Oh Ji-ho dating with marriage in mind Oh Ji-hoBy Park Si-sooActor Oh Ji-ho is dating a woman three years younger than him, a vernacular newspaper reported on Thursday, citing unidentified sources.The two are seeing each other with marriage in mind, added Sports Hankook, a sister paper of The Korea Times. She reportedly met the 37-year-old actor nearly two years ago through a blind date arranged by his acquaintance. She currently works in the fashion industry, the daily reported.“I’m going to marry her,” Oh was quoted as saying in the report. “Our conversations are largely about children. I’ve passed a little over the best age for marriage.”Making his debut in 2002 through the film “Pretty Woman,” he earned a heartthrob status among young women for his handsome face and defined abdominal muscles. He is set to star in a cable TV drama. He recently renewed his contract with his long time manager.Jan 23, 2014
SM receives iF Design Awards By Kim Ji-sooSM Entertainment announced Thursday that it received four winning recognitions from “iF Design Award 2014” for products for its artists.The leading talent agency won for “brand identity” in communications design for the super rookie group EXO, and for album packaging design for EXO’s first studio album “XOXO (Kiss&Hug), for Girls’ Generation’s third album “The Boys” and the group’s fourth album “I Got a Boy.”This is the first time that a Korean entertainment company has won honors in “iF Design Award,” which is hosted by Germany’s International Design Forum. The awards evaluate the design itself, its completeness, innovative value as well as brand value.Jan 23, 2014
Sempio going global with 'Yondu' Park Jin-sun, CEO and president of Sempio Foods Company, said his company will launch the promotion of “jang”-based recipes in several European nations, including Spain, France, Germany and Belgium,this year. / Courtesy of Sempio150 recipes to promote traditional Korean sauces Sempio’s new product “Yondu.”By Park Si-sooSempio Foods Company is little known overseas. Were it not for the firm, however, the taste of such widely beloved Korean dishes as “galbi” and “bulgogi” could have crashed down as something nobody wants to try in order to avoid torturing one’s tongue.Sempio is the country’s biggest provider of “jang,” a term representing several fermented traditional sauces, including “ganjang,” “gochujang” and “doenjang,” that are must-have ingredients to highlight and balance the flavor of most Korean dishes.Founded in 1946, the company controls nearly half of the domestic sauce market, but it continues to explore ways to tighten its grip. At the same time, the firmJan 23, 2014
Korean rock band forays into US, UK Rock band YBKorea’s top rock band YB has signed a promotional contract with the former manager of Guns N’ Roses as part of an effort to make it into the American and British music markets.The band’s domestic management said Tuesday that the five-member group, led by vocalist Yoon Do-hyun, will release its first English album in February and promote it with the help of Doug Goldstein, a former manager of the legendary American rock band.Goldstein saw potential for YB’s success in Western countries after reviewing its music and performances, according to the band’s management.“YB’s music is amazing in everything,” Goldstein was quoted as saying in a Korean-written statement released by the group’s management. “Its music reminds me of Guns N’ Roses and Aerosmith songs.”Yoon expressed high expectations, saying his band will try its hardest to gain recognition overseas.Jan 22, 2014
Drama, film festival to open in Tokyo in March By Kim Ji-sooEthnic Koreans in Japan will hold a Korean drama and film festival, as a means to defreeze the chill in relations between the two countries.The World-Okta’sTokyo branch, in association with an ethnic Korean residents’ groups, will host the “First Shinokubo Drama and Film Festival” for 10 days starting March 21.The Korean embassy and the Korean Cultural Center in Tokyo have volunteered to assist in the event.The festival was planned to jumpstart sagging sales at Shinokubo’s Korea Town, the World-Okta’s Tokyo branch said.A total of 10 Korean films and five televisions dramas or more are expected to be screened during the festival. The films will be screened at Studio O while the television dramas will be shown at concert venues or large-sized cafes.The preparatory committee was launched last June, and the Korean film “Miracle in Cell No. 7” was screened.Actor Kim Si-hoo, who has starred in the film “Sunny” and the KBS television drama “Love Rain,” has been named as the festival’s goodwill ambassaJan 22, 2014By Kim Ji-soo
Dasom embraces biracial students Park Jun-ho, right, looks on as his classmate makes a cup of coffee at Seoul Dasom School. Park is learning both cocktail-and coffee-making but the emphasis is on the former for which there is a nationally-recognized test. / Courtesy of Seoul Dasom School‘Jobs are future of the young’By Kim Ji-sooPark Jun-ho, who is an 11th grader at Seoul Dasom School, works the cocktail shaker and mixer as he prepares a Black Russian, Pina Colada and Manhattan, Friday. His instructor dutifully watches over to see how he is doing, whether he can make three cocktails in seven minutes. That’s a requirement for him to pass the national test to become a bartender.Park, born to an ethnic Korean mother from China and a Korean father, is hard at work even on a holiday at the school in Hongin-dong, eastern Seoul.“I hope to be able to find a job bartending after graduation, to make enough for a living,” said Park. The school educates the students well enough to pass the national exam in cocktail making, which is vital for employment in the sector.Asked how much that would bJan 22, 2014By Kim Ji-soo
G-Dragon tops MTV Iggy 2013 with “Crooked” G-Dragon of Big Bang performs at the 2013 Mnet Asian Music Awards inthis November 2013 file photo. / Korea Times fileBy Park Jin-haiBig Bang member G-Dragon’s “Crooked” was selected as MTV Iggy’s Song of the Year. In a week-long poll, conducted on its website from Dec. 13 through Dec. 20, 2013, music fans across the world picked “Crooked” as the number 1 song for 2013, receiving the 47.7 percent of the vote.Bunji Garlin‘s “Differentology” was a close second with 47.68 percent.Other competitors included Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky,” Drake’s “Started from the Bottom,” Lorde’s “Royals” and PSY‘s “Gentleman.” K-pop girl group 2NE1 ― also nominated for the Song of the Year ― saw “Falling in Love” picked as MTV Iggy’s 2013 Song of the Summer. MTV Iggy commented that K-pop spread its global dominance a little more during 2013. The website added, “G-Dragon made a big splash in the world of K-pop and beyond with his solo album Coup D’Jan 22, 2014By Park Jin-hai
FTISLAND to release single in Japan FTISLAND Popular K-pop boy band FTISLAND will release its 12th extended play (EP) “Beautiful” in Japan today. It released the music video for the song last Thursday.The album’s title song is a rock tune with the band’s main vocalist Lee Hong-ki’s powerful vocals adding depth and emotion. “Another New World,” written by Choi Jong-hun, and “On My Way,” created by Lee, are also included on the new EP.Warner Music Japan, which is promoting the new album there, said Lee has fully recovered from an injury he sustained in December. It said, “He is healthy now. As this year is the Year of the Horse, the band will continue to run on looking forward.”Jan 21, 2014
The two sides of David Thomas Broughton David Thomas Broughton performs Friday at Mudaeruk in Hapjeong, western Seoul. / Korea Times photo by Kim Young-jinBy Kim Young-jinWatching David Thomas Broughton perform can be unsettling. The British singer-songwriter shuffles around the room during songs, microphone in hand, looking for odd noises for his sound collages.It could be the clink of a bottle, or a chair lifted a few centimeters and dropped to the floor. Broughton layers such noises with the help of an effects pedal, creating the sound of an ensemble with just a microphone and guitar.With a mesmerized look on his face, he might wander to the edge of the stage ― while the music plays ― and pour a cup of tea. It’s all a part of a persona that leaves the audience laughing politely, or gaping, or appreciating his embrace of the moment.Broughton’s songs can be brooding, but they’re rooted in spontaneity. It’s an ethos he’ll share while living in Seoul, the latest stop in a journey on which he’s played across Europe, the United States and even Pyongyang.While the act may be disconJan 21, 2014
'Bojagi' culturally links Korea, Japan Japanese visitors look at Korean “bojagi” or wrapping cloth and “jumeoni” or pockets at the Koryo Museum of Art in Kyoto, Japan. The exhibition showcases some 40 pieces of bojagi and 25 of jumeoni through March 30 at the Koryo Museum of Art in collaboration with the Museum of Korean Embroidery in Seoul. / Courtesy of Museum of Korean EmbroideryA table wrapping cloth patterned with ancient coins/ Courtesy of Museum of Korean EmbroideryA patchwork wrapping clothBy Chung Ah-youngA growing chill between Seoul and Tokyo over historical disputes is rising as a stumbling block to the popularity of “hallyu” or the Korean wave in Japan.But in Kyoto, cultural curiosity seems unscathed by the diplomatic tension. A slew of Japanese visitors were recently enthralled by Korean traditional culture, particularly “bojagi” (wrapping cloth) and “jumeoni” (pocket) art.Presented by the Museum of Korean Embroidery based in Seoul, some 40 pieces of bojagi and 25 of jumeoni are on display through March 30 at the Koryo Museum of Art. EstaJan 21, 2014
