The Korea Times

China's human torpedo taunts Korean rival

China’s swimming sensation Sun Yang taunted his Korean rival Park Tae-hwan in a video ad.In this 15-second-long ad for Chinese sports brand 361 Degrees, Yang, 22, wearing his swimming gear, made a provocative statement aimed at Park, 24, using a mixture of Chinese and Korean.Yang first admitted his defeat to Park in the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou in the gold medal count, and then reminded him that he accomplished his revenge during the 2012 London Olympic. He ended the ad by saying in Korean “Why don’t you break my record at Incheon?”The two athletes will compete head-on in freestyle 200, 400 and 1500 meters in the upcoming Incheon Asian Games that begins September 19.

Sep 12, 2014By Ko Dong-hwan

China's human torpedo taunts Korean rival

Others

Hangul best language to learn math

Koreans owe their language “Hangul” for boasting their world-class math problems solving skills, American newspaper Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.A logic behind such statement lies with numbers of linguistic letters required to write numeric values. In comparison with English, Hangul takes far less letters to write the values. For example, it requires only two to write 11 (십일), while English takes six (eleven). The same perk applies to Chinese, which has nine distinctive words to indicate the values while English as 24.The paper said such disparity in linguistic brevity is directly related to the levels of convenience in learning math by students. An analysis showed that kids in kindergartens and elementary schools in English-speaking nations like the U.S. and Canada generally fall one to two years behind those in Korea and other Asian countries in mastering the same difficulty level of math. The paper also introduced an experiment result that Turkish kids aged three to four understood the concept of numeric values faster than Canadian kids, including that of dec

Sep 12, 2014By Ko Dong-hwan

Others

Comic goes off on 'coward' cyber-bullies

An online rant against cyber-bullying by comedian Maeng Seung-ji is going viral due to her appearance on a reality television show.  Maeng, 29, currently appearing on MBC’s “Real Men,” received a slew of negative comments in late May when she appeared as a ring girl for Road FC, a Korea-based fighting championship.  She lashed out on Facebook in June, telling commentators to “mind your own business,” “stop making stuff up” and to stop “being cowards and show yourselves.” She added that she would “take you all down with one punch because I’m brave.” Her comments have circulated this month because of her appearance on Real Men, which challenges females to participate in military exercises. 

Sep 11, 2014By Ko Dong-hwan

Comic goes off on 'coward' cyber-bullies

Others

Remove shirt for stain-free noodle soup

Fans the fiery red noodle soup “jjambbong” know the problem all too well. Slurp up the dish too fast, and risk staining your shirt.Comedian Kim Joon-ho has the answer, however.The method was documented by fellow comedian Yoo Min-sang on his Facebook page. A photo shows Kim about to savor a bowl of jjambbong. Only one thing is odd about the image: Kim is shirtless.Behind him lays a shirt, which he apparently just took off before eating the noodles.Indeed, even a single drop of jjambbong broth probably would have ruined the shirt. So if you ever find yourself in Kim’s predicament, you know what to do. 

Sep 11, 2014By Ko Dong-hwan

South Korea

Late idol singer sent to Japan after cremation

The remains of the late idol singer Kwon Ri-se, 23, from five-member girl group Ladies’ Code were escorted from a crematorium Tuesday on their way back to her family in Japan.The solemn ceremony took place at Korea University Anam Hospital before the group’s three remaining members ― So Jung, Ashley, Zuny ― who survived the car accident that killed two of their compatriots last Wednesday. Kwon’s parents and staff from the group’s management company Polaris Entertainment also attended the ceremony.“We thank all the fans and those who have offered their condolences during the Chuseok holiday,” said the company in an official statement. “With the actual cause of the accident still under investigation, we urge all news outlets to restrain from releasing articles based on supposition and unverified rumors.”After being cremated at Seoul Memorial Park, the late singer’s remains were sent to Japan for a second funeral service for family members, relatives and close acquaintances.The group was on its way from Daegu to Seoul when it sp

Sep 10, 2014By Ko Dong-hwan

Late idol singer sent to Japan after cremation

Others

Chuseok attracts foreign online shoppers

By Ko Dong-hwanMore and more foreigners are purchasing Chuseok gift packages from Korea, the online mall Gmarket said Thursday.According to Gmarket, sales on its English and Chinese platforms increased 29 percent between August 27 and September 2.Gmarket added the foreign buyers are showing growing interest in Korean products that go on sale during Chuseok, the national thanksgiving holiday.Oh Dae-young, who heads the global shopping team, said people like the packages because they could buy a variety of goods at a single, reduced rate.The most popular item among the foreign buyers was vitamin supplements, whose sales increased 436 percent from last year.Ginseng drinks and jellies also recorded notable popularity with a 170-percent sales increase. Other items selling fast included canned tuna and ham, cooking oils, hygiene care product packs and male cosmetics.

Sep 8, 2014By Ko Dong-hwan

Chuseok attracts foreign online shoppers

Others

Lee Byung-hun lashes out at blackmailers

By Ko Dong-hwanActor Lee Byung-hun has expressed his support for robust legal action against two women who attempted to blackmail him, using a secretly-recorded video clip.The two women demanded the star pay them five billion won ($4.9 million) not to post the video, which allegedly contained footage of Lee saying a sexually-explicit remark. Lee’s management company BH Entertainment said in a release that the women’s threat was a “carefully planned crime” and that the two were ready to flee to Europe after grabbing the money. The company added that Lee suffered “secondary damage” of mental trauma as premature media reports covering the incident fueled baseless rumors and malicious comments against him.The company cited Seoul Central District Court as saying “the incident’s gravity is significant to the extent of requiring an arrest of the women” and “the range of their penalties will be from five years in jail to life imprisonment considering the huge amount of the money they attempted to swindle.”Kim Da-hee, 20, membe

Sep 5, 2014By Ko Dong-hwan

Lee Byung-hun lashes out at blackmailers

Others

On Chuseok, Seohaean Expressway is nation's most congested

Everyone knows that highway traffic during the Chuseok holiday season can be a nightmare.  But which road is the most congested? Judging by last year’s data, the worst highway is the Seohaean Expressway running along the western part of the peninsula. The data showed that the busiest road sections in the country were from Balan to West Pyeongtaek Junction, Gyeonggi Province; and Seocheon to East Seocheon Junction, South Chungcheong Province. Both sections are parts of the Seohaean. Last year it took some drivers upwards of 19 hours to pass through the areas. The data was prepared by the Korea Expressway Corporation and submitted Thursday to Rep. Lee Chan-yeol of the opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD). Lee is a member of the land, infrastructure and transport committee.Among the top ten busiest sections, six were on Seohaean.These included East Seocheon Junction to Gunsan, South Chungcheong Province; Iljik Junction to Geumcheon, Gyeonggi Province; Songak to West Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province; and Bibong to  Balan, Gyeonggi Provinc

Sep 4, 2014By Ko Dong-hwan

On Chuseok, Seohaean Expressway is nation's most congested

Others

Actor fined for stalking, beating wife

Ryu Si-wonThe Supreme Court has fined actor Ryu Si-won seven million won ($6,900) for illegally monitoring his wife’s whereabouts with GPS technology and physically abusing her.  The court on Thursday reaffirmed a lower court’s ruling on the matter.  The 41-year-old actor was indicted May for secretly attaching a GPS device on a car owned by his wife, only known as Cho, in May 2011 and monitoring her locations for eight months. In August the same year, Ryu hit Cho several times in the face during a fight, after the woman discovered his GPS scheme.  The couple, married in 2010, is getting a divorce.

Sep 4, 2014By Ko Dong-hwan

Others

Singer killed in crash posthumously tops charts

A 2013 song by girl group Ladies’s Code has topped the charts this week after one of its members died in a car accident Wednesday.Koh Eun-bi, who went by the stage name EunB, died and another member, Kwon Ri-se, sustained serious injuries when a van carrying the band crashed into a median barrier.“I’m Fine Thank You,” a ballad performed by the band, hit the top of the charts due to fans who wanted to honor the group.“EunB’s wish was to stand on top of music charts podium,” fans posted on social media sites.Their efforts were reflected on online music charts such as Melon, Naver and Mnet as of Thursday morning.The group was driving from Daegu, North Gyeonggi Province to Seoul after recording a television music program. At around 1:20 a.m., driving along the slippery Yeongdong Expressway near Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, the vehicle’s rear tire came off causing the vehicle to lose control and crash into a protective wall.The late singer’s funeral is reportedly slated to take place at Korea University Anam Hospital, Friday. 

Sep 4, 2014By Ko Dong-hwan

Ko Dong-hwan

Read more

China's human torpedo taunts Korean rival

Hangul best language to learn math

Comic goes off on 'coward' cyber-bullies

Remove shirt for stain-free noodle soup

Late idol singer sent to Japan after cremation

Chuseok attracts foreign online shoppers

Lee Byung-hun lashes out at blackmailers

On Chuseok, Seohaean Expressway is nation's most congested

Actor fined for stalking, beating wife

Singer killed in crash posthumously tops charts

Top 5 stories