Returning dramas show cable might The cable TV drama “Reply 1997” was a sleeper hit last year. / Korea Times file“Rude Miss Young-Ae” actress Kim Hyun-sookBy Do Je-haeThe popularity of cable television dramas is changing the landscape of the industry with quality content and varied characters.Major broadcasters KBS, MBC and SBS were traditionally the main suppliers of TV dramas for local and international audiences. But viewers have become increasingly frustrated with them for either borrowing storylines from Japan or repeating the tedious formulas of family secrets and love affairs.Serialized TV dramas were a foreign concept in Korea until a few years ago, but that has changed rapidly with the sweeping success of some serialized dramas carried by cable channels.Two of the most popular cable TV dramas will return starting next month for additional seasons. CJ E&M recently announced the return of “Rude Miss Young-Ae” on tvN for its 12th season. There is much anticipation among fans for the upcoming season, as Young-ae may finally get married after years of failed relationships.YJun 24, 2013
Hearng aid maker Starkey awards Korean branch Richard Shim, center, CEO of Starkey Korea, poses with Jerry Ruzicka, left, president, and William F. Austin, founder and CEO of Starkey Hearing Technologies, after receiving the Best Performance Award at the Global Business Conference in Minn. the United States on June 19 (local time). / Courtesy of Starkey KoreaBy Park Jin-haiStarkey Korea, a local distributor of Starkey hearing aids, won the in-house best performance award this year.The company announced that its CEO Richard Shim won the 2012 Business Performance Award on June 19 (local time) during the Starkey 2013 Global Business Conference, held at its headquarters in Minnesota, the United States.Each year Starkey Hearing Technologies managers from around the world hold business conferences, where the best performing branches awarded in recognition of improved sales figures, managerial innovations and competitiveness growth. It is the second time Starkey Korea was selected as the winner of the award, following the one in 2011.During the conference, Shim gave a presentation, highlighting the success oJun 24, 2013By Park Jin-hai
Korea's development models help other countries Delegates of Tanzanian local government officials participate in a “Meet the President” hour with Rheem Chae-ho, fifth from left, president of Local Government Officials Development Institute (LOGODI), at its headquarters in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on June 10./ Courtesy of LOGODISome 2,540 officials fom 83 nations receive LOGODI education Rheem Chae-ho, LOGODI presidentBy Park Jin-haiKorea’s development model has been largely regarded as raising the country from the ashes of war to the fastest economic development, dubbed as the “Miracle of the Han River.”As a responsible member of international society, Korea now exports the development model, giving a beacon of hope to the developing world.Korea’s move is praised highly, in that unlike one-time material assistance, the model teaches them “how to catch fish.”At the center of this effort is the Local Government Officials Development Institute (LOGODI), spreading the country’s tips for administrative innovation.“Senior officials of developing countries often say that tJun 24, 2013By Park Jin-hai
Primary mission is to spread 'administrative hallyu' Seen above is an artist’s concept of the new site for LOGODI now in its final stage of construction in Wanju, North Jeolla Province. The institute will move to the new place in August. / Courtesy of LOGODBy Park Jin-haiLocal Government Officials Development Institute (LOGODI), founded in 1965, is a training center for local government officials by building their administrative capacities.Toward that end, it helps enable the policies of central government to be adopted efficiently at the local level. This year alone it runs a total of 177 courses and about 170,000 local government officials enrolled for these programs.The institute, under the umbrella of the Ministry of Security and Public Administration, has been also running international programs since 1996 to aid developing countries by sharing Korea’s development tips with them.Courses are categorized into three major areas; “Korean Economic Development at a Glance” includes studies on state-led rural development initiative of “Saemaeul Movement”; “Local Government Administration System iJun 24, 2013By Park Jin-hai
The Face Shop acquires Canadian firm Visitors throng the The Face Shop store in Myeong-dong, as more foreign visitors influenced by “hallyu” or Korean wave purchase Korean beauty and cosmetics items. / Korea Times fileBy Kim Ji-soo Miyu Karakawa, 29 and Hitomi Kuwabara, 29, are two friends from Tokyo. On a three-day visit to Seoul, they were spending and killing time at a café run by Cube Entertainment.“We are fans of BEAST and BTOB,” said the two friends Monday at the café in Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul.They didn’t exactly expect to see their favorite stars but visiting the Cube Café adorned with BEAST and 4minute paraphernalia has become a ritual. On the second floor of the café is the training space for Cube artists and trainees; perhaps it’s the feeling of vicinity that pulls the visitors. The agency recently decorated the outside section of the café with pop art images of the two groups’ members.For Karakawa and Kuwabara, it was their eighth visit to the café; ninth visit to Seoul. The two fans of K-pop said that while thereJun 23, 2013
K-pop agencies draw foreign fans Foreign fans wait at the Dunkin Donuts shop across the JYP Entertainment building in Cheongdam-dong, Saturday, for several hours hoping to get a glimpse of their star. / Korea Times photo by Kim Ji-sooBy Kim Ji-sooMiyu Karakawa, 29 and Hitomi Kuwabara, 29, are two friends from Tokyo. On a three-day visit to Seoul, they were spending and killing time at a café run by Cube Entertainment.“We are fans of BEAST and BTOB,” said the two friends Monday at the café in Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul.They didn’t exactly expect to see their favorite stars but visiting the Cube Café adorned with BEAST and 4minute paraphernalia has become a ritual. On the second floor of the café is the training space for Cube artists and trainees; perhaps it’s the feeling of vicinity that pulls the visitors. The agency recently decorated the outside section of the café with pop art images of the two groups’ members.For Karakawa and Kuwabara, it was their eighth visit to the café; ninth visit to Seoul. The two fans of K-pop said that while theJun 23, 2013
'Feel refreshed with eye-care goggle' Kwon Chang-min, president of ibcare, poses with packaged eye-care goggles at his office in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. He expects brisk sales of the product in Japan and Thailand. / Korea Times photo by Park Si-sooBy Park Si-soo Perhaps living in a city is deadly for the eyes.Staring at computer monitors for hours for work or study has become a daily routine, for millions of people despite being aware of the associated harmful effects. In addition, smartphones trap others into using smaller screen, causing various health problems such as dry eyes that normally end up weakening eyesight.Making things worse, obtaining a natural way to “detoxify” the eyes — by gazing at sprawling green fields with leafy trees — is as rare as inhaling unpolluted air in downtown Seoul. In reality, data from the Korean Optometric Association shows that nearly half of all people living in urban areas wear glasses.Against this backdrop, Kwon Chang-min, president of ibcare (www.ibcare.co.kr), claims he has developed a breakthrough with which people can keep their sight protected wiJun 21, 2013
Stem cell scientists look to regain past glory A stem cell scientist thaws a frozen capsule containing cord blood to extract stem cell from it at the Medipost’s manufacturing facility in Seoul. / Courtesy of MedipostKorean biotech firms challenge global leaders with state-of-the-art technologiesBy Park Si-sooKorea’s roaring global leadership in stem cell research collapsed in 2005 with Hwang Woo-suk’s fraudulent attempt to crown himself as the world’s first scientist to clone human embryonic stem cells.His data fabrication shocked the world and, in an apologetic response, the government toughened regulations radically and declared a moratorium on the support for other “innocent” stem cell scientists and institutes.These measures were put in place for years, dealing a devastating blow to the country’s fundamental health in the promising medical sector, while rival countries, including the United States, Britain and Japan, have since ratcheted up efforts to win the covetous position.The U.S. seems to be leading the race, considering that it became the first country last month to recover steJun 21, 2013
Tagore's strong faith in the resilience of Korean culture Prof. Pankaj MohanBy Pankaj MohanThere is a Chinese proverb, “When you drink water, think of those who dug the well.” Success of Korea as a cultural powerhouse, as evident from the popularity of hallyu in many parts of the world, compels us to think gratefully about numerous nationalist leaders of Korea who instilled well-deserved pride in the hearts of the Korean people during the Japanese colonial period about their cultural heritage. Indeed, we need to think with deep sense of gratitude not only about Koreans but about foreign cultural leaders also whose efforts led to the rejuvenation of Korean culture and confirmation of Korean pride in their past achievements. Although numerous missionaries from Europe, North America and Australia contributed immensely to the systematization and enrichment of Korean language and modernization of Korea through establishment of modern schools and colleges, the name of a foreigner that shines most luminously in the cultural world of modern Korea is that of Indian poet and Nobel-laureate (1913) Rabindranath Tagore. In 1929 he composed tJun 20, 2013
'Secretly Greatly' sets model for OSMU strategy English edition titled "Undercover Magnificence"By Chung Ah-youngAs “Secretly Greatly,” an action comedy film, starring teenage heartthrob Kim Soo-hyun, is sweeping local box offices, numerous versions inspired by the original work referred to as “one source multi-use” (OSMU) are jumping on the bandwagon. The OSMU indicates a content strategy for increasing profit returns by recreating the same content through various genres. Based on the eponymous web cartoon created by Hun in 2010 with 250 million of accumulative page views, the film has recently surpassed 5 million ticket sales. Kim plays Won Ryu-hwan who masquerades as a loser and is one of three North Korean spies, including Rhee Hae-rang (Park Ki-woong), and Rhee Hae-jin (Lee Hyun-woo) from the elite special corps 5446. While waiting for missions from the North, they gradually adapt themselves to life in the South. Dreamcomeus, a content management company, has the rights to diversify its uses such as publications, animation and merchandise. The company has recently sold the publication rights of thJun 20, 2013
