Lotte backs overseas Korean War veterans Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin, left, poses with Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin after signing an agreement to support overseas Korean War veterans at the minister's office in Seoul, Wednesday.By Park si-soo Lotte Group has joined hands with the Ministry of National Defense to support surviving Korean War veterans of other countries. Lotte Chairman Shin Dong-bin signed a memorandum of understanding for the philanthropic project at the ministry in Seoul with Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin in attendance. Under the agreement, the company will run the project for five years and some 3,800 veterans in Thailand will become the first group of beneficiaries. The Southeast Asian country deployed some 15,700 troops to fight against North Korean invaders during the 1950-53 bloody clashes on the Korean Peninsula, the second largest in scale following the United States. Lotte will spend 700 million won ($625,000) this year building welfare centers for the surviving veterans and other supportive facilities.Jul 18, 2013
Idol stars cry out over dating ban 'Barring love life may constitute infringement upon human rights'By Park Si-sooIt’s obvious that a competitive edge in looks facilitates one’s search for partners. Given this, it’s not excessive to imagine that good-looking or pretty young idol stars may be able to choose whom they want to be with during their free time, and the partner is always changeable.Yet reality runs completely against the assumption. For so many teenage stars in Korea — even those in the 20s — getting a boyfriend or girlfriend is a risky act putting their hard-won fame on the line. Those caught by their management agency for having a romantic affair are subject to stern discipline or, in the worst case scenario, dropped from the company.However there is an increasing argument among human rights activists that such a ban infringes upon basic human rights of young celebrities. The agencies, on the other hand, insist on its justification, citing the “dating ban” term of contract.Agency officials claim the provision is necessary to keep young stars from becoming embroiledJul 18, 2013
K-Arts to dispatch 30 teams The Korea National University of Arts (K-Arts) campus in Seokgwan-dong, Seoul. The univeristy will send 30 volunteers comprised of students and faculty to Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka to help aspiring youth interested art and music. / Courtesy of K-ArtsBy Chung Ah-young Korea National University of Arts (K-Arts) will send some 30 volunteers including students and faculty members to three developing countries to share the nation’s cultural and artistic development.The university signed an agreement with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday to launch “Dream Project,” which supports aspiring youth living in underdeveloped countries.The volunteers will hold lectures on art and music in the countries and select talented students in art fields through auditions. Also, those who want to study in Korea will benefit with a scholarship.A total of 30 students will go to Bangladesh on July 15-29, India on Aug. 1-17 and Sri Lanka on Sept. 1-15. Particularly, the volunteer program to Sri Lanka is operated as part of the regular course for the second semester for the Jul 17, 2013
2PM′s Nichkhun in Chinese drama CJ E&M will help story development for the Chinese drama “One and a Half, Summer,” which will star 2PM′s Nichkhun and Miss A’s Jia. The Beijing Creative Culture and Media will produce the 30-episode drama about love, friendship and dreams of college students, and CJ E&M will advise for its script as well as help distribute it for overseas. “One and a Half, Summer” stars Nichkhun and Miss A′s Jia, as well as Chinese idol Jingfu Jiang of “A Wedding Invitation”. Recently, CJ E&M has successfully cooperated with Chinese partners in producing entertainment contents. They include “A Wedding Invitation” and “Superstar China,” a singing audition program based on Korea’s Superstar K that premiered on July 7. The drama will start filming in July 15. It will hold a press conference on July 24 in Beijing, and start airing in summer 2014 in China after finishing shooting in October.Jul 17, 2013
CJ Bibigo, Psy to promote 'bibimbap' K-pop sensation Psy and his personal chef Ricardo Soares Martins S. Menezes will act as a Korean food ambassador in Los Angeles, said CJ Food Bibigo on Tuesday. Bibigo and Ricardo will travel around L. A. in a food truck and introduce simple Korean dishes like “bibimbap” for American customers through Aug. 4. In L.A’.s Bibigo restaurant located in Beverly Hills they are planning to launch “Psy in L. A. Party” for local Korean food lovers. In an interview from the Los Angeles Times, Yoo Je-hyeok, a director from CJ Food, said “We will try our best to promote Korean food through continuous events and parties by using our food trucks and Bibigo restaurants in the United States.” Recently, Bibigo publically held a “Psy Go, Bibigo’s Personal Chef Contest” and Ricardo Soares Martins S Meneze from Brazil won the chance to join Psy as his personal chef to introduce Korean food around the world.Jul 17, 2013
Super Junior to release a 3D concert movie Super Junior is releasing their first world tour concert “Super Show 4” as a 3D movie “Super Show 4 3D”.The 3D concert movie “Super Show 4 3D,” jointly produced by SM entertainment and SBS MTV, will be released on Aug. 8. The 3D movie is based on Super Junior’s Seoul encore concert of the world tour “Super Show 4” on May 2013.This movie is the group’s second 3D concert movie, following the “Super Show 3 3D,” released in February 2011, which gained high popularity among fans.The movie will include the performances of the hit songs, each member’s individual shows, and entertaining conversations. Super Junior’s 3D concert movie “Super Show 4 3D” will be on screen in 30 cinemas across the nation from Aug. 8.Jul 16, 2013
Roy Kim: magician of musical cut-and-paste? By Kim Tong-hyung Here’s your midweek update on the stories in entertainment and media you might have missed while reading about racist reporting pranks, disturbing YouTube videos, or because your life is undoubtedly a lot more fulfilling than ours.Superstar K winner in plagiarism row Roy Kim, the fourth winner of television singing contest Superstar K, insists on being taken seriously as a singer-songwriter. But first, he must convince the music-listening public that he didn’t steal a song from an unknown indie rock band.The 20-year-old crooner on Tuesday dismissed the claims that his song, “Bom Bom Bom,” released in April, plagiarized Acoustic Rain’s “Love is Canon.”The band has yet to directly address the controversy involving their song and Kim, stemming from accusations made on social media channels. However, they did use a blog post to passive-aggressively remind everyone that Love is Canon had been on YouTube since last year.“The melody of ‘Bom Bom Bom’ was co-written by Roy Kim and Bae Yeong-gyeong. It&rsquJul 16, 2013
Teenage Chinese students learn more about Dokdo Some 10 middle and high school students from Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province, in China, listen to the museum guide at the Dokdo Museum in Seodaemun, Seoul, Tuesday. / Korea TimesBy Park Jin-haiA group of Chinese middle and high school students were excited to tour a museum for Dokdo in Seoul, Tuesday.“Even though I knew of the name Dokdo, I hardly knew anything about it until I visited here,” said Qu Yuan, a 14-year-old middle school student from Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province, China.He was among the 10 middle and high-school students that the Northeast Asian History Foundation (NAHF) invited to Korea and visited the Dokdo Museum in Seodaemun, Seoul Tuesday.“I already knew about Dokdo from TV and newspapers. Korea is not far from China. I am interested in everything about Korea,” said Wang zekua, 13, a fellow student who is on his first visit to Korea.The cultural exchange program, supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Zhenjiang Municipal Education Bureau, brought the sixth batch Monday.The NAHF has been organizing the annual event since 2008, to give Jul 16, 2013By Park Jin-hai
'Universality' holds key to develop K-literature Professor Jo Yoong-hee of classicalKorean literature at the Academy of Korean StudiesAuthor Shin Kyung-sook and herbest-selling novel “Please Look After Mom” translated into English in the United States / Korea Times fileBy Jo Yoong-hee “Hallyu,” or the Korean wave, is a growing social phenomenon. Korean culture has enjoyed increasing levels of popularity well beyond the boundaries of Korea thanks to the dissemination of hallyu. K-pop and K-drama have played leading roles in hallyu, with a burgeoning interest in Korean literature following close behind. Korean literature is the most profound source of Korean identity. Like K-pop and K-drama, K-literature will open the door to spreading the popularity of hallyu to a wider global audience.The majority of Korean literature translated into foreign languages represents authentic Korean culture in terms of its subject matter, characters, and settings. Over the past few decades, translation funding has given preference to works that accentuate themes uniquely authentic to Korean culture and life experience. Toward thJul 16, 2013
Can holograms replace real K-pop stars? Girls’ Generation’s holographic concerts will be shown at V-Theater which will open as a tourist destination for K-pop fans from overseas in Seoul. / Korea Times fileSM, YG vying to use holographic images to attract more fansBy Chung Ah-youngWhen legendary rapper Tupac, who died in 1996, was resurrected on stage through his hologram in 2012, his “image” presence created a frenzy. Celine Dion sang a duet with a virtual Elvis Presley during an American Idol episode in 2007. Holographic technology brings dead musicians back to life through three-dimensional (3D) images by back projection but sometimes a new artist is created or it enables live singers to virtually perform in different locations. In Japan, Hatsune Miku, a hologram singer, created by Japanese technology firm Crypton Future Media has gained the same popularity as real pop stars do. She performs and wows fans as if she were a real-life pop star. She has a fan club, a Facebook page and her own record label and even appears in a slew of Japanese popular animations. Psy’s holographic images were rJul 16, 2013
