records tell us that most unit systems were made in ancient China and spread to Korea and other neighboring countries. In the case of “pyeong” to measure land and field space, it was exported to Japan during the Three Kingdoms period as a unit of 3.158 square meters as used in the ancient Korean kingdom of Goruryeo and Tang China. Later it was introduced back to Korea by Japan as 3.305...

Kim Ji-myung | 2015-05-08 16:59

PyeongChang and Nagano

I am not an expert in implementing a world-class sports event or in the budgeting of big events like the Olympics or the World Cup. Somehow, I was born ignorant in managing money and sports - watching and doing.

Kim Ji-myung | 2015-04-10 16:53

On VIP security service

In the still-dark hour of 4:30 a.m. on Nov. 4, 1993, I arrived at the Seattle ferry dock. The boat that would take the 15 heads of state and their entourage to Blake Island was going to leave at 8 a.m.

Kim Ji-myung | 2015-03-13 17:02

World's oldest metal type

Carbon dating of ink on Goryeo Kingdom's movable metal type has confirmed that 21 of the characters dated between 1033 and 1155, according to a recent announcement by the National Institute of Cultural Heritage. This means the "Song of Enlightenment" (Jeungdoga in Korean and Zhengdao-ge in Chinese) was printed around the 11th or 12th century, as the book was printed with this type. This movable type, therefore, has been called Jeongdoga type, attracting keen attention from Korean academia.

Kim Ji-myung | 2015-02-13 16:58

A pioneer heritage guide

He was travelling with a friend and his dog in his four-wheel-drive jeep. It was in the autumn of 1969. We - five college girls from the Yonsei English Department - stayed a night at a farmer's home near Magoksa Temple.

Kim Ji-myung | 2015-01-16 17:06

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Choking on worsening air pollution