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CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

Photographic memories of Forgotten War

By Lee Hyo-won Staff reporter Sandwiched between World War II and the Vietnam War, the Korean War (1950-53) is unfortunately remembered as ``The Forgotten War’’ overseas. The inter-Korean conflict however marks one of the first episodes of the Cold War and resulted in some of the largest military casualties for the numerous countries that were involved. The United States for example lost some 37,000 men over the three-year period, which is significant when compared to the 58,000 casualties spread over a decade in Vietnam. Friday marked the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of the war on June 25, 1950, and a collection of American photographs chronicling the times makes sure that the tragic incident does not fade into oblivion.

Jun 25, 2010

Poet Kim Yeong-nang revisited in English

By Chung Ah-young Staff reporter This year marks the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War (1950-53) and also the death of Kim Yeong-nang (1903-1950), a poet renowned for his great lyricism in Korean modern literature. "Until Peonies Bloom: The Complete Poems of Kim Yeong-nang" translated by Brother Anthony of Taize into English has been published in the order of the poem collection edited by Kim Hak-dong published in 1993. Brother Anthony said in the translator's note that the book chronicles the poems and slightly changed the list of the poet's works and corrected misprints in the Korean originals. "Lying in the Middle of the Road," which was wrongly regarded as another poet's, has been recently included in the list of the poet's works. Also, the book carries a memoir of the poet written by his son Hyeon-cheol. His early poems written in 1930-35 express praise for nature and celebrate his "beautiful hometown" of Gangjin, South Jeolla Province, that is idealized in his works using the local dialect. At the same time, he also represented a pessimistic wor

Jun 25, 2010

Recent Books

Before Cup Rise New York Lee Myung-seok and Park Sa; Thinking Tree: 468 pp., 18,000 won A cafe means more than a place to drink coffee. Many people enjoy not only coffee but also the culture itself there. As now a rising number of franchised coffee shops, luxurious cafes and cheap take-out cafes are mushrooming in Seoul, some are looking for decent and unique cafes palatable to their tastes. The book offers a distinct glimpse of the stylish café culture in New York, looking into lifestyles and contemporary culture. Twenty-five cafes, including Nine Street Espresso, MOMA Café, KAFFE 1668, Café Regular, Abraso and 88 Orchard, are selected from downtown to Brooklyn for their diverse atmospheres and stories around them that make travelers feel comfortable and familiar with the culture. With colorful photos taken by the authors, the book is comprised of a dialogue between them about the cafes along with the introductions of the confectioneries served. It also captures vivid cultural scenes around these establishments with an eye-catching map of t

Jun 18, 2010

Anglican nun reveals healing from trauma

By Chung Ah-young Staff reporter Sister (Gwak) Hannah living in a semi-contemplative convent in England has served as an Anglican nun for more than 40 years. For her, returning home is like a salmon’s upstream swim to reach to the place where it hatched. Like the salmon’s travel, the journey has been long and tough and has yet to finish. The 65-year-old nun left her mother country for England 11 years ago after the revelation of a purported“scandal” with a priest during a fund-raising campaign to construct a convent in Busan. The price for violating the monastic vow of chastity was bigger than expected. The nun had no choice but to leave the country looking for a new life away from the traumatic hurt of the church in Korea. Now, she speaks about her persevering life and healing process for the first time in 11 years in her new book “Journey of a Homebound Salmon" published by Jinmyong Publishers. “I have lived a monastic life for more than 40 years _ half in Korea and half in foreign countries. This book was written in England as part of my healing process bec

Jun 18, 2010

First Syrian play to be staged

The play “The King is the King” written by Syrian playwright Sadalla Wannus (1941- 1997) will be performed for the first time in Korea. Wannus in 1977 released the play that satirizes the power struggle between a real king and a fake one in a comical way, reminiscent of the fairy tale, “The Prince and the Pauper.” The work adopts a motif from “Arabian Nights” also known as “One Thousand and One Nights” and blends elements of Brecht’s epic theater. In the original play, the king meets a homeless person on the street one day and gives him the opportunity to act as the king in his place. But after spending time for a while in the royal palace, the man realizes that the royal court is hopeless and power is ephemeral and returns to his place. However, in the Korean production, the end of the play is slightly altered by twisting the story in which the man eventually seizes the throne after experiencing the privilege and power of palace life and driving the real king out. The play is one of Wannus’ representative political dramas reflecting the Arabian world with thought-provoking

Jun 15, 2010

Recent Books

The Psychology of Physical Attraction Viren Swami and Adrian Furnham; Translated by Kim Jae-hong from English to Korean; Alma Publishing: 336 pp., 15,000 won Beauty depends on the eye of the beholder but many people are trying to live up to the expectations of others' beauty standards. This book explores the complexities of physical attraction through scientific research on physical beauty, culture and the evolution of human attractiveness. As beauty is a subjective matter, the authors use broad knowledge such as evolutionary biology, social psychology and comparative psychology to extend the awareness and challenge established beauty standards. The book criticizes the bias of beauty standards by examining mate choice as well as physical characteristics such as physical symmetry, body weight and ratios and age. Also, social, cultural and customary elements have contributed to forming rigid standards of beauty. Particularly, the book points out discrimination against physical appearance in modern society that tortures both women and men into making themselves try to

Jun 11, 2010

Sci-fi, fantasy novels gain strong presence

By Chung Ah-young Staff reporter Science fiction (sci-fi) and fantasy novels have had a weak foothold on the Korean literature scene, but recently they have been widening their reach thanks to a slew of rising young authors dedicated to the genres. The latest publications are drawing attention for their depth of insight into human nature that was believed to be mostly dealt with by pure literature; not to mention creative imagination. Bae Myung-hoon, a well-known local sci-fi novelist, has released a new collection of short stories, "Hello, Artificial Being" that delve into the question of existence itself. The new book comes one year after his last work "Tower." Known for his sharp social and humanistic approach, he writes about philosophical questions on life and the existence of human beings through scientific imagination. The story revolves around a woman who invents a machine that creates "beings" but it doesn't work and she commits suicide. Her former boy friend tries to get the machine to create a "being" but finds no way to make it work. So he sends the mac

Jun 11, 2010

Recent Books

A Photo of the Moment: Photojournalist Log 1968-1991 Photos and prose by Jeon Min-jo; Noonbit: 237 pp., 12,000 won Recently photos capturing moments of modern Korean history, ranging from those taken by Japanese colonialists (1910-45) to U.N. forces during the Korean War (1950-53) have been published. Works by Koreans themselves however are rare. Given how photography serves as a source of historical evidence, the lack of a Korean perspective translates into deprivation of ownership of a good part of the country's past and identity. This book presents some 120 shots Jeon Min-jo took between 1968 and 1991 as a photojournalist for Hankook Ilbo, a sister paper of The Korea Times, and Dong-A Ilbo: former first lady Yuk Young-soo's private bazaar party to fisherwomen making their way home and an actress on trial. These photos transcend the realm of informative photojournalism to become symbolic metaphors of a time and place ― rather than turning the lens toward the people fleeing the great Seoul fire in 1972, he would take notice of the piles of shoes scattered around a build

Jun 4, 2010

Book offers global perspectives of Korea

By Kim Ji-soo Staff reporter The names of the writers of the essays in this book are big enough to make the reader grab it to see what they have to say about Korea and its outlook a decade later. With a preface from Dominic Barton, managing director of McKinsey & Company and an overview from Michael Schuman, a correspondent for Time, the book provides a look at the succinct but sharp challenges that Korea has to face from writers ranging from Stephen S. Roach, chairman of Morgan Stanley; Sharon Lim, vice president of Research at Morgan Stanley Asia; Joseph S. Nye Jr., political science professor at Harvard University; to Guy Sorman, French scholar and presidential adviser to President Lee Myung-bak. Largely divided into the themes of economic competitiveness, Korea's place in the world, and technology and society, the writers largely urge more openness for the local economy as well as society, and more higher-end investment in research and development (R&D). Roach and Lim specifically stress that Korea must continue to investment in R&D, revamp the services sector and promote

Jun 4, 2010By Kim Ji-soo

French intellectual finds hope in globalization

By Chung Ah-young Staff reporter French intellectual Guy Sorman is one of the world's most influential authors whose books have been swiftly translated into Korean. His newest book "Wonderful World," a collection of essays written in various cities ― Seoul, Paris, New York, Tokyo, Beijing, New Delhi, Istanbul, Santiago, Moscow, Jakarta and Singapore ― from 2006 to 2009, has just reached the Korean shores. "This book (Wonderful World) was penned in a different way from other books I have written so far as the patterns of readers have changed. So I have innovatively changed the writing style," Sorman told reporters at the French Cultural Center in Seoul Thursday. The book is available both in hard copy and on the Internet as he posted his essays first online to interact with readers. "Writing on the Internet enables me to make good work by communicating with readers and drawing responses from them instead of being trapped in my own thoughts," he said. The author noted that he talks mostly about "globalized culture" in the book, which means globalization creates a n

Jun 4, 2010
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