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Proverbs bridge Korean, Arabic cultures

By Chung Ah-young There seems to be little similarity between Korea and Egypt culturally, geographically and socially. However, Egyptian author Neveen Kedis found common things between the two cultures through proverbs. She recently published “Humanity Is Similar: Arabic Vision on Korean Proverbs” in three languages — Arabic, Korean and English. It took around a year for her to release the book, which consists of seven chapters covering proverbs about animals, education, wisdom, relationships, food and the human body, as well as modern Korean expressions in 205 pages and 180,000 words. Kedis found that Korea and Egypt both have Eastern cultures and are family-oriented societies and thus share many things culturally and socially. “The message is that all cultures have similar experiences and wisdom collected over the time. The significant similarities in many of the Arabic and Korean proverbs were exciting and led me to believe that the proverbs can be a bridge to reduce the culture gap with the two nations and also the proverbs can minimize the language and the

Apr 29, 2011

Recent Books

Onward Howard Schultz and Joanne Gordon; Translated by Ahn Jin-hwan and Jang Se-hyun: Segyesa Publishing: 512 pp., 17,000 won Renowned for creating a new culture and lifestyle over coffee, Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world. However, the company began waning from 2007. Howard Schultz, CEO of the company, who stepped down in 2000, returned to his post in 2008 to revive the company and began an innovation project which totally changed Starbucks. On Feb. 26 2008, Starbucks stores around the United States were temporarily closed and its barristers were educated on how to improve the service and the taste of coffee. The incident was remembered as the symbol of the company’s renovation. From this event, Schultz pushed ahead with a two-year innovation project to restore the early management spirit and reinvigorate his business. As a result, the company succeeded in achieving the second peak with the highest sales in 2010 and expanding overseas branches. The book portrays the dramatic challenges facing Schultz and the process of how he made a breakt

Apr 22, 2011

Bestsellers mirror social landscape of the time

By Chung Ah-young Bestsellers mean more than the highest-selling titles as they are one of the easiest ways for readers to realize the cultural and social atmosphere and literary landscape of the time. As the emergence of new media is overwhelming publishing markets and decreasing the population of readers some critics argue that printed material will lose ground in the fierce competition. Others say it is hard to give way to another medium as publication has a firm position as conventional means to deliver knowledge, thoughts and emotions. With a mixed outlook for printed books in their traditional form, it is important to predict the future by looking through the path of the past. “Bestsellers for 30 Years” written by Han Ki-ho, director of the Korean Publishing Marketing Research Institute, and published by Kyobo Bookstore not only traces some 300 books which were loved by readers of the time but also the direction the publishing market should go. The nation’s first modern bookstore was Hoedong Seogwan in Namdaemunro, Junggu in Seoul in 1897. Although the history

Apr 22, 2011

Korean-American writer shares Pulitzer for local reporting

A Korean-American writer was among awardees of the 2011 Pulitzer Awards announced Monday. John J. Kim of The Chicago Sun-Times received the award in the local reporting category for their documentation of crime-ridden Chicago neighborhoods. He shared the prize with staff writers Mark Konkol and Frank Main. The Pulitzer Board gave awards in 13 out of 14 categories for journalism and in seven categories for the arts. The results were announced Monday in New York. The Los Angeles Times won a Pulitzer Prize for public service for revealing that politicians in a small, working-class California city were paying themselves exorbitant salaries. But for the first time in the Pulitzers' 95-year history, no award was given in the category of breaking news ― the bread-and-butter of daily journalism. Chicago native Jennifer Egan's novel ``A Visit From the Goon Squad'' won the prize for fiction, honored for its ``big-hearted curiosity about cultural change at warp speed.'' Bruce Norris won the drama prize for ``Clybourne Park,'' which imagines what might have happened to the family th

Apr 19, 2011

Recent books

24 Hours with 24 Lawyers: Profiles of Traditional and Non-Traditional Careers Jasper Kim; Thomson Reuters: 376pp., $17.95 If you are interested in attending law school and pursuing a legal career, this book gives practical insights into the down-to-earth legal arena. The book observes and chronicles 24 hours of 24 law school graduates in their traditional and non-traditional careers. The lives and careers are told through various perspectives from a venture capitalist, Wall Street lawyer, lobbyist, entertainment lawyer, IP attorney, sports broadcaster, JAG officer, prosecutor, criminal defense lawyer and mediator to politician. From when they wake up in the morning to when they go to bed, the book shows how they accomplish their duties and business on a day-to-day basis and chase their dreams into reality. Those who want to become lawyers will get useful information that can hardly be gained through other brochures, lectures, career workshops, or law firm website descriptions. The book will also help readers prepare for a legal career. As a lawyer, banker, consu

Apr 15, 2011

Paju book fest beckons children

May event to feature record lineup By Chung Ah-young With the aim to unite the country’s favorite children’s writers with their readers, the 9th annual “Paju Book City Book Festival for Children,” will open its six-day event on May 5. Under the title of “Waglbagl Book Festival for Children,” the event will feature the works of the country’s representative authors and illustrators of literature for young people. Visitor will also be able to enjoy a variety of exhibitions and performances especially for children, scholars, artists and anyone who loves children’s books. “More than 100 publishers and book-related organizations will participate in this year’s event to make it the largest ever. Since its inception in 2003, the festival is the pride of the Korean publishing industry,” said a spokesman for Paju Book City, a regional publishers’ community that was established at the Gyeonggi Province town in 1999. “The children’s book festival is gaining more and more attention from publishers and we are getting more visitors year after year as well. The event showcases the w

Apr 15, 2011

Royal books return 145 years after being looted

By Chung Ah-young The first batch of ancient royal books from the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910) returned home Thursday afternoon 145 years after being looted during the 1866 French incursion. Seventy-five of the 297 volumes of the ancient books called “uigwe” (royal protocols) from the Oegyujanggak archives aboard an Asiana Airlines plane landed at 2 p.m. at Incheon International Airport. They were sent directly to the storage facility of the National Museum of Korea at around 4 p.m. The rest of the books will be returned through three more deliveries by May 27. “The process of retrieving the Oegyujanggak books was long and winding because there was a big difference between Korea and France concerning the national consensus. Against all odds, the return of the royal books is the outcome of the two parties’ efforts to open a new future of friendship,” Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Choung Byoung-gug said in a press conference at the museum. Minister Choung said that most of the royal texts to be returned by the end of May were specially designed for the royal in

Apr 14, 2011
  • No binding rules exist in return of cultural assets
  • Transport of royal documents sticky job for airlines

Recent Books

A Story of Modern Art in New York Joo Ji-wan; Munhak Segyesa: 320 pp., 15,000 won The book guides readers to the hot spots of modern art in New York. The author introduces the comprehensive landscape of the art exhibitions and events and captures them in photos. The author said that the center of modern art in New York is shifting from Manhattan to Brooklyn and Long Island City. Bushwick in Brooklyn where the author lives is a rising place for young artists who are changing the former industrial plants to workshops and galleries. From art fairs, festivals to the public art projects, the city is an inspiration itself for art lovers. The book also traces the city as the central international art market and explores various galleries such as the Gagosian Gallery, Gladstone Gallery and Dia: Center for Art, art fairs such as the Armory Show, Scope New York and Pulse New York and auction houses such as Sotheby’s and Christie’s. Also, the museums such as MoMA and the Whitney Museum of American Art and Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum constitute “Museum Mile.” The book says that

Apr 8, 2011

Shins English debut touching US readers

By Chung Ah-young Prominent Korean novelist Shin Kyung-sook’s bestseller “Please Look After Mom” is capturing the hearts of U.S. readers in her English debut published by Knopf in the United States on April 5 with its timeless and universal values of a family and the devotion of a mother. First published in her native language by Changbi Publisher in November 2008, it sold more than 1.7 million copies in Korea. The book has created a “mother syndrome” in the local publishing industry, which has quickly produced other literary works with a similar theme to capitalize on the popularity and the stage adaptations. In a rare case for foreign authors, the U.S. publisher has already printed 100,000 copies of the first edition and an additional 3,000 copies of the second edition and will publish a third edition. As soon as it was released on the U.S. book shelves, it ranked 92nd in the overall and 35th in the literary section on Amazon.com as of April 6. It was a successful beginning for a foreign author given the tough competition in the U.S. foreign literature market. “I fee

Apr 8, 2011

Weekender The memory of movable type stays alive

By Kwon Mee-yoo PAJU, Gyeonggi Province — It is like stepping back in time — the Movable Type Workshop in Paju Book City, Gyeonggi Province, resembles a small museum of type-printing but all the machines are still in use. “This is the only place in Korea for printing with movable type,” Park Kun-han, 70, poet and executive editor of the workshop, told The Korea Times. He first came up with the idea to restore the movable type printing system in 2002 and teamed up with friends, including Park Han-su, president of Ten Moon Publishing and Chung Byoung-kyoo, president of Chung Design, which founded the workshop in November 2007. “It is true that movable type printing is low in profitability compared to modern offset printing. Offset printing can print some 20,000 copies a minute, while movable type can do only 1,000 copies in the same time,” he said. “However, I thought we should maintain the metal movable type system since Korea is the country that first invented woodblock printing and metal movable type,” he said. Process of printing Movable t

Apr 7, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
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