Huffington Post launches Korean edition Arianna Huffington speaks during a press conferencein Seoul, Friday. / YonhapBy Yun Suh-young The Huffington Post, an online news site based in the United States, opened a Korean edition of the website (www.huffingtonpost.kr) Friday. The Korean site is Huffington’s 11th international edition and the second Asian edition. A Japanese edition was launched in May.The online news provider launched the Korean edition in partnership with Hankyoreh Media Group, a liberal newspaper. The content of the news site, however, will be provided independently from the Hankyoreh by a separate team of editors at the Huffington Post Korea. The editor in chief of the Korean edition is Sohn Mi-na, a freelance travel writer and former announcer on a local news channel. Arianna Huffington, president and editor in chief of The Huffington Post Media Group, said she believes the launch of the site will be a unique contribution to Korean culture. “The Huffington Post is a hybrid ― it’s a combination of journalistic enterprise of 800 people involved all around the world, but also a plFeb 28, 2014
KOCCA to host 'creative industry' forum Wednesday By Kim Ji-sooThe Korea Creative Contents Agency (KOCCA) organized a “2013 Strategic Forum for Creative Industries,” Wednesday, at the COEX in southern Seoul.Under the theme of “Creative Industries in Europe and the Task for Korea,” the forum will look into England that first coined the term “creative economy” in 1997 in the Tony Blair administration.The case of Germany, which is tapping into growth from the culture and media sectors in parallel with its strong manufacturing sector, will also be discussed.President Park Geun-hye has touted a “creative economy” as one of the core economic paradigms for her five-year tenure.The organizers have invited leading European scholars on the creative economy including Professor Lee Hye-kyoung of King’s College London. She will speak on current European policies and development models.Joining her will be Lynne McCadden of Business Development at Creative England and who is also CEO of Morra Ltd., who will talk about England’s success in creative economic growth. Creative England is akinJul 8, 2013
'Ireland could be model for inter-Korean ties' By Kim Young-jinLeo Varadkar, Ireland’s minister for transport, tourism and sport Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulIreland’s cooperation experience with Northern Ireland could serve as a model to help thaw the frigid ties between the two Korea’s, a senior Irish official said Thursday.Leo Varadkar, Ireland’s minister for transport, tourism and sport, said during a visit to Seoul that a North-South ministerial counsel had been instrumental in confidence-building with North Ireland.The counsel is a “structured arrangement whereby there is a joint secretariat and I meet my counterpart in the North twice a year and we work on joint projects,” Varadkar told The Korea Times. “It’s not exactly the same as it would be in Korea, but it is a potential model that could become useful to follow if relations between the two parts become closer.”Tensions are soaring between the two Koreas following Pyongyang’s third nuclear test, but President Park Geun-hye has pledged to try to build trust with the recalcitrant Kim Jong-un regime.Last yeMar 14, 2013
Tongyeong, Naples of the East By Yun Suh-youngTongyeong, the South Gyeongsang Province coastal city, has probably produced more famous artists than anywhere else in the country. Its breathtaking waterfront scenery hints at the source of their inspiration.Tongyeong is the hometown of late composer Yun I-sang, who now has numerous musical festivals named after him, and author Park Kyung-ni, who left the iconic "Toji’’ (The Land), a 16-volume epic set in the turbulent history of Korea during the late 19th and early 20th century.Lee Jung-seob, the acclaimed oil painter, also produced some of his most important work during his stay at Tongyeong during the 1950-53 Korean War.But first and foremost, Tongyeong is a city of poets.Kim Chun-su, considered by many as the definitive Korean poet of the 20th century, is credited for perhaps the most famous passage in Korean literature: ``Before I called its name, it was nothing but a gesture; When I called it by name, it came to me and became a flower.’’ (Flower, 1946).Another Tongyeong native Yu Chi-hwan frequently portrayed the area ― its small isMar 14, 2013
