The Korea Times

EXCLUSIVE Psychological thriller 'Perfect Happiness' to hit US, UK bookstores

Barbara Zitwer, a New York-based literary agent and founder of Barbara Zitwer Agency / Courtesy of Barbara ZitwerNew York-based agent Barbara Zitwer calls it this year's most sought-after book worldwideBy Kang Hyun-kyungStar novelist Jeong You-jeong's chilling psychological thriller, “Perfect Happiness,” published by EunHaengNaMu Publishing Co., has been on the bestseller list of the nation's largest bookstore, Kyobo Books, for weeks since it went on sale in Korea in early June. According to the Seoul-based publisher, over 100,000 copies have been sold so far. “Perfect Happiness” revolves around a self-absorbed sister who develops a victim mentality toward her older sister. Their sibling rivalry leads to a tragic showdown. The protagonist tries to achieve happiness for her own sake at the expense of others and endeavors to remove what she perceives as obstacles standing in her own pursuit of happiness. Her version of perfect happiness turns out to be self-destructive. While Korean readers have been drawn to the riveting thriller as it unravels the darkest side

Jul 7, 2021By Kang Hyun-kyung

[EXCLUSIVE] Psychological thriller 'Perfect Happiness' to hit US, UK bookstores

Law & Crime

Property owners annoyed by anonymous illegal farmers

A sign posted on state-owned property near a creek in Gimpo City, Gyeonggi Province on June 26. It reads “Commercial farming not allowed.” Korea Times photo by Kang Hyun-kyungCivil law turns blind eye to farmers illegally growing crops on other people's property By Kang Hyun-kyungGimpo, Gyeonggi Province― I've been in a waiting game for weeks since mid-June when I first discovered someone growing sweet potatoes and green onions, without my permission, on my property located a 10-minute drive from my home in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province. Near there, fresh green bean sprouts were also growing under a black plastic net. The crops were planted over a total of some 50 square meters of the innermost stretch of my property, which is almost invisible from outside, because it is surrounded with lush trees and overgrown wild flowers. I had this disturbing discovery during my first visit this year to my 2,000-square-meter property near the Han River. I had been unable to find time to check on the fields before June, mainly because my ailing mother, who was hospitalized three times betwe

Jul 1, 2021By Kang Hyun-kyung

Property owners annoyed by anonymous illegal farmers

Shows & Dramas

Paik Jong-won teaches hansik to foreign nationals on new KBS 2 show

Franchise restaurant mogul Paik Jong-won, left, and singer Sung Si-kyung pose during a press conference for their new food show “Paik Jong-won's Class,” which aired its first episode on KBS 2 on Monday. Courtesy of KBSThe show aims to teach people outside of Korea how to make Korean food with ingredients available in their countries, says Paik By Kang Hyun-kyungRestaurant franchise mogul and star cook Paik Jong-won's new food show, tentatively translated into English as “Paik Jong-won's Class,” kicked off on Monday with a 4.6-percent viewership rating nationwide.In the show, Paik teamed up with ballad singer Sung Si-kyung, teaching six foreigners who are interested in learning and making “hansik” or Korean food. The nationalities and professional backgrounds of the six hansik learners are diverse. Sung plays the role of a bridge between Paik and his students.Demonstrating how to make a fluffy egg omelet that would later be chopped into garnish on “janchi guksoo” (noodles for a special occasion), Paik, founder and CEO of the restaurant f

Jun 29, 2021By Kang Hyun-kyung

Paik Jong-won teaches hansik to foreign nationals on new KBS 2 show

Travel & Food

Fear of unsanitary Chinese imports triggers 'eat safe kimchi' campaign in Korea

Kimchi / gettyimagesbankSome kimchi suppliers launch the campaign to certify eateries serving locally-processed kimchiBy Kang Hyun-kyungVideo footage showing a naked man submerged waist deep in a pool filled with cloudy water and cabbages at an unspecified kimchi factory in China caused an uproar among Koreans in March.Disturbed by the video, Korean consumers have started to boycott kimchi produced in China and to look more carefully into how the food they eat has been made before it ends up on dining tables here.Kim Ji-sook, who owns a small eatery selling home-cooked meals to office workers in downtown Seoul, said some of her customers have begun to ask her about the origin of the kimchi she serves in her restaurant.“I don't lie; I tell them our kimchi was produced in China. But after hearing my answer, they don't eat the kimchi,” she told The Korea Times.She said that the video, highlighting unsanitary kimchi production conditions in an unspecified mainland Chinese plant, was a true game changer shaping her customers' consumption of kimchi. Her restaurant has more kimc

Jun 27, 2021By Kang Hyun-kyung

Fear of unsanitary Chinese imports triggers 'eat safe kimchi' campaign in Korea

Photo News

Award-winning 'Man in the Mirror' photo captures true self of surgeon-novelist

Plastic surgeon-novelist Kim You-myung is seen in a mirror in the award-winning photo, “The Man in the Mirror,” taken by Korea Times photographer Shim Hyun-chul on May 7. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul Korea Times photographer Shim Hyun-chul wins KPPA's Best Portrait Photo award By Kang Hyun-kyungKorea Times photographer Shim Hyun-chul's “The Man in the Mirror” won the Best Portrait Photo of the month award from the Korea Press Photographers' Association.In the award-winning work, Shim zoomed in on the plastic surgeon-novelist Kim You-myung, 50, seen in a mirror in his clinic in Seoul's affluent southern district of Gangnam. “The Man in the Mirror” zeros in on the surgeon-novelist's identity, pointing to what the person is really about. It literally and symbolically reflects a true self that others rarely know. Kim says a person's face can tell a lot about how they have lived their life. More than being just skin deep, the stories that radiate from a subject's

Jun 23, 2021By Kang Hyun-kyung

Award-winning 'Man in the Mirror' photo captures true self of surgeon-novelist

Books

Best-seller lists do not coincide with ideals

The best-selling books section of Kyobo Books in central Seoul / Korea Times fileMoney-making playbooks, literary works that pit conservative and progressive voters against each other dominate best-seller listsBy Kang Hyun-kyungThe most-read articles and top 10 best-selling books at bookstores compiled by media outlets have one thing in common: readers here don't seem to find well-researched, insightful works to be fascinating.This week's best-seller list from Kyobo Books, the nation's largest bookstore, reaffirmed this trend. Former Justice Minister Cho Kuk's memoir, “Cho Kuk's Time: Pains, Truth and Untold Thoughts” published by Hangil Books, topped the list, while several books that teach people how to get rich or profit from property speculation also made it on the list.Yet, this week's best-sellers delivered some positive news for the literary industry.Star novelist Jeong You-jeong returned with a new crime thriller tentatively titled in English as “Perfect Happiness.”Jeong's new novel has been on the best-selling books list since late May when the publis

Jun 18, 2021By Kang Hyun-kyung

Best-seller lists do not coincide with ideals

Books

Books about Yoon Seok-youl: like parable of the blind and the elephant

Former Prosecutor-General Yoon Seok-youl's strong showing in public opinion surveys have spurred a publication boom around him. A total of eight books about him have been published this year alone.Books about the former prosecutor-general give fragmented information about the possible presidential contender By Kang Hyun-kyung Former Prosecutor-General Yoon Seok-youl, 61, has yet to declare a bid to run in the 2022 presidential election slated for March 9. Despite rampant rumors about his candidacy, he has played a waiting game about his presidential run. His every action, word and whereabouts spark speculation about his motives, maybe because he is currently one of the most popular ― albeit unofficial ― presidential contenders. A Gallup poll conducted on 1,000 people in May found Yoon and Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung in a tight two-way race. When asked who they think should become Korea's next president, 25 percent said Lee, while 22 percent opted for Yoon. The poll had a plus or minus 3.1 percentage points margin of error. Some other surveys showed that Yoon was ahead of Lee. The

Jun 15, 2021By Kang Hyun-kyung

Books

'Grandpa Nomura is a living saint'

A fishmonger poses in front of Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market in Seoul in this photo, taken by activist-photographer Choi In-gi. A banner hanging on the blue building to the left announces that the building will be destroyed and that entry is forbidden without approval from the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives. Courtesy of Noonbit PublishingA tale of Korean and Japanese activists who teamed up to improve the lives of the urban poor By Kang Hyun-kyungActivist Choi In-gi's camera was damaged and broken during a photo project in Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market on Oct. 29 of last year. At that time, he was shooting photos of dozens of fish merchants who were protesting the closure of the old market space where they used to sell fish, refusing to move into a brand-new building that was built a few years back.Suddenly, people hired by the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives shot high-velocity water out of a water cannon, deployed there to control and disperse protestors. The blast completely broke Choi's camera, worth some $5,000.A deep sense of loss hit

Jun 13, 2021By Kang Hyun-kyung

Shows & Dramas

'Mine': Everyone has darkness. So do superrich

A scene from TV series “Mine” / Courtesy of tvNBy Kang Hyun-kyungMystery thriller TV series “Mine” has enjoyed durable popularity since its first episode aired on tvN on May 8 with a relatively high viewership rating of 6 percent. The latest episode, which aired last Sunday, hit 9.4 percent ratings. Considering that “Mine” is another version of the same old story about a superrich family, sibling rivalry, and the brutal infighting to become the heir of their family business, its steady popularity among viewers is something rare. As always, there are things that keep viewers tuning in to the Saturday-Sunday drama. Veteran supporting actors who know how to spice up the TV series are some of the unsung heroes behind its steady popularity. Ms. Ji (played by Park Sung-yeon) seems to be one of the top contributors. Playing a housekeeper in charge of domestic staff, she is disciplined, ambitious but playful. Having served the superrich family for 10 years on, she knows all the dirty secrets of each family member. Her knowledge is her weapon. To keep her q

Jun 10, 2021By Kang Hyun-kyung

'Mine': Everyone has darkness. So do superrich

Opinion

Studying death and dying

By Kang Hyun-kyungFormer football star Yoo Sang-chul is the latest well-known figure whose life was cut short by cancer. After receiving his diagnosis with stage four pancreatic cancer in October 2019, he fought for his life. He died at the age of 49 earlier this week. Fans and fellow footballers have paid their tributes to the late World Cup star. In its social media post, FIFA wrote, “Once a World Cup hero, Always a World Cup hero.” The nation, as well as the international football scene, gripped by sadness from the loss of the footballer has reminded me of a recent thought-provoking YouTube talk show featuring the renowned physician Jung Hyun-chae who has given lectures about “dying well” over the past 15 years. The physician defied a common belief that death is the absolute end of existence. Instead, he argued, when people die, they are ushered into another world, citing the 2010 book, titled “The Guidelines for Dying Well” published by the Korean Association of Death Studies.“There's a part in the book which reads, 'Believing that there

Jun 9, 2021By Kang Hyun-kyung

Kang Hyun-kyung

Read more

EXCLUSIVE Psychological thriller 'Perfect Happiness' to hit US, UK bookstores

Property owners annoyed by anonymous illegal farmers

Paik Jong-won teaches hansik to foreign nationals on new KBS 2 show

Fear of unsanitary Chinese imports triggers 'eat safe kimchi' campaign in Korea

Award-winning 'Man in the Mirror' photo captures true self of surgeon-novelist

Best-seller lists do not coincide with ideals

Books about Yoon Seok-youl: like parable of the blind and the elephant

'Grandpa Nomura is a living saint'

'Mine': Everyone has darkness. So do superrich

Studying death and dying

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