The Korea Times

Kim Yu-na to model Post's 'Light up' ad

Figure skater Kim Yu-naDongsuh Foods announced Tuesday it will hire figure skating queen Kim Yu-na for Post’s new “Light up” cereal advertising campaign.“We cannot think of a better person. She has a great firm body due to years of training,” said a marketing manager of the food company.“That corresponds to the company’s ideal of leading a healthy life.”The firm expects the commercial to appeal to women on diets seeking healthy food while keeping their weight down..The figure skating phenomenon is a sought-after celebrity in advertising circles, since products she endorses enjoy brisk sales thanks to her image that appeals to all.Appearing on a TV program, Kim said she eats Korean food for breakfast, salad or fruit for lunch and cereal or fruit for dinner. She also posted photos of her eating cereal on her social network service sites, in her role as the company’s new model, according to the official.       

Apr 17, 2013By Park Jin-hai

Shows & Dramas

Hite Jinro exports 'ZERO' to Japan

Hite Jinro Beverage will export its non-alcohol beer “ZERO ZERO ZERO” to Japan, where the non-alcohol beverage market has been expanding explosively.The nation’s No. 1 beer and soju producer announced Monday it has closed a deal with Japanese distributor Kasuga and will ship 120,000 cases annually worth 3.5 billion won. The first shipment of 10,000 cases is scheduled to leave Busan on Saturday.The non-alcohol beer is locally touted as an “All-Free” type, with zero-calories, zero-sugar and zero-alcohol.“We have been exporting over 200,000 cases of non-alcohol beverages every year since 2011,” said an overseas marketing manager.“But, we will adopt more aggressive marketing strategies in the near future, such as finding more overseas distributors to beef up sales.”Hite Jinro seeks to make inroads to the Japanese market, whose non-alcohol sector was up 143 percent in 2012 at 40.5 million cases from a year earlier.    

Apr 17, 2013By Park Jin-hai

Shows & Dramas

K- beauty products hot overseas

Cosmetics exports up 32 percent, surpassing imports for 1st timeBy Park Jin-haiFor the first time Korea exported more cosmetics products than were imported – thought to be thanks to the growing popularity of "hallyu" (Korean wave), coupled with efficient marketing strategies.Exports of cosmetic brands stood at $1.1 billion in 2012, up by 32.6 percent from a year earlier, while imports remained at $978 million, according to the Korea Pharmaceutical Traders Association (KPTA).Amore Pacific, LG Household and Healthcare and Missha proved especially strong in oversea markets.Amore’s exports grew 35 percent to reach $442.8 million from the previous year, quadruple the domestic sales.LG Household saw its overseas sales grow 31.4 percent, to $232.3 million, while  Missha's exports rose 32 percent to the value of 28.3 billion dollars.Market analysts attributed the better-than-expected results to several factors: localization, distribution, brand-image and market diversification strategies.An increasing number of exporting companies, based on the

Apr 16, 2013By Park Jin-hai

Shows & Dramas

'Action, communication hand in hand'

President of the Corea Image and Communication Institute (CICI) Choi Jung-wha, center in second row, and first-place winner Mamadjanov Zohid from Uzbekistan, center in first row, pose with other contestants and organizers of the “Communicating for a Brighter Future of Korea” at Seoul Museum in Buam-dong, Seoul, Saturday.                                                      / Courtesy of CICICICI speech contest offers expats with chances to promote Korea's imageBy Park Jin-haiWhen the name of each anxious contestant is called, each scurries to the podium to deliver a speech.It’s a familiar scene to an audience reared on reality audition programs.This time, however, the contestants gathered at the Seoul Museum Saturday were foreigners and Koreans tackling the theme of the future of “hallyu,” or the Korean wave, and the concept of multiculturalism in Korea.Opening the ev

Apr 14, 2013By Park Jin-hai

Shows & Dramas

Ko Hyun-jung to star in new drama

Ko Hyun-jungActress-turned emcee Ko Hyun-jung will end her three-year hiatus and return to TV dramas in June.She will star in the new SBS drama tentatively named “Queen of the Class,” her agency IOK Company said Friday.Ko was last seen in the drama “Daemul” in 2010, in which she played a female president. She earned the Grand Prize at the SBS Drama Awards that year for the role.The actress described the new role ― Ma Yeo-jin ― she will play as a “demon-like” teacher who shows no mercy to her students.The story depicts the struggle between the teacher and her class.“The style and concept of the drama was rather fresh, not like other school dramas,” Ko said. “It is a challenge for me, too, to play a role like Ma.”  

Apr 14, 2013By Park Jin-hai

Shows & Dramas

Lotte Chilsung tops Korea brand power ranking

Lotte Chilsung’s Del Monte Juice, which has consistently been evaluated as a top brand in the juice sector for the 15th consecutive year, received the “Golden Brand” title for the 15th consecutive year, Wednesday. It has topped the segment in the the Korea - Brand Power Indexes (K-BPI) since they were first published.Lotte Chilsung offers such varieties as “Del Monte Premium,” “Del Monte Original,” and “Squash Plus.”Previously six juices received “Safe food for children” quality certification in 2010 and will seek to expand this sub group of products.It plans to be the unrivaled number one, by beefing up “cold” categories, such as “Del Monte Cold” and “Del Monte Cold Vitamin Plus.”     

Apr 12, 2013By Park Jin-hai

Politics

Ethnic journalists, VANK team up to promote Dokdo

Members of the Overseas Korean Media Association and Voluntary Network for Korea (VANK) pose in a conference room in Seongnam City, Gyeonggi Province, with university students who were appointed honorary ambassadors Tuesday.                                                                                     / YonhapBy Park Jin-haiOverseas Korean journalists will join with a local non-governmental organization to promote Dokdo and issues related to the East Sea.The Overseas Korean Media Association and the Voluntary Network for Korea (VANK) signed a memorandum of understanding Tuesday to this effect. The agreement was reached in Siheung, Seongnam City.As the first joint initiative under the MOU, the association will help VANK’s on-going project, “In Search of a Korean Dream,” by disseminating some 10,000 Arirang World Maps and cards to overseas Korean

Apr 10, 2013By Park Jin-hai

Ethnic journalists, VANK team up to promote Dokdo

Shows & Dramas

Local movie to be released in 20 North American cities

“Fists of Legend” was released Tuesday here and will also be distributed in certain North American cities from April 12 (local time).The cities include Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Washington D.C., Las Vegas, San Francisco, Atlanta, Philadelphia, San Diego, Seattle, Houston, Dallas, New Jersey, Toronto and Vancouver among others.Although other movies such as “Masquerade” and “The Berlin File” had previously been shown there, it is unprecedented for a movie to be distributed in the same week as its release in Korea.    Director Kang Woo-suk’s action movie depicts a heart-warming story of three friends who were famous in the past but face the wall of reality as they grow older.This is not the first time his movies have been shown on the North American market. “How to Top My Wife” (1995) received rave reviews from local critics, while “Two Cops” (1994) and “Public Enemy Returns” (2008) were well received by movie-goers there.   

Apr 10, 2013By Park Jin-hai

Local movie to be released in 20 North American cities

Shows & Dramas

Hallyu Line

Lee Kwang-soo to promote BCM Lee Kwang-sooLee Kwang-soo, a star of the SBS variety show “Running Man” and actress Lee Chung-ah have been designated honorary ambassadors for the Busan Contents Market (BCM) 2013, slated for May 9-11. The organizing committee said Tuesday the two were selected because of their popularity with hallyu (Korean wave) fans in other parts of Asia, such as China, Japan and Thailand. Busan City has hosted the BCM since 2007. Over the last six years, it has grown into Asia’s largest venue to trade visual content.  So far, 394 companies from 49 countries have registered for this year’s event. B.A.P sells 10,000 tickets for US tour K-pop group B.A.P sold out tickets for next month’s U.S. leg of its world tour in just an hour, its agency TS Entertainment said.The six-member boy band will start their American tour May 7 in Los Angeles, then perform in San Francisco May 10, Washington May 14 and New York on May 17. Each venue is scheduled to host about 2,500 concertgoers. The four-city stint is part of

Apr 9, 2013By Park Jin-hai

Politics

Research arms join hands for Dokdo

Kim Hak-joon, left, president of the Northeast Asian History Foundation, poses with Kim Young-won, director-general of the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage, after signing a memorandum of understanding in the foundation’s office in Seoul, Friday. Courtesy of NAHFThe Northeast Asian History Foundation (NAHF) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage, a sub-unit of the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) at the foundation building Friday.Under the MOU, the two research arms will cooperate by sharing relative documents and information on on-going research projects, formulating countermeasures and carrying out joint research on Korea’s cultural heritage items overseas.“Since we have a system to mobilize our respective expertise in the field into one, as well as joint countermeasures against Japan’s further provocation, we expect considerable synergic effects in the future,” said Kim Hak-joon, president of NAHF.NAHF conducts studies on Korea’s history ranging from the ancient t

Apr 7, 2013By Park Jin-hai

Park Jin-hai

Read more

Kim Yu-na to model Post's 'Light up' ad

Hite Jinro exports 'ZERO' to Japan

K- beauty products hot overseas

'Action, communication hand in hand'

Ko Hyun-jung to star in new drama

Lotte Chilsung tops Korea brand power ranking

Ethnic journalists, VANK team up to promote Dokdo

Local movie to be released in 20 North American cities

Hallyu Line

Research arms join hands for Dokdo

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