The Korea Times

Following in footsteps of his grandfather

North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un sits in his vehicle after arriving at Dong Dang railway station, Vietnam, at the border with China, Tuesday. Reuters-YonhapBy Kim Ji-sooTraveling more than 4,000 kilometers and 65 hours to take his first step in Vietnam, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un disembarked at Dong Dang Railway Station, Tuesday, looking confident and authoritative. He was accompanied on his armored green train by a top-level North Korean entourage that included his sister Kim Yo-jong, Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party Kim Yong-chol, who has held ministerial-level talks with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, senior party aide Ri Su-yong and Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho. North Korean first lady Ri Sol-ju did not accompany him. An interpreter was seen rushing to his side, as Kim met with a long line of Vietnamese officials. He then traveled to Hanoi in a Mercedez-Benz to the Hotel Melia that had strongly been rumored to be his accommodation during his second summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, and an official friendly visit upon the invitation of

Feb 26, 2019By Kim Ji-soo

Following in footsteps of his grandfather

Kim Jong-un's every move under spotlight

Opinion

New faces and the race at LKP

By Kim Ji-sooA race, or a fight will always draw a crowd, as the conservative opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) will surely feel as it prepares for its upcoming convention. Beleaguered from the March 2017 impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye for corruption, the party will hold a convention on Feb. 27 to pick a new leader.Because the Moon Jae-in administration is heading into its second half, the race for the LKP leadership is a barometer to gauge the contenders' feasibility for the 2022 presidential election. In the competition, former Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn is emerging strong. At 61, the former prosecutor/justice minister/prime minister has a solid record as a bureaucrat. As a prosecutor he built a steady portfolio in public security cases. Calm, poised, soft-spoken and a devout Christian, Hwang's demeanor suggests he may well be the gentlemanly elder that the conservative camp urgently needs.This is despite the fact that Hwang served as Park's last prime minister, and eventually as acting president for several months before Park's ouster from the presidential offi

Feb 6, 2019By Kim Ji-soo

Politics

Ryu Kwon-ha re-elected to head FNA

Ryu Kwon-ha, CEO of the Korea JoongAng Daily and FNA chairmanRyu Kwon-ha, CEO of the Korea JoongAng Daily, has been re-elected to head the Foreign Language Newspapers Association of Korea (FNA). Ryu will serve as the FNA's fourth chairman. The FNA, comprising The Korea Times, the Korea Herald, the Korea JoongAng Daily and the Aju Business Daily, was established in July 2015. The FNA works for joint research and cooperation in publishing foreign-language dailies in Korea.Ryu has been leading the Korea JoongAng Daily since 2013. He was formerly a writer for the JoongAng Ilbo, a Korean-language daily newspaper where he was the paper's German correspondent between 2003 and 2007. From 2007, he has served in various JoongAng Ilbo management positions including as chief secretary to chairman of the JoongAng Ilbo and JTBC.

Dec 27, 2018By Kim Ji-soo

Opinion

Finding solace in film

By Kim Ji-sooBy now, more than 6 million Korean moviegoers have watched the biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody” and soon if the current trend is any indication, more will do so. When “Bohemian Rhapsody” first opened on the last day of October, my estimate was that its popularity would last a month or so before giving way to Christmas films. I thought only a limited generation of Koreans would know of the British rock band Queen. Admittedly, the Xmas flicks have had yet to land in Korean theaters in earnest and that may well be one reason. But the film about Queen's lead singer Freddie Mercury is still flying high in the country, continuing to cast its spell over the country. It's not only music fans in their 40s and 50s like myself who listened to the British rock band in the 1980s. When news of the film opening in Korea arrived, as a Queen fan I was determined to see it. The band's songs from “Somebody to Love,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Another One Bites the Dust,” “Under Pressure” and “We are the Champions,” we

Dec 5, 2018By Kim Ji-soo

K-pop

SOYA looks confidently ahead with mini-album

Female solo SOYA / GH EntertainmentBy Kim Ji-sooSOYA, a female solo artist often called “Korea's Dua Lipa,” released a mini-album Wednesday.Since January this year, SOYA has been releasing songs through the “SOYA Color Project,” taking the letters 'S,' 'O,' 'Y' and 'A' and releasing the songs “Show,” “OASIS” and “Y-shirt.”This release wraps up that effort with a mini-album titled “Artist,” referencing the last letter in her name. The mini-album in fact carries the previous singles, the new track “Artist” and “Alone.” One noticeable artistic collaborator on her album is e.one, whose real name is Cheong Ho-hyeon, a music writer who worked with Wanna One, EXO, TWICE and G-FRIEND. SOYA is signed with GH Entertainment.“I put in twice the effort in the mini-album as it was also the wrap-up of my year-long project, and I focused on the performance and working with the dance team Alien,” SOYA said in a showcase event held Wednesday at Spigen Hall in southern Seoul.“Artist”

Oct 19, 2018By Kim Ji-soo

SOYA looks confidently ahead with mini-album

Global Community

Foreign Line

Korea Legacy GalaThe nonprofit Korea Legacy Committee (KLC) is celebrating its third anniversary with a gala at the Four Seasons this Friday from 7 p.m. until midnight. The 3rd Anniversary Korea Legacy Gala is said to be one of Korea's premiere charity events led by young professionals to empower the next generation of Korean leaders. The KLC, created in 2015, is a team of social entrepreneurs who work hard to create awareness of issues regarding the elderly population and is dedicated to supporting them through volunteer events and fundraisers. Their mission is to engage, educate and inspire a new generation of Koreans on the issues that face the country's elderly.All proceeds from this special black tie event will go towards the Seoul Senior Welfare Center, Seoul's largest nonprofit dedicated to supporting impoverished elderly.The gala promises delicious cocktails, special musical guests and a night full of fun and dancing. Tickets for the event range from 40,000 won for students, 80,000 won for distinguished guests and 150,000 for VIPs. The ticket price includes an open bar, light

Oct 16, 2018By Kim Ji-soo

Opinion

Stars born through sweat and grit

By Kim Ji-sooThe world rages over top K-pop stars BTS, and in consideration of the band's hectic schedule and demand from overseas, people are constantly on the lookout for newly rising stars with fresh sounds.One of these is the new girl band (G)I-DLE, poised to challenge existing stars with the song “HANN.” The song is unique for a K-pop song, starting out with a melody that evokes Indian pop with whistling. Listening to the song over and over like my sibling who first encountered it at an aerobics class, it's not hard to become addicted. The girl band has six members, and they only debuted in May this year. Its first extended-play album titled “I Am” and the song “Latata” did well on the charts. Then just three months later, the members put forth the single “Hann” (Alone), which was another hit. “Hann” is also playing in the halls of aerobic centers and gym classes and garnering more clicks with its official video.The sound of (G)I-DLE's music is refreshing in the landscape where pop dance numbers reign. Its members ― Miy

Oct 10, 2018By Kim Ji-soo

Global Community

Foreign Line

Women's Networking in GangnamWeWork Gangnam Station, a coworking space, hosts a networking event for women tonight from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The event brings together “women who want to connect, women who want to support each other, women who want to make new friends, women who have their own businesses or want to start their own businesses.” Free beer and snacks are offered. WeWork Gangnam is near exits 6 and 7 of Gangnam Station on Line 2 and the Shinbundang Line. Visit fb.com/WeWorkGangnamStation for more information. RASKB looks at PyeongChang OlympicsBonnie Tilland of Yonsei University lectures on national hopes and new directions in Korean globalization surrounding the PyeongChang Winter Olympimcs earlier this year, specifically through the youth volunteers who worked for hours without rest or pay. She suggests the young South Korean Olympic volunteers are held to certain national expectations of globalized behavior, but they selectively subvert these expectations based on their experiences as global citizens.The lecture will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 16 in the second-floo

Oct 9, 2018By Kim Ji-soo

Global Community

Joseon Images: Korea's earliest female cyclists

Joseon Images: Korea's earliest female cyclistsIn the late 19th and early 20th centuries, bicycles became a trendy and popular form of transportation in Korea. The first known bicyclists included an American naval officer named Lieutenant Philip V. Lansdale who visited the capital in the latter part of 1884, but it wasn't until the 1890s that bicycles became a relatively common sight on the streets of Seoul. Muriel Lewis, an American schoolteacher at the Unsan gold mines in northern Korea in 1935. An annual bicycle license was required and cost 10 yen (about $2.70 in silver dollars at the time). / Courtesy of Jan Downing By Robert NeffIn the late 19th and early 20th centuries, bicycles became a trendy and popular form of transportation in Korea. The first known bicyclists included an American naval officer named Lt. Philip V. Lansdale who visited the capital in the latter part of 1884, but it wasn't until the 1890s that bicycles became a relatively common sight on th

Oct 9, 2018By Kim Ji-soo

Politics

S. Korea, UK sign MOU for expanded trade partnership

South Korea's trade promotion agency said Sunday it has reached an initial agreement with Britain to expand the two countries' already-strong partnership. The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) said its CEO, Kwon Pyung-oh, signed the memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Britain's International Trade Secretary, Liam Fox, for a strategic partnership in bilateral investments, trade information exchanges, and joint overseas projects."Britain is the world's fifth-biggest economy in terms of gross domestic product and is home to startups with advanced technologies. As Britain prepares for its exit from the European Union, it is looking at more collaboration with major trading partners, such as Korea," Kwon said in the statement.Trade volume between the two countries jumped 64 percent to US$14.4 billion in 2017 from $8.79 billion in 2011. As of 2017, Korean investment in Britain reached $16.79 billion, while Britain's investments in Korea stood at $2.22 billion, it said. (Yonhap)

Oct 9, 2018By Kim Ji-soo

Kim Ji-soo

Read more

Following in footsteps of his grandfather

New faces and the race at LKP

Ryu Kwon-ha re-elected to head FNA

Finding solace in film

SOYA looks confidently ahead with mini-album

Foreign Line

Stars born through sweat and grit

Foreign Line

Joseon Images: Korea's earliest female cyclists

S. Korea, UK sign MOU for expanded trade partnership

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