The Korea Times

The old man and the bus terminal

Kim Jae-do, 81, shows Tapri Bus Terminal in Uiseong, North Gyeongsang Province, which he inherited at 17 after the sudden death of his father in 1954. He has been running the terminal for 64 years. / Korea Times photo by Jun Joon-hoTerminal operator recalls good old daysBy Park Jin-haiTapri Bus Terminal, a small rural terminal in Uiseong, North Gyeongsang Province, 260 kilometers from Seoul, has seen better days. The place, once crowded with commuting students and vendors with their hands full of bottari (cloth wrappings tied into bundles) carrying grains and fruit to sell in Daegu's large Seomun Market, is now a desolate and quiet place where only a few elderly people visit. The vintage bus terminal showing the wear and tear of time sits quietly like a granny living in a rural home who waits for a welcome visit from her grownup children who have made their own lives in the city. Kim Jae-do, 81, who inherited control of the intercity bus terminal service at 17 after the sudden death of his father in 1954, has been running the terminal for 64 years. “Now people as old as me mai

Nov 29, 2018By Park Jin-hai

Shows & Dramas

'SKY Castle' captures elite moms' education craze

A scene from JTBC's new drama “SKY Castle” / Courtesy of JTBCBy Park Jin-haiA new JTBC drama, featuring high class families' education craze to help their children gain a ticket to Seoul National University (SNU) and rise to “Kennedy family” status in Korea, has been unveiled. “SKY Castle,” premiered on Friday, starring veteran actresses Yum Jung-ah, Lee Tae-ran, Yoon Se-a, Oh Na-ra and Kim Seo-hyung, reveals the strategies and dirty tricks of elite mothers from families of medical doctors and law professors living in affluent residences to secure their children a position to attend the SNU medical school. “SKY” alludes to the prestigious trio of universities, Seoul National University, Korea University and Yonsei University. “SKY Castle” is a satirical look at Korea's education system today, where it has become harder for poor families to climb the social ladder through the means of education. The story is told through the tales of rich families' twisted ambitions. The first episode started with a luxurious celebration part

Nov 25, 2018By Park Jin-hai

'SKY Castle' captures elite moms' education craze

Shows & Dramas

Star-studded 'Encounter' features heart-fluttering romance

Actress Song Hye-kyo, right, and Park Bo-gum make thier much anticipated returns in tvN's forthcoming TV series "Encounter." Courtesy of CJENMBy Park Jin-haiTwo big name stars Song Hye-kyo and Park Bo-gum make their much-anticipated returns in tvN's new romance drama “Encounter.” Actress Song, who starred in the 2016 pan-Asian smash hit drama “Descendents of the Sun,” and Park, heartthrob of another 2016 hit period drama “Love in the Moonlight,” will depict the beautiful moments of love's spell. “You need courage, big or small, when you start seeing someone and grow the encounter into something special. The drama is about the beautiful process,” said director Park Sin-woo during a press conference to preview the forthcoming TV series at Imperial Palace in Southern Seoul, Wednesday. The new Wed-Thurs romance, which will premiere next week, revolves around Cha Soo-hyun, played by Song, a conglomerate heir divorcee and politician's daughter who has never lived her own life, and Kim Jin-hyuk, played by Park, a free-spirited young man who li

Nov 23, 2018By Park Jin-hai

Star-studded 'Encounter' features heart-fluttering romance

Films

INTERVIEW In 'Beautiful Days,' Lee Na-young turns hurt into hope

Lee Na-young/ Courtesy of eden9By Park Jin-haiWhen describing Lee Na-young, the word “mystique” always seems to crop up. Despite the chic, modern and glamorous persona seen in TV commercials, the model-turned-actress has portrayed a surprisingly diverse and challenging range of characters. She portrayed a stalker in “Someone Special” (2004), a rape victim who attempts suicide in “Maundy Thursday” (2006), an emotionally tormented sleepwalker in Kim Ki-duk's “Dream” (2008) and a transgender photographer in “Lady Daddy” (2010). The past six years have been relatively quiet for Lee. Since her last film, “Howling” (2012), she has been absent from the cinema scene. In 2015, she surprised fans by tying the knot with top actor Won Bin in a wheat field in Jeongseon, Gangwon Province. Despite the couple's significant celebrity status, their married life has remained private.This November, Lee is making a welcome comeback to the big screen, breaking her six-year hiatus, with small-budget independent film “Beautiful Da

Nov 18, 2018By Park Jin-hai

[INTERVIEW] In 'Beautiful Days,' Lee Na-young turns hurt into hope

K-pop

BTS apologizes over T-shirt, Nazi hat

BTS performs "Fake Love" at the Billboard Music Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas in May. Korea Times fileBy Park Jin-haiK-pop boy band BTS, which has been under fire recently for a controversial A-bomb T-shirt and Nazi hat its members wore in the past, has officially apologized for those incidents. The apology issued by Big Hit Entertainment, Tuesday night, stated the seven-member boy band and their agency had “no intention to cause distress or pain to anyone,” and “would like to offer our sincerest apologies to anyone who has suffered pain, distress and discomfort due to our shortcomings.”BTS, currently in Japan as part of their “Love Yourself” Asia tour, caused a stir over a T-shirt bearing a photo of Koreans celebrating their 1945 liberation from Japanese occupation in one corner and another showing the atomic bombing of Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945. Its member Jimin appeared wearing the T-shirt in a YouTube documentary filmed in March 2017. The incident prompted TV Asahi and other Japanese TV broadcasters to cancel the group's schedule

Nov 14, 2018By Park Jin-hai

K-pop

Despite bashing, BTS still catches on in Japan

People take their photos with fans bearing photos of the members of South Korean boy band BTS outside Tokyo Dome where the band's concert will be held in Tokyo, Japan, Tuesday.  / Reuters-YonhapBy Park Jin-haiBTS' popularity in Japan has remained unscathed, despite the sweeping bashing among Japanese media outlets surrounding a T-shirt BTS member Jimin wore in March 2017. The incident prompted TV Asahi to cancel the group's live performance the day before they were scheduled to appear on a Friday night show on the channel.It also caused some Japanese intellectuals to raise questions regarding possible political motivation behind the cancellation. Tokyo Sports on Oct. 26 reported the controversy first, condemning BTS member Jimin for wearing a T-shirt bearing a photo of Koreans celebrating their liberation from Japanese colonial rule in 1945 in one corner and another showing the atomic bombing of Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945, with the words “patriotism,” “our history” and “liberation” printed on it, calling it “an anti-Japanese act.” Ji

Nov 13, 2018By Park Jin-hai

Despite bashing, BTS still catches on in Japan

Films

'Beautiful Days' asks meaning of family

In “Beautiful Days,” actress Lee Na-young, left, plays a North Korean defector who leads a tragic life in Seoul. / Courtesy of Contents PandaBy Park Jin-haiVeteran actress Lee Na-young makes a welcome return to the big screen, playing a North Korean defector and mother who has lived a tragic life. “Beautiful Days,” which opened this year's Busan International Film Festival, features a young Korean-Chinese man, Zhen Chen, played by Jang Dong-yoon, who goes to South Korea in search of his mother. His mother, played by actress Lee, escaped from North Korea and got married in China. But she ran away from their China home when her son was a child. Encountering his mother 14 years later, working at a bar and living with a hoodlum husband, Zhen Chen gets caught up in complex emotions of longing, hatred and resentment. And after observing his mother's seemingly cold and composed demeanor, he returns to China brokenhearted. But on his way back home, he finds his mother's notebook detailing her tragic past. Director Yun Jero, who has been telling stories of marginalized

Nov 11, 2018By Park Jin-hai

Films

'Youngju' delivers message of forgiveness

Actress Kim Hyang-gi is seen in the film “Youngju.” / Courtesy of CGVBy Park Jin-haiSmall-budget film “Youngju,” starring rising star Kim Hyang-gi and veteran actor Yu Jae-myeong, tells a story of forgiveness through a tragic accident. Kim, best known for her role in the “Along with the Gods” series, plays the leading role of Young-ju, who stuggles to make a living with her little brother after losing both parents in a car accident. The film follows what happens after Young-ju decides to meet those responsible for the accident five years later. The film's writer and director Cha Sung-Duk says her directorial debut feature was inspired by her own story of loss. “The film's synopsis is based on the story that I've been holding in my heart for a long time,” the director said during a press conference at a theater in Seoul, Tuesday. “In a sense, the film stems from my private story. Like Young-ju, I also lost my parents in an accident when I was a teenager. “When I thought of making it into a film, the first thing that came to m

Nov 7, 2018By Park Jin-hai

'Youngju' delivers message of forgiveness

K-pop

Singer releasing monthly songs for 8 years

By Park Jin-haiYoon Jong-shin / Courtesy of Mystic EntertainmentYoon Jong-shin, a 49-year-old K-pop ballad singer-songwriter and CEO of Mystic Entertainment, takes a special place in Korea's fast-changing pop music industry with his “tenacity.” The singer, best known as guest singer of the 1990s ballad band 015B, has made it a rule of releasing a new single each month for over eight years straight since March 2010. The singer's project called “Monthly Yoon Jong-shin” was initially brushed off as a one-time gig for a 40-something singer who had seen better days. But Yoon, regardless of the publicity his albums receive, continued to unveil a digital single each month. His 103rd single “Cramming,” featuring Yuju of K-pop girl group G-Friend, will be released on Friday. At a time when digital singles were relatively new to Korea's music industry, Yoon, through his project he calls a “playground,” made nostalgic ballads he is best known for, but also expanded his musical genres to hip-hop, reggae, heavy metal and EDM. His songs released each

Nov 6, 2018By Park Jin-hai

K-pop

Composer imagines unified Korea through music

Yang Bang-ean, a composer and pianist, speaks about his upcoming concert “Yang Bang-ean Utopia 2018” during a press conference at a restaurant in Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of PRMBy Park Jin-haiYang Bang-ean, a composer and pianist who delivered a message of peace in the opening and closing ceremonies of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics earlier this year, said his heart raced with excitement when the two Koreas announced an agreement to connect their railways in April. “A new era has opened. It seems like the Gyeongui Line linking Seoul through Sinuiju of North Korea all the way to Europe lies in front of my eyes,” Yang said during a press conference last Thursday. “My father came from Jeju Island, my mother from Sinuiju and I was born and raised in Tokyo. When I heard the railroad will be reconnected, I was so much moved by the news. I thought that now is the right time to perform my 2012 music 'Dream Railroad.'” Yang will hold his fourth “Yang Bang-ean Utopia 2018” concert later this month.The ethnic Korean, born to a South Korean fathe

Nov 4, 2018By Park Jin-hai

Park Jin-hai

Read more

The old man and the bus terminal

'SKY Castle' captures elite moms' education craze

Star-studded 'Encounter' features heart-fluttering romance

INTERVIEW In 'Beautiful Days,' Lee Na-young turns hurt into hope

BTS apologizes over T-shirt, Nazi hat

Despite bashing, BTS still catches on in Japan

'Beautiful Days' asks meaning of family

'Youngju' delivers message of forgiveness

Singer releasing monthly songs for 8 years

Composer imagines unified Korea through music

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