The Korea Times

Gearing up for 2020 general elections

Gearing up for 2020 general electionsBy Kim Ji-sooThe unprecedented clash between Justice Minister Cho Kuk and the prosecution, led by Prosecutor-General Yoon Seok-youl, is underway. Both are avowed advocates of prosecution reform ― which essentially is about disseminating some of the powers the prosecution enjoys with other agencies and freeing it from political influence ― but the two remain very much on different pages these days.Yoon, who famously proclaimed that he has no loyalty to any person, has led his prosecution to search the justice minister's home and is expected to summon the minister's wife concerning whether there was fraud committed in getting their children admitted to college or graduate school.Justice Minister Cho, who experienced a challenging National Assembly confirmation hearing, during the 11th hour of which his wife was indicted, is determinedly going about his work, meeting with frontline prosecutors as he pursues reform.With much confusion over just where the clash will end, the public has been struggling to understand why President Moon Jae-in took the ri

Sep 25, 2019By Kim Ji-soo

Politics

Prof. Lee Geun named to lead KF

By Kim Ji-sooProf. Lee GeunThe government has named Professor Lee Geun of Seoul National University as the new president of the Korea Foundation, an affiliate institute under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He will serve a three-year term.Lee, professor of the Graduate School of International Studies at Seoul National University, also served as vice dean of the Graduate School of International Studies at Seoul National University and dean of the Office of International Affairs. He is an outside adviser to the ministry as well. The ministry noted Lee's 20 years of research into Korea's foreign affairs and international exchanges, as well as his advisory role.Lee, 56, graduated with a bachelor's degree in foreign affairs from Seoul National University, and obtained his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Sep 17, 2019By Kim Ji-soo

Politics

Countdown to ASEAN-ROK Summit

Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don, left of the promotional tower for the 2019 ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit, and other officials on Friday celebrated the 100-day countdown to the summit, to be held in the southern port city on Nov 25 and 26. Fifth from left is Suh Jeong-in, executive director of the Summit Preparation Office./ Yonhap

Aug 18, 2019By Kim Ji-soo

Politics

Chicken, pork skin enjoy heyday

Deep-fried chicken skin at KFC. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk By Kim Ji-soo, Hong Seo-hyunBefore Koreans en masse favored fried chicken, poultry was mainly boiled or cooked in the “samgyetang” style, in which the chicken is stuffed with sticky rice, ginseng, dates and chestnuts. But even then, it is said that elderly Koreans enjoyed the chicken skin, saying it was the best part.?Now that fried chicken is quickly evolving in Korea, it was only a matter of time before fried chicken skin would start trending as well.Take KFC's latest menu item, fried chicken skin, which has gained quite some fame since its release in July: it's original, it's delicious, and it's limited ― the three factors that make consumers crave it.?Each serving comes with spicy salsa sauce, pricing at only 2,800 won.Although originally released exclusively in Indonesia, its release gained popularity on social media amongst Korea's younger generations who keep up to date with the hottest interna

Aug 15, 2019By Kim Ji-soo

Opinion

Power of emotive narrative

By Kim Ji-sooGeneva, as many know, is home to a vast array of international organizations, including the headquarters of many United Nations agencies and financial institutions. Befittingly, the headquarters of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is there, as well as the award-winning International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum. Small, almost private in size, the museum enjoyed a steady flow of visitors on one rainy day in June, the same day French President Macron visited the city for the 108th session of the International Labor Conference. It first opened in 1988. It has received the Kenneth Hudson Award in recognition of its most unusual and daring achievements ― one that challenges common perceptions of the role of museums in society. Currently, there is an ongoing mix of permanent and temporary exhibitions. Under the broad theme “The Humanitarian Adventure,” three separate topics are dealt with in the permanent exhibition: “Defending human dignity” (developed by architect Gringo Cardia, Brazil); “Restoring fa

Jul 31, 2019By Kim Ji-soo

Opinion

'Younger brother' pulls it off at Cannes

By Kim Ji-sooDirector Bong Joon-ho, 50, seemed more like the younger brother in the line of Korean auteurs such as Im Kwon-taek, Lee Chang-dong, Hong Sang-soo and Park Chan-wook. (Some critics dub them the “new wave” directors in Korean cinema.) It was however Bong who brought home the much-coveted Palme d'Or with his film “Parasite” in Cannes, France, Sunday.If heaven should have a visual expression, it rested on the face of Bong on that day. After receiving a thump of a hug from his “persona” the actor Song Kang-ho, pumping his fist in the air multiple times, he stood on the podium to accept the Palme d'Or. With his cheeks blushing red, and apologizing for not having prepared a speech in French, Bong thanked everyone, including the actors, for allowing him to physically touch the Palme d'Or. “I was a little 12-year-old boy, and a huge cinema fan, when I decided I would be a director. I am amazed to have won this prize, which means a great deal to me,” Bong said in Korean.Afterwards, outside the venue, Bong playfully went on his knees

May 29, 2019By Kim Ji-soo

'Younger brother' pulls it off at Cannes

Opinion

Luck of Korean voters

By Kim Ji-sooCompared to some other voters across the world, the Korean voters may well be lucky in that we only routinely discover our Cabinet minister-nominees have some “baggage” when they arrive for review at the parliamentary hearing for confirmation. Readers by now know that KAIST Professor Cho Dong-ho who was a nominee for science and technology minister and Choi Jeong-ho, the candidate who was tapped as land and transportation minister nominee, have both quit their candidacies. To be more clear, Cheong Wa Dae withdrew Cho's nomination and Choi voluntarily removed himself as nominee. Both had performed poorly at the hearings, apologizing for perceived ethical lapses. Cho was first criticized for problems with his real-estate investments and his two sons' supposedly lavish lifestyles during their time studying abroad. It was however his problematic attendance at the 2017 World Biomarkers Congress, an international conference known to be organized by OMICS International held in Spain that raised the biggest concerns. The conference, regarded as a “non-performin

Apr 3, 2019By Kim Ji-soo

Global Community

Foreign Line

FAME hosts networking partyThis Friday at 8 p.m., Blackmarket in Itaewon and the FAME Creators Network host their first networking party for creators. To be held the first Friday of each month, the event is dedicated to facilitate networking and to support creative professionals in fashion, art, music and entertainment.The event also offers performances, including by singer Elliott and magician Jay, as well as an art exhibition by King Scribbler and a music video premiere by Saulo Aroca.Tickets cost 11,000 won in advance or 15,000 won at the door. Visit?fb.com/famecreatorsnetwork?for more informationRASKB tours Yonsei's Underwood historyInternationally, the name Underwood was synonymous with typewriters. But in Korea, Underwood represents one of the longest-lasting Western families in Korea. Horace G. Underwood was one of the earliest missionaries to Korea, a confidant to King Gojong and the founder of Yonsei University, as well as a founding member of the Royal Asiatic Society Korea Branch (RASKB) in 1900. His great-grandson Peter Underwood, still a member of today's RASKB living in

Apr 2, 2019By Kim Ji-soo

Global Community

Korea Encounters Arbor Day and the reforestation of Korea

By Matt VanVolkenburgUpon liberation from Japan in 1945, Korea's landscape was less than picturesque. Decades of timber exploitation by the Japanese and use of firewood by Koreans to heat homes had depleted Korea's forests and left most of its mountains barren.To deal with this pressing problem, the first Arbor Day was proclaimed in 1946. April 5 soon became a “holiday” during which officials, students, soldiers and regular citizens were marshalled to take part in tree-planting activities. American officials and soldiers also donated trees and labor.By 1957, 358 million saplings were being planted annually. The government exhorted citizens to plant by urging them to “regain their ancient aura of beauty of the land and to recapture our past remembrance of mild, warm and kind humanity prevalent among our people,” and had them sing the “Reforestation Song.”A lack of budget and commitment from the Syngman Rhee government, however, led to less-than-stellar results. This began to change after the military coup led

Apr 2, 2019By Kim Ji-soo

[Korea Encounters]Arbor Day and the reforestation of Korea

Books

'Now, Here, France'

“Now, Here, France” by Kim Sun-mi / Courtesy of Mimesis PublishingBy Kim Ji-sooEverybody has a preferred place or country outside their homeland that they find enchanting. To Kim Sun-mi, a journalist for the Korean vernacular Dong-A Ilbo newspaper and author of “Now, Here, France” the aforementioned country is that place. Having studied French in high school in Seoul, the opposite-to-trepid reporter had a chance to study at Paris ESMOD-ISEM in 2016. “Now, Here, France” is a book that offers a diverse array of topics related to the European country ― from trees in Paris and in-city events to collaborations of fashion artists and technology, and education. As a mother of two, she describes her children's experience at elementary school and kindergarten there. Through these topics, the writer tries to illustrate the country's undercurrent of a focus on culture and independent thinking, and the will to continue to creatively innovate.One of the noticeable chapters is the second, titled “Innovation and Luxury.”It provides a glimpse into the

Mar 29, 2019By Kim Ji-soo

Kim Ji-soo

Read more

Gearing up for 2020 general elections

Prof. Lee Geun named to lead KF

Countdown to ASEAN-ROK Summit

Chicken, pork skin enjoy heyday

Power of emotive narrative

'Younger brother' pulls it off at Cannes

Luck of Korean voters

Foreign Line

Korea Encounters Arbor Day and the reforestation of Korea

'Now, Here, France'

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