The Korea Times

Hanbok that meets changing needs

Kim In-ja sewing master and hanbok designer stands in the garden of her workshop in Seoul, Monday. /Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukBy Park Jin-haiSewing master Kim In-ja and her workshop look alike. Hidden on the hillside of the Bukchon Hanok Village, visitors must walk following narrow stone stairs and small flower planted rock gardens to reach the workshop that overlooks the traditional houses of the village. Although Dangchomun Kim In-ja Hanbok is not as fancy as boutiques in big cities, her small shop and Kim herself, the sewing master and the holder of Korean Important Intangible Cultural Properties No.89., exudes the simple and natural beauty of wildflowers on the street that look weak but are strong enough to rise time and again.Even with many internationally acclaimed fashion designers, including Giorgio Armani and Miuccia Prada, saying they get inspirations from hanbok, and K-pop artists like BTS and Lee Hyo-ri have shown the beauty of it, Kim says life as a "chimseonjang" or sewing master is not easy. “I, like many other hanbok designers, started sewing to make a li

Sep 20, 2018By Park Jin-hai

Hip, trendy hanbok stirs authenticity debate

Korean Heritage

Hip, trendy hanbok stirs authenticity debate

Foreign tourists wearing hanbok walk the courtyard at Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul, Monday. /Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukBy Park Jin-haiIn their “Idol” music video, superstar K-pop band BTS sing their song donned in Korean traditional hanbok. As it has garnered over 100 million views on YouTube in just five days after its release, their Korean attire also drew attention from global music fans. The robe-like hanbok worn with sneakers brought positive reviews online.“It's cool, I wish to see them performing in hanbok at the Billboard Music Awards,” a YouTuber left a comment, while another said, ”I like their modern and stylish designed hanbok. More so looking at them as the band that won over global audiences remembering their Korean roots.”Apart from BTS and other celebrities who claim to be hanbok admirers, more young Koreans and foreign tourists appreciate hanbok for the beauty of the traditional attire. Tourists from Japan pose for pictures in hanbok in the palace grounds. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukA big turnaround has happened in rece

Sep 20, 2018By Park Jin-hai

Hip, trendy hanbok stirs authenticity debate

Hanbok that meets changing needs

Films

INTERVIEW Ju Ji-hoon - chameleonic actor

Actor Ju Ji-hoon / Courtesy of ShowboxMost in-demand actor speaks about serial killer role in forthcoming film By Park Jin-haiJu Ji-hoon, 36, is one of the most in-demand actors, spending his busiest year since he made his debut in 2002. Ju has no limits with his acting range. He played an attractive and warm-hearted grim reaper in the smash hit fantasy film “Along with the Gods” series, whose second installment stormed local theaters this August. In the same month, in the espionage film “The Spy Gone North,” he transformed himself into the sarcastic head of the North Korean Security Agency, which also saw great commercial success at the local box office.The model-turned-actor is now awaiting the release of his latest and third film of the year. In the upcoming film “Dark Figure of Crime,” to be released Oct. 3, he takes the role of a psychopathic serial killer. “I've been totally blessed. I've been working for three full years recently without taking a break. I know that it is very rare for an actor to have such a prolific year,” Ju sa

Sep 19, 2018By Park Jin-hai

[INTERVIEW] Ju Ji-hoon - chameleonic actor

Shows & Dramas

Kim Je-dong hosts 'warm' news talk show

Kim Je-dong speaks about KBS news talk show “Tonight, Kim Je-dong” during a meeting with the press at a cafe in Seoul, Thursday. / Courtesy of KBSBy Park Jin-haiComedian and TV personality Kim Je-dong, who hasn't been shy about voicing political opinions, has landed a job as a host on KBS's new current affairs talk show, “Tonight, Kim Je-dong.”KBS, in a bid to widen its audience appeal, tapped the 44-year-old outspoken liberal for the Monday-Thursday late-night show, which premiered last Monday. It looks at the major issues of the day from the perspective of viewers and explains them in easy-to-understand, witty words. “I've never thought that citizens' opinions are less valuable than those of experts,” Kim said during a meeting with the press at a cafe in Seoul, Thursday. “In the hope that there could be a new talk show to deliver viewers' opinions, I accepted the job. In our show, viewers are not just passive consumers of news delivered by experts, but are active suppliers of news. I as a host want to listen to people's voices more.”T

Sep 16, 2018By Park Jin-hai

K-pop

Cho Yong-pil amazed by BTS' global success

Singer Cho Yong-pil / Courtesy of artistHis “Thanks to You” concert across country continues By Park Jin-haiLegendary singer Cho Yong-pil says he was “amazed” by BTS' repeated feats on the Billboard music charts. “I was really surprised when Psy first appeared on the Billboard charts, but BTS making the chart again was definitely a shock,” the 68 year-old singer, who marks the 50th anniversary of his musical career this year, told reporters in Seoul, Thursday. “When Psy rose to the top, I thought, 'Will something like this happen again?' But BTS has done it twice. It was a bombshell not just for me but for all the people around me,” referring to BTS' first chart-topping album “Love Yourself: Tear” and the second “Love Yourself: Answer” three months later. Cho, nicknamed the first “national singer” for his popularity among people of all ages, was one of the first Korean pop singers who triggered hallyu. He entered the Japanese market in 1986 and his songs enjoyed as much popularity there as here in Kor

Sep 12, 2018By Park Jin-hai

Cho Yong-pil amazed by BTS' global success

Films

Rare monster film 'Monstrum' to hit theaters

Cast members of film “Monstrum” pose during a press conference for the preview of the film in Seoul, Sept. 3. / Courtesy of Lotte EntertainmentBy Park Jin-haiThe unidentified mysterious creature that haunted the royal palace of Joseon in 1527 has been brought to life in the forthcoming horror film “Monstrum.”The film, inspired by a historical account in “The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty” which stated the monster looked like a Sapsal dog and was as big as a foal, has been created as an imaginary monster on the big screen in the rare horror film since Bong Joon-ho's 2006 box-office hit “The Host.” “Monstrum,” starring veteran actor Kim Myung-min and K-pop singer-turned actress Lee Hye-ri, tells the story of a group of people who hunt down the man-eating, plague-spreading monster. Rumor has it that it kills people cruelly on mountainsides or contaminates them with a deadly disease; and the public's horror reaches King Jeoungjong. The king, who believes the rumor was created by an ambitious high official who aims to overthrow hi

Sep 11, 2018By Park Jin-hai

Rare monster film 'Monstrum' to hit theaters

Shows & Dramas

'The Guest' explores exorcism, supernatural power

Second from left, actor Kim Dong-wook, actress Jung Eun-chae and actor Kim Jae wook pose with other cast members of OCN's upcoming mystery thriller “The Guest” during a press conference at Amoris Hall in Seoul, Thursday. / Courtesy of OCNBy Park Jin-haiOCN, a cable movie channel leading in genre experiments, brings exorcism and Shamanism to the local drama market, currently crowded with courtroom dramas and crime thrillers. The upcoming mystery thriller “The Guest,” directed by Kim Hong-sun who created the spine-chilling crime thriller “Voice” last year, tells the story of a psychic, a priest and a detective who join together to fight unusual crimes committed by supernatural powers. Various social ills, ranging from the widening gap between the haves and have-nots to hatred and bullying at workplaces, lead to heinous crimes when people are possessed by demons. “We see many hate crimes these days and I wanted to give a different perspective to these crimes through drama,” said Kim during a press conference at Amoris Hall in Yeongdeungpo-

Sep 7, 2018By Park Jin-hai

'The Guest' explores exorcism, supernatural power

Companies

DongA One put under workout program

By Park Jin-haiLee Hi-sangDongA One Group chairmanDongA One Group, a mid-tier business group focused on making flour, has been struggling to stay afloat over the past few months under snowballing debt.The group has incurred huge losses from Chairman Lee Hi-sang’s “reckless venture” into wine-making, an imported car dealership and other non-core businesses.Hit hard by its worsening bottom line, the group’s non-guaranteed bond credit rating has plummeted to the lowest C grade, the Korea Investors Service (KIS) said Thursday.The grade is given to companies that have the highest risk of debt default and have no ability to repay the principal.“Its rating has slipped to C from CC, which reflects its creditors’ recent decision to place it under a workout program,” said a KIS official. The Korea Development Bank and other creditors decided to put the company under a creditor-managed workout program Tuesday.  The flour and animal feed manufacturer, led by Chairman Lee Hi-sang, has been snowed under with debt after excessive business exp

Dec 31, 2015By Park Jin-hai

Companies

Daewoo E&C seeks to sell shopping mall near Yongsan Station

An artist’s rendering of Yongsan Prugio Summit is seen in this file photo, Wednesday. / Courtesy of Daewoo E&CBy Park Jin-haiDaewoo Engineering & Construction said Thursday it is seeking to Yongsan Summit Square, a shopping mall in Yongsan, Seoul.The three-story mall with 139 shops is located within the high-rise residential complex Yongsan Prugio Summit that the company has constructed in front of Yongsan Station.Of the 139 shops, 118 will be up for sale.The company says the mall, seated at the heart of a commercial area with I Park Mall and E-mart in the vicinity, will be made into a tourist attraction. Recently the world’s largest duty-free shop run by a joint venture between Hyundai Development and Hotel Shilla with 27,400 square meters of land opened within the I Park Mall. Also, a K-pop concert hall that can house 2,000 spectators and a tourist center, are scheduled to be built behind the mall.“We expect more and more people to gather in the Yongsan Station area as the Yongsan Summit Square will be a popular foreign tourist spot. Connected with th

Dec 30, 2015By Park Jin-hai

Companies

Shipbuilders closely chased by Chinese rivals

A Samsung Heavy Industries’ vessel being launched at a port in Geoje Island, South Geongsang Province, in this 2013 file photo. Together with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and Hyundai Heavy Industries, the big three local builders have been troubled with losses and decreasing orders. / YonhapBy Park Jin-haiTroubled local shipbuilders have let their Chinese rivals break their long dominance for the first time.A Chinese shipbuilder emerged as the world's fifth largest player by order backlog in November, data showed Tuesday, posing a threat to Korean shipyards which had been dominating the top five list for years.The data compiled by Clarkson Research Services showed that Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding had an order backlog of 3.03 million compensated gross tons (CGTs) as of the end of November, overtaking Hyundai Mipo Dockyard’s place, which slipped to sixth place at 2.84 million CGTs.An order backlog is an order that has not yet been fulfilled and is a barometer of a shipbuilder’s future growth.Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) rank

Dec 30, 2015By Park Jin-hai

Park Jin-hai

Read more

Hanbok that meets changing needs

Hip, trendy hanbok stirs authenticity debate

INTERVIEW Ju Ji-hoon - chameleonic actor

Kim Je-dong hosts 'warm' news talk show

Cho Yong-pil amazed by BTS' global success

Rare monster film 'Monstrum' to hit theaters

'The Guest' explores exorcism, supernatural power

DongA One put under workout program

Daewoo E&C seeks to sell shopping mall near Yongsan Station

Shipbuilders closely chased by Chinese rivals

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