The Korea Times

Jang couple get newborn daughter

Jang Dong-gunBy Park Jin-haiIt’s a girl for the famous star couple Jang Dong-gun and Ko So-young.Their agency SM C&C announced Tuesday that actress Ko gave a birth at 10:30 a.m. at a hospital in southern Seoul the same day.“Jang stayed beside Ko while she was in labor and watched the moment of birth,” said a manager of the agency. “The newborn is a girl and both mother and baby are in good health.” The two were married in May 2010, and already have a 3-year-old son. Jang recently finished shooting for the upcoming film “Crying Man,” where he played a professional hit-man.

Feb 25, 2014By Park Jin-hai

Politics

NAHF publishes 'East Asia Territorial Issues and Dokdo'

By Park Jin-hai Researchers of the Northeast Asia History Foundation (NAHF) and experts of international law and diplomacy have published a recent book on East Asian territorial issues with a focus on the Senkaku or Diaoyu Islands dispute. “East Asia Territorial Issues and Dokdo” is a collaborative three-year research by seven experts dealing with the September 2010 incident where a Chinese fishing trawler collided with two Japanese patrol boats over the disputed waters near the Senkaku Islands, also called Diaoyu in China.   It analyzes the resulting fallout of the incident within the context of the diplomatic relations between Japan, China and Russia, as well as its implications on the Dokdo islets, the eastern most islets of Korea that is being claimed by Japan.  The book, according to the NAHF, discusses the past, present and future of East Asian territorial disputes. Ko Bong-jun, professor of the Chungnam National University’s Institute of Peace and Security Studies, analyzed the perspective of the United States. “T

Feb 23, 2014By Park Jin-hai

Shows & Dramas

Folk museum to offer free program

The National Folk Museum of Korea will offer a new program to teach foreigners traditional dances and martial arts.The “Traditional Yeon-hee (festival) Foreigners Class,” running from March until May, aims to give expatriates a chance to learn more about Korea. The 10-week program will offer free classes in three areas of “samulnori,” or a traditional percussion ensemble mask dance, and “taekgyeon,” a form of Korean martial arts, once a week. Upon the request of related organizations such as Korean language schools, lecturers will be dispatched to provide hands-on experiences.  The museum also runs a year-round program for foreigners, giving them a chance to learn traditional household crafts on Mondays and traditional dances every Wednesday. For more information visit the museum’s website at www.nfm.go.kr.

Feb 23, 2014By Park Jin-hai

Shows & Dramas

Max Changmin stars in drama 'Mimi'

This is a scene from Mnet’s ghost romance drama “Mimi,” starring K-pop idol Max Changmin. / Courtesy of Mnet26-year-old TVXQ star returns to small screen TVXQ’s U-know Yunho, left, and Max Changmin pose in this promotional photo./ Korea Times fileBy Park Jin-haiPopular K-pop duo TVXQ’s Max Changmin (Shim Chang-min) has always been a sweetheart for K-pop fans. With his charismatic performance on stage, the baby-faced star has shown enough charm to make his fans’ hearts race.Not only has the title song of TVXQ’s recent album “Something” topped many local on-line music charts, he also bagged the emcee role in KBS’s variety show, “Cool Kiz On The Block,” winning the Best Entertainer Award last year.Despite being in the showbiz industry for almost a decade, the 26-year-old idol says he still has more to show. This time, the multi-talented star returns to the small screen as webtoonist Han Min-woo in the “ghost” romance story, “Mimi.” The four-part mini- series drama sta

Feb 23, 2014By Park Jin-hai

Shows & Dramas

SM to hold global audition

By Park Jin-hai SM Entertainment will hold “2014 S.M. Global Audition” in 18 cities in seven countries ― Korea, China, Japan, U.S., Canada, Indonesia, and Thailand ― Feb. 21. The three-month journey starting in Indonesia will continue through May 25. “Already some 20,000 have people applied for the Jakarta audition alone, while more than 15,000 people applied for the one in China, to be held in late February,”  SM SM Entertainment, which has in its stable BoA, TVXQ, Girls’ Generation and Super Junior, has been organizing the event since 2006. Over the eight years, it has served as one of the most effective channels for idol-wannabes to debut and be elevated to stardom. Henry, a member of popular boy band Super Junior’s subunit Super Junior M, was recruited in 2006 through the global audition in Canada. The following year, girl group f(x)’s member Amber was discovered in the U. S. and boy band EXO’s Kris, a Canadian with Chinese origin, was from the Vancouver audition.  Contenders can apply for six cate

Feb 20, 2014By Park Jin-hai

Shows & Dramas

MBLAQ to release Japanese single

Park Jin-haiK-pop boy band MBLAQ will return to Japan with its upcoming Japanese single “Still In Love.” Their 4th Japanese single is scheduled to be released on Feb. 26. “Still In Love” was written and composed by Daisuke Mori, who has collaborated with the legendary J-pop boy band SMAP. Another song, “Take it Back,” was also created by Japanese artists. Composer Nakamura Daichi worked with songwriter Her0ism, who previously wrote songs for TVXQ and Kara. In celebration of its official release, the band will hold fan meetings twice a day on March 12 and 13 in Osaka, and March 16 and 18 in Tokyo.

Feb 19, 2014By Park Jin-hai

Others

Graduation ceremonies brace for change

High school seniors carry their teacher in a palanquin during a graduation ceremony in Hyeong Seok High School in Jeungpyeong Country, NorthChungcheong Province, Feb 12. / YonhapEvolving from violence-marred events to festivals By Park Jin-hai, Kwon Ji-youn, Yoon Sung-won For as long as anyone can remember, high school graduation scenes were more about saying good-bye to the grueling years of college exam preparations and the confinement of school walls than about the commencement of a new life.Most, if not all, ceremonies for years have been marred by a spate of incidents that has drawn criticism from the public ― from egg throwing and burning textbooks to tearing each others’ school uniforms, taking pictures and sharing them on-line. So much so that the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education announced last year that they would conduct crackdowns on the aberrant behavior of high school seniors on graduation day, including “naked celebrations,” and penalize the offenders. Some of the schools even had policemen guarding school yard entrances as a preve

Feb 18, 2014By Park Jin-hai

Shows & Dramas

Making 'hanok' common

RakKoJae, premium “hanok” guesthouse, was once used by Jindan Hakhoe, Korea’s first historical society. / Courtesy of RakKoJaeEngineer-turned hotelier devoted to upgrading traditional housing Ahn Young-hwanCEO of RakKoJaeBy Park Jin-hai“Hanok” or Korean traditional houses are being taken out of the history books to provide a new way of living.For a long time, the traditional architecture was disregarded in favor of apartment complexes that sprung up during the 1980s.But Koreans are rediscovering the charm of the centuries-old style of buildings and inviting them back into their lives.Jongno district office in central Seoul opened its first “hanok” library on Thursday. A day earlier, North Gyeongsang Province unveiled the blueprints to build 700 hanok on 250,000 square meters of land by 2027.Since 2008, the Seoul government as well as a number of other local governments, such as those in Jeolla and Gyeongsang provinces, have been creating hanok communities, one of which is the Bukchon Hanok Village.Nestled within the quaint alleys of Bukc

Feb 18, 2014By Park Jin-hai

Shows & Dramas

KBS bans H.O.T music, image

Tony An, center in the second row, is seen in this file photo as a member of the now defunct-group H.O.T. / Korea Times fileBy Park Jin-haiKBS announced Thursday that it will temporarily ban now-defunct boy band H.O.T’s music and videos from its programming.The broadcaster said that its management had decided in December to not feature entertainers, accused of gambling including Tony Ahn from H.O.T, alongside Lee Su-geun and Tak Jae-hoon. An was charged with repetitive gambling and booked without detention.KBS added that it will also suspend appearances by actresses Lee Seung-yeon, Park Si-yeon and Jang Mi-inae, who received suspended jail sentences for abusing the anesthetic drug propofol, and singer Ko Young-wook, sentenced to five years in jail for raping and sexually assaulting minors.

Feb 14, 2014By Park Jin-hai

Shows & Dramas

Home shopping fashion brand goes global

Models showcase home shopping channel CJ O Shopping’s lingerie brand “Fedelia,” at the opening of the premier fashion show Salon International dela Lingerie, held at Porte de Versailles on Jan. 25 (local time). / Courtesy of CJ O ShoppingTop designers join to gain upgraded premium imageBy Park Jin-haiParisians watched female models walk on runways showcasing elegant and lacy work of underwear with oriental embroidery.For the first time, the Korean brand “Fedelia” graced the opening of the premier fashion show Salon International de la Lingerie held at Porte de Versailles on Jan. 25. The CJ O Shopping private brand created in collaboration with the former Christian Dior designer Cilia Boes, won the spotlight against competing 550 brand names from 38 countries. Earlier this month rival home shopping giant GS Shop held a lingerie collection at Pier 59 Studio in New York and launched three new brands for the spring/summer season.At a time when local fashion brands are faced with stagnant market growth, the home shopping channels with immense distributio

Feb 14, 2014By Park Jin-hai

Park Jin-hai

Read more

Jang couple get newborn daughter

NAHF publishes 'East Asia Territorial Issues and Dokdo'

Folk museum to offer free program

Max Changmin stars in drama 'Mimi'

SM to hold global audition

MBLAQ to release Japanese single

Graduation ceremonies brace for change

Making 'hanok' common

KBS bans H.O.T music, image

Home shopping fashion brand goes global

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