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Kwon Mee-yoo

Korea Times Politics & City Reporter

Often found at theaters and museums, Kwon Mee-yoo has covered a wide range of cultural fields from K-pop and dramas to theater and fine art for over a decade. Now as K-Culture Desk editor, she tries to connect Korean culture with global readers through fresh perspectives.

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Companies

Aloha! to Hawaiian Airlines

By Kwon Mee-yoo Another flag carrier from the United States, with the logo bearing a Hawaiian girl wearing a hibiscus behind her ear, will start flying to Korea next year, promising better service and a tropical experience. Established in 1929, Hawaiian Airlines (HA) is one of the oldest carriers in the U.S. With a fleet of 34 airplanes, the airline operates some 150 routes within the islands of Hawaii daily and long-haul flights to the U.S. mainland, Australia and Philippines. The carrier is now beginning to spread its wings to Northeast Asia ― Japan in November and Korean in January 2011. They will start operating the Incheon-Honolulu routes four times a week, with hopes of expanding to a daily service. "Hawaii starts here. The second you step on a Hawaiian Airlines' airplane, you're experiencing Hawaii,” Mark Dunkerley, President and CEO of HA, told The Korea Times. We have had an interest in Korea for several years. And we've been waiting for the right moment ― the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) and the right economic conditions," Dunkerley continued. "Those two things

Aug 13, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo
South Korea

Boryung Pharms blueberry drink exposed as fake

By Kwon Mee-yoo Blueberry is emerging as a new health food here and beverages made from the fruit are gaining popularity. However, some drinks, including one produced by Boryung Pharm, a leading pharmaceutical firm, advertised as made from 100 percent blueberries have turned out to be blended with other ingredients such as grape juice concentrate and sugar. The Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) referred six people to the prosecution for falsifying the contents of the blueberry beverages, Wednesday. According to the KFDA, these beverage makers mixed grape juice concentrate, sugar and syrup with 3-45 percent of blueberry concentrate to reduce costs and sold the drink worth some 520 billion won through Internet shopping sites from February to July. The list of drinks caught by the KFDA includes “Fermented Blueberry 100” sold by Boryung Pharm, “Blueberry concentrate juice 80 percent” and “Blueberry Gold 100” made by Samwoong Biotech, “Blueberry 100%” by Hanmi Food, “Blueberry concentrate Juice” by Hansol B&F and “Koryu Fermented Blueberry Gold” by Koryuwon. Kim, 3

Aug 11, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo
South Korea

Woongjin offers mentoring program

The Woongjin Foundation, led by former deputy culture minister Shin Hyun-woong, organizes a mentoring program to benefit 89 talented middle and high school students. The summer mentoring session will be held at the Woongjin Coway R&D Center at Seoul National University on Saturday. The students — 37 for math, 34 for science and 18 for the arts — are on scholarships from the foundation. During the fifth mentoring session, former culture minister Lee O-young will give a lecture on the topic of “Creativity in Poems” and other renowned professors and education experts will also lecture and counsel the students. “We offer the mentoring program to help talented students improve their abilities for greater success in the future,” a Woongjin Foundation official said.

Aug 11, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo
South Korea

Bus fuel tank explodes, 17 injured

By Kwon Mee-yoo The fuel tank of a natural gas-powered bus exploded while driving, injuring 17 passengers and passersby. Around 4:50 p.m. Monday, the bus using compressed natural gas (CNG) driving past Haengdang Subway Station in northern Seoul exploded, police said. A female passenger in her 40s was seriously injured, while 16 others, including the driver and passers-by, sustained slight injuries. The injured were transferred to four hospitals. Police quoted a witness as saying smoke came out of the bus after a huge banging sound. "I saw a lady severely injured her leg and the driver came out of the bus covered in dirt," a passerby told Yonhap News. The police assumed that fuel tank in the bottom of the bus had exploded due to hot weather. "The bus was waiting for its signal and its middle part was blown up," a police officer said. Police will investigate further to figure out the exact cause of the accident. In July 2008, another bus fuel tank exploded at the last bus stop in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province.

Aug 9, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo
South Korea

Baby blues requires help

By Kwon Mee-yoo A family of four was found dead last week. On Monday, the police found the two-year-old son of the family stabbed to death in their apartment and tracked down his parents and three-year-old sister, who had all jumped to their deaths at an apartment construction site, Tuesday. The police concluded that the cause of this domestic tragedy was the postpartum depression of Jang, 33, the mother of the two children. They found Jang's diary in their house in which she wrote that she was under a great deal of stress because of the unwanted pregnancy and the computer was used to search for acquiring sleeping tablets and briquettes. Another 24-year-old woman plunged to her death from her apartment, Tuesday, leaving her husband and six-month-old baby behind. The family said she had experienced stress after giving birth and had been planning to seek psychiatric help. Mothers suffering depression after delivery are becoming a new social problem, which could end up in tragic deaths and the breaking up of families. Postnatal depression affects about 20 percent of women

Aug 8, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo
South Korea

Is swimming-pool date a disaster to relationship?

By Kwon Mee-yoo Nine out of 10 men have stolen a glance at other women while on a date with their girlfriend at a swimming pool, a survey said. Duo, a matchmaking firm, surveyed 269 singles last month and found that 92 percent of males and 69 percent of females had snuck peeks at members of the opposite sex with good figures. Going to swimming pools on dates is becoming more popular. Hotels offer luxurious pools, while Seoul City provides seven riverside locations at more moderate prices and young couples do not mind showing off their bodies. Such dates need some preparation. Choi Eun-young, a 29-year-old office worker, went to a weight loss clinic last month to start a “serious” diet. “I really want to go on a swimming pool date this summer and I have to lose weight to go swimming,” she said. “I gained about 10 kilograms in two years and it is somewhat embarrassing to walk side by side with my boyfriend, who is only three kilograms heavier than me, despite being some 15 centimeters taller as well.” Like most women, she doesn’t want her boyfriend to turn his eyes

Aug 6, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo
South Korea

Foreigners satisfied with English service

By Kwon Mee-yoo Foreigners in Seoul can understand Korean movies better at the multiplex chain CGV, where the theater provides English subtitles for Korean movies in cooperation with Seoul City. He Anna, 29, is a student from China, now attending Korea University and studying Korean language and culture. She majored in Korean at a university in China and came to Seoul about one and a half years ago. Currently, she works as an intern at the Korea Foundation. She watched the Korean period comedy “The Servant” with English subtitles in June. “Though I am not very fluent in English, the subtitles were better than no subtitles at all,” she said. “My friend who watched the movie with me said the subtitles helped her understand the details.” CGV currently offers English subtitles at four theaters in Seoul —in Yongsan, Gangnam, Myeong-dong and Guro. “Our lineup has some 20 movies this year, doubled from last year’s,” said Kim Beom-gyu of Apple Tree PR, the public relations agency for the service. The subtitle service is available mostly for newly released Korean mov

Aug 5, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo
South Korea

Number of senior citizens reaches 1 million in Seoul

By Kwon Mee-yoo Korea is rapidly becoming an aged society even in urban centers. The fast graying population was previously a major problem in mainly rural areas, but cities are also facing a similar situation. As of June, there were 966,441 senior citizens over 65 living in Seoul, accounting for 9 percent of the capital’s total population of 10.4 million. The figure represents an increase of 23,500 in the first half. At this rate, the “silver generation” is expected to exceed 1 million next year. About one fifth of the seniors live alone and half of them struggle with poverty ㅡ more than 32,000 elderly people are entitled to the government’s livelihood subsidy. Seoul City is trying to cope with the fast aging society by increasing senior welfare assistance. For instance, the municipal government is encouraging the employment of senior citizens. The city provides aid of up to 100 million won to firms with more than 80 percent of over 60-year-old employees in “silver enterprises.” Last year, nine companies were designated for their silver employment projects, provid

Aug 5, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo
People & Events

Los Angeles designates Aug. 7 as Yu-na Day

Kim Yu-naBy Kwon Mee-yoo The prominent Korean figure skating star Kim Yu-na has been acknowledged by the city of Los Angeles with a special day, Aug. 7 to commemorate her success. Kim, the 20-year-old Olympic gold medalist, will visit Los Angeles Friday to receive the “Proud Korean Award.” Herb Wesson of the Los Angeles City Council submitted a resolution of "Yu-na Day" and the resolution passed unanimously Tuesday. Los Angeles has the largest Koreatown with a population of over 120,000 and Wesson said he is glad to proclaim Kim’s day on her visit to the biggest Korean community in the U.S. "Kim, an Olympic gold medalist and global idol star, can become a role model not only to second generation Korean-Americans but also to others in the community sports world," Wesson was quoted as saying. She will meet Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and donate a signed pair of skates, which are going to be kept at the City Hall. In addition, the Korean-American Leadership Foundation announced that they will also present this year’s "Proud Korean Award" to Samue

Aug 4, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo
South Korea

85% of teenage single moms stop education

By Kwon Mee-yoo Kim Su-hyun, a high school student who was forced to quit school due to her pregnancy, filed a petition to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to continue her schooling in April 2009. The NHRC advised the school to accept Kim’s reentry in July. She graduated from the school and entered a university majoring in tax accounting. Kim was lucky, as her case was brought to light by the media and the school allowed her to be readmitted. Many other single teen mothers cannot study even if they want to go back to school. Professor Je Seok-bong of the Catholic University of Daegu surveyed 73 teen mothers from 35 facilities nationwide at the request of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. The student mothers were 16.7 years old on average, and freshmen in high school. About a quarter of them first had sexual intercourse when they were 15, or third grade in middle school. Of them, 85 percent stopped their education. For instance, 34 percent quit vocational high school, 18 percent dropped out of middle school and 14 percent left high school

Aug 3, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo
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