The Korea Times

Charisma incarnate - women save men

Female characters in films, dramas transformingBy Park Jin-haiIn the recent local box-office hit “Extreme Job,” drug lord Lee Moo-bae (played by Shin Ha-kyun) has a female body guard Sun-hee. The tall, tight-lipped woman in a black suit with her hair pulled up in a ponytail dispatches all the henchmen of a rival drug ring with decisive action.She doesn't speak a word or display any emotion on her face. She has the single-minded goal of defending her boss from all possible dangers.Just as Lee Jung-jae appealed to female fans through his charismatic bodyguard role in SBS' 1995 hit TV series “Sandglass,” Sun-hee faithfully completes every job her boss tells her to do and does it perfectly. On the small screen, the female lead of the ongoing KBS drama “My Lawyer, Mr. Jo 2: Crime and Punishment” has a secretary and right-hand “woman.” Having excellent physical prowess, the secretary accompanies her boss at all times and protects her with loyalty. Experts say Korean dramas and films are increasingly portraying strong female characters, reflec

Mar 20, 2019By Park Jin-hai

Entertainment

Uncomfortable parallels between K-pop scandal and 'Intimate Stranger'

Graphic by Bae So-youngBy Park Jin-hai In last year's hit film “Intimate Stranger,” tensions fill the air among four couples as smartphone rings sound whenever new chat messages arrive. In the seemingly innocuous party game, where they consent to unlocking their cellphones and sharing all its contents with others, they know what problems their phones can bring. As their smartphones reveal their dirty secrets which they tried to keep for their entire lives, the whole situation goes out of control. “I thought I knew everything about you. But it turned out you are a complete stranger," one of the four women shouts in despair. The film carries the message that “People lead three different lives ― a public life, a private one and a secretive one.”The fictional story has become a reality in the latest sex video scandal that wreaked havoc on the careers of several K-pop stars. The incident began with a minor offense case. As the police embarked on their investigation, however, shocking revelations have come day after day. Like “Intimate Stranger” sh

Mar 18, 2019By Park Jin-hai

Uncomfortable parallels between K-pop scandal and 'Intimate Stranger'

Shows & Dramas

'2 Days & 1 Night' viewers call for end of show

A scene from KBS reality show “2 Days & 1 Night” / Courtesy of KBSBy Park Jin-haiThe long-running KBS reality show “2 Days & 1 Night” has been hit by the worst crisis in its 12-year-long broadcasting history. The show has halted its production and broadcasting following one of its cast member's Jung Joon-young's being accused of illicitly recording and sharing sex videos online. If that is not enough, the show has faced requests from viewers for the show to be ended for good, citing the production crew's chronic moral hazard problems. K-pop singer Jung's case surfaced for the first time, when Seungri of K-pop act BIGBANG was interrogated for his involvement in a snow-balling sex and drug scandal at local nightclub Burning Sun the latter has taken a part in running. Jung and Seungri's agencies axed the two controversial K-pop stars. KBS, taking responsibility, announced on Friday that the show has been replaced for the time being. “For the two episodes that we've finished filming with Jung, I previously considered editing Jung's part and broadcast

Mar 17, 2019By Park Jin-hai

'2 Days & 1 Night' viewers call for end of show

Corrupt ties between police, K-pop star's nightclub revealed

Films

Yum Jung-ah returns with family fiasco movie

Yum Jung-ah seen in the film "Another  Child" / Courtesy of ShowboxBy Park Jin-haiYum Jung-ah, star of JTBC's hit drama “SKY Castle,” who impressed viewers with her strong mother character, returns to the big screen to play another mother role. In the film with “Another Child,” directed by actor-turned-director Kim Yun-seok, the 46-year-old actress plays the role of Young-ju, whose happy normal life is suddenly turned upside down. The film revolves around two families whose two underage daughters discover their parents' infidelity. While Young-ju's daughter tries to deal with her father's cheating on her own to save the family, Mi-hee, the daughter of her father's cheating partner, spills the beans and things come crashing down. “It is a film that makes people think (about life). If my previous mother roles focused more on motherhood and maternity, my new role depicts more of her 'woman' side faced with the family crisis,” said Yum during a press conference at a local theater in Seoul, Wednesday. “Although it was not an easy role to take

Mar 13, 2019By Park Jin-hai

Yum Jung-ah returns with family fiasco movie

K-pop

German baritone with disability to perform in Seoul

By Park Jin-haiThomas Quasthoff / Courtesy of LG Arts CenterThomas Quasthoff, 59, was born as a “Thalidomide baby.” Due to the drug his mother took in her pregnancy, he is only 1.34 meter tall, with small arms attached close to his trunk. But the tiny man has a mighty voice that can transcend all prejudices. The German bass-baritone is coming to Seoul for his debut performance here. After his Daejeon concert at Daejeon Arts Center on Saturday, he will perform at LG Arts Center in southern Seoul, on March 19, as a jazz singer. His concerts are part of an Asian tour for his latest jazz album “Nice 'N' Easy” released in May, last year. He started taking singing lessons at 13 as a hobby. After his entry into the conservatory in Hanover was denied due to his physical limitations, he studied voice privately. His music career was launched in 1988 when he won the ARD International Music Competition in Munich. In 2003, he finally hit the opera stage and he has become a three-time Grammy award-winner for Best Classical Vocal Performance in 2000, 2004, and 2006. Followin

Mar 12, 2019By Park Jin-hai

German baritone with disability to perform in Seoul

K-pop

Without BTS, fans have fun in Seoul Plaza

K-pop boy band BTS' official fan club ARMY members cheer during “ARMY In Action,” part of the group's global ARMYPEDIA event, held at Seoul Plaza, Sunday. Scanning 2,080 QR codes in seven cities around the world, fans can solve a quiz related to the band and fill out ARMYPEDIA. / YonhapBy Park Jin-haiOver 10,000 members of ARMY, K-pop boy band BTS's official fan club, gathered at Seoul Plaza, Sunday afternoon. In the absence of the seven-member band, fans gathered under the banner of “Run Army In Action,” scanned a QR code on the big screen and had fun answering quiz questions about BTS. It is unprecedented for a fan club to come out of cyber space and hold a massive off-line festival. The gathering was part of the band's global event called ARMYPEDIA, which started Feb. 21. Scanning a total of 2,080 QR codes scattered over seven cities around the world, fans could access the quiz related to the boy band, unlock and share video clips and photos of a certain day between its 2013 debut date and the event start date with other fans. The event was designed to cre

Mar 11, 2019By Park Jin-hai

Without BTS, fans have fun in Seoul Plaza

Politics

INTERVIEW Daughter recalls patriot dad's lonely fight for independence

Margaret Chun, daughter of the late independence fighter Chun Myung-woon, poses in front of a photograph of her father, left, and Chang In-hwan, Feb. 23, who attempted to assassinate pro-Japan lobbyist and former diplomat Durham Stevens, at the Korea National Association Memorial Foundation in Los Angeles, Calif. / Korea Times photo by Park Jin-hai This is the fourth in a series of articles highlighting overseas independence fighters on the occasion of centennial of March 1 Independence Movement -- E.D.By Park Jin-haiLos Angeles, Calif. ― Gunshots rang the morning of March 23, 1908 at the Port of San Francisco.Two Korean men ― Chun Myung-woon (a.k.a Jeon Myeong-woon) and Chang In-hwan ― were behind the gunfire. The two didn't know each other. Chun, 23, was the first to pull the trigger but his pistol didn't fire. A fistfight broke out with his target, Durham Stevens, a former U.S. diplomat and pro-Japan lobbyist. At the very same site, Chang, 32, shot Stevens twice in the back. One bullet also accidentally hit Chun.The deadly attack took place two days after the publication of a San

Mar 10, 2019By Park Jin-hai

[INTERVIEW] Daughter recalls patriot dad's lonely fight for independence

Travel & Food

Legacy of Ahn Chang-ho, KNA revisited

Rosedale Cemetery in L.A. is where 21 Korean immigrants honored for independence activists are buried. / Korea Times photo by Park Jin-haiBy Park Jin-haiThe independence movement in the United States went hand in hand with the history of Korean immigrants to America. In December 1902, when Korea's sovereignty was threatened by Imperial Japan, many Koreans looking for safety and to fulfill their dreams departed Incheon Port to set foot on Hawaii. Most of them worked at sugar cane plantations and there were some ginseng salesmen who followed their Chinese partners. But, among the earliest groups of those early immigrants to the United States were also reform-minded young people eager to make their home country a stronger, modern and democratic nation. Phillip Jaisohn and Ahn Chang-ho were two of those ambitious people. Philip Jaisohn, also known by his Korean name Seo Jae-pil, was the first Korean to become a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1890, five years after he arrived in San Francisco. After becoming a medical doctor in 1893, following graduation from a medical school in the United S

Mar 7, 2019By Park Jin-hai

Politics

Orange farm workers joined Korea's independence movement in US

Korean Americans, including children and families of Korean independence martyrs, celebrate the March 1 Independence Movement at Berendo Street Baptist Church in Los Angeles, Calif., on March 1. / Korea Times photo by Park Jin-haiBy Park Jin-haiLos Angeles, Calif. ― Some 200 Korean Americans, including children and families of Korean independence martyrs, gathered at Berendo Street Baptist Church in Los Angeles, California, on March 1. They shouted “manse” and avidly waved national flags of both Korea and America to pay tribute to their ancestors. Among those independence fighters were orange farm workers from Riverside, California. They stood up against the Japanese occupation of Korea and fought for the freedom of their mother country from thousands of miles away. “Recalling the works of our ancestors, I cannot even guess how it could be possible at that time. The Korean immigrants, who had been barely living, working over 10 hours a day in plantations and farms, voluntarily donated their hard-earned money for the independence movement,” said Kwon Young-shi

Mar 7, 2019By Park Jin-hai

Orange farm workers joined Korea's independence movement in US

Travel & Food

Korean food goes mainstream in LA

Customers of House of Galbi have Korean BBQ during the lunch hour in Encino, L.A., on Feb. 27. / Korea Times photo by Park Jin-haiBy Park Jin-haiLos Angeles, Calif. ― At the Line Hotel, one of the trendiest hotels in Korea Town in Los Angeles, a white couple orders a steak that is served with sauce made from blackish doenjang. They amusingly talk about the spellings of the Korean word.A group of young Latinos place bottled soju on the cash counter in the market that looks like it has almost every Korean item including puffed rice snacks that street venders usually sell in Korea. In the area, spas look more like Korean-style public jjimjilbang bathhouses, not luxury beauty services. Walking in the neighborhood near Wilshire/Vermont subway station, one can even see a Korean-language no-smoking sign. A young woman in her car passing by shouts the name of her favorite BTS member “Jimin” in jubilation when she sees an electronic display that bears the photo of the K-pop superstar band on the wall of a tall building. Centering on young Americans, Los Angeles is increasingl

Mar 4, 2019By Park Jin-hai

Park Jin-hai

Read more

Charisma incarnate - women save men

Uncomfortable parallels between K-pop scandal and 'Intimate Stranger'

'2 Days & 1 Night' viewers call for end of show

Yum Jung-ah returns with family fiasco movie

German baritone with disability to perform in Seoul

Without BTS, fans have fun in Seoul Plaza

INTERVIEW Daughter recalls patriot dad's lonely fight for independence

Legacy of Ahn Chang-ho, KNA revisited

Orange farm workers joined Korea's independence movement in US

Korean food goes mainstream in LA

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