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Happiness report defies popular belief about worst weekday

Seven researchers with the presenter of the report, director Choi In-cheol (third from left) of Center for Happiness Studies of SNU. Korea Times file photo by Lee Han-naBy Lee Han-naKorea is the 57th happiest country among 156 countries included in the World Happiness Report of the United Nations. Countries usually only look at the results without paying much attention to their implications for policies or the public. Seoul National University Center (SNU) for Happiness Studies confronts this traditional approach of happiness and claims that it's time to look deeper ― deeper into the inequalities of happiness present within the country.About H: 2019 Happiness Report of Korea. Courtesy of Book 21On April 15, “About H: Korea Happiness Report 2019,” an infographic magazine, will be published as the first research collaboration between the Center for Happiness Studies of SNU and Kakao Together based on the 2018 data from about 1 million online users of Kakao Together and the search engine Daum. It's the first series of research providing massive and detailed information based

Apr 10, 2019
Happiness report defies popular belief about worst weekday

Brave choice leads to chances of success

By Jin Yu-young In 2010, Reshma Saujani was the icon of a successful woman: she was working at a big-name investment firm, had a high salary, and was at the peak of her career. Despite all this, she was miserable and crumbling under the realization that finance no longer made her happy, and so she did the unthinkable by leaving her job to run for U.S. Congress. Being a woman of color with no experience in the political sphere, Saujani was advised to withdraw her candidacy, as the odds were heavily stacked against her.While most women in her position would have given up out of the fear of losing, she defiantly continued her campaign. Regardless of her severe defeat, Saujani regards this event as a personal success and a defining moment in which she chose to be brave over being perfect. In 2016, she gave a TED talk titled, “Teach girls bravery, not perfection.” The talk went viral with over 4 million views leading Saujani to write her book “Brave, Not Perfect.” In both the talk and the book, she outlines the impossibly high standards that women are subject to on

Apr 5, 2019
Brave choice leads to chances of success

North Korea - last-remaining bonanza for investors

Book presents rosy prospect for sanctions-free North KoreaBy Kang Hyun-kyungWhat would North Korea be like if the layered sanctions ― which were imposed on the country for past provocative actions and now make it harder to improve the impoverished economy ― were lifted? Will it be a “tremendous economic power” as U.S. President Donald Trump described during his summit with the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in February in Hanoi, Vietnam? These are not easy questions to answer, partly because few people outside the “Hermit Kingdom” are knowledgeable enough to judge whether or not it has a sufficient infrastructure to drive its economy forward. Predicting the fate of a sanctions-free North Korea appears to be meaningless at the moment too, because as we saw in the breakdown of the Trump-Kim talks in February, there is still a deep perception gap between North Korea and the rest of the world regarding the dismantlement of the North's nuclear program. Despite the gloomy prospect for a nuclear-free North Korea, lawyer Chung Min-kyu encourages investors, as well as

Apr 5, 2019By Kang Hyun-kyung
North Korea - last-remaining bonanza for investors

Gong Ji-young reflects on life as a novelist in new book

By Park Jin-haiNovelist Gong Ji-young / Hankookilbo photo by Bae Woo-hanBest-selling novelist Gong Ji-young, 56, known for books “Go Alone Like a Rhino Horn” (1993), “Our Happy Time” (2005) and “The Crucible” (2009), has published an anthology looking back on her life as an author over the past three decades. The prolific author started writing full time in 1988 and her many works focused on social and labor issues. As one of the most popular Korean novelists, Gong's books have sold a total of 12 million copies. The newly published collection includes novels and essays. Gong's 2012 novel “Pain is Part of Love” and her more recent five works, including “Tall Blue Ladder,” “Recipes for My Daughter,” “Grandmother Never Dies” and “Haeri (dissociation),” have been newly edited and compiled. Among Gong's 25 works, the author carefully selected books she wanted to share with her readers for the new collection. The 365-page anthology also comes with some 32 photos that portray Gong's daily life. T

Apr 3, 2019By Park Jin-hai
Gong Ji-young reflects on life as a novelist in new book

'Now, Here, France'

“Now, Here, France” by Kim Sun-mi / Courtesy of Mimesis PublishingBy Kim Ji-sooEverybody has a preferred place or country outside their homeland that they find enchanting. To Kim Sun-mi, a journalist for the Korean vernacular Dong-A Ilbo newspaper and author of “Now, Here, France” the aforementioned country is that place. Having studied French in high school in Seoul, the opposite-to-trepid reporter had a chance to study at Paris ESMOD-ISEM in 2016. “Now, Here, France” is a book that offers a diverse array of topics related to the European country ― from trees in Paris and in-city events to collaborations of fashion artists and technology, and education. As a mother of two, she describes her children's experience at elementary school and kindergarten there. Through these topics, the writer tries to illustrate the country's undercurrent of a focus on culture and independent thinking, and the will to continue to creatively innovate.One of the noticeable chapters is the second, titled “Innovation and Luxury.”It provides a glimpse into the

Mar 29, 2019By Kim Ji-soo
'Now, Here, France'

Author says small things matter

'Writing with Pencil' revisits social issues By Lee Han-naThe hammer of a blacksmith is often bold and can scratch and hurt the owner. But blacksmiths keep using it without complaint, maybe because they are accustomed to the tool. Likewise, despite technological advancements, there are irreplaceable tools for artists. For award-winning writer and culture critic Kim Hoon, pencils are the tool he could never replace with any other thing, such as a computer. Three years after he released “While Cooking Ramyeon” (2015), the author published another prose book, titled “'Writing with Pencil” which contains his thoughts on different social issues that fill people with anger. 'Writing with Pencil' by Kim HoonBut the author makes his intention clear ― he doesn't want his new book to divide the nation. He says he has no intention to encourage people to act in a certain way and he is only trying to reveal his thoughts about small, trivial things that people encounter daily. Kim starts his book by describing his pencil as an important tool for his career. He compares let

Mar 29, 2019
Author says small things matter

A tale of cat, loved ones

Kim Eun-sang's second novel, “My Beautiful Cat Thelma” / Yonhap.'Thelma' delves into nature of loveBy Jung Hae-myoung Unlike dogs, cats are meticulous. People do not actually own the animal; it owns them.In his second fiction novel, “My Beautiful Cat Thelma,” author Kim Eun-sang serenely observes the delicate nature of living with a cat. He likens raising a cat to living with a loved one. The narrator observes four women with whom he has encountered during his life ― his first love Kyung-hwa, his first girlfriend, his client's girlfriend who later falls in love with the narrator and his mother who resists signing a divorce with his father. At the same time different cats appear in the middle of each relationship, showing the narrator's complicated feelings about his relationships. Nabi, the cat that Kyung-hwa rescued from a group of boys, was compared to “a heart that is filled with stars in the night sky,” while the cat adopted by his first lover gave him an odd sense of “jealousy.”The girlfriend adopts a cat because she feels so &ldqu

Mar 21, 2019
A tale of cat, loved ones

Korean authors revisit Jack Ma

By Jin Yu-young In the past 50 years, Korea has seen extraordinary development from post-war devastation to the fast-paced society that it is today. During such development, companies such as Samsung, LG and Hyundai have not only become the nation's largest corporations but also some of the world's top competitors in industry. In 2014 when the Alibaba Group, a Chinese business-to-business mobile platform, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, Korean entrepreneurs realized the consumer power of China as well its success in shifting from a manufacturing-based economy to a data-based one. “The Arrival of Alibaba: Ruling 2 Billion Consumers 24/7” by Lim Jung-hoon and Nam Sang-chunRecognizing the capabilities of Alibaba and its implications for the global future, Korean authors Lim Jung-hoon and Nam Sang-chun outline its history, business model and reasons behind its success in their new book “The Arrival of Alibaba: Ruling 2 Billion Consumers 24/7.” The book summarizes the life of Jack Ma, the co-founder and executive chairman of Alibaba Group. Having faced failu

Mar 16, 2019
Korean authors revisit Jack Ma

'Building Brand' says language holds key to win over competitors

By Jin Yu-young First impressions are a huge factor in consumer-brand relationships: a brand's overall image in terms of packaging and design usually plays the first step in determining whether or not a consumer will invest in a product. Equally important in making a good first impression is a brand's name, slogan and story. These are the linguistics aspects of a brand that can lead to its success or lack thereof. “Building the Brand” by Min Eun-jeongMin Eun-jeong, who has been working as a brand verbalist for the past 25 years, played an active role in over 500 projects with companies such as Kanu Coffee, Seoul Square and Opirus. She is currently the Chief Contents Officer of Interbrand, a company that consults with and creates marketing strategies for companies. To explain the power of language in business, she outlines her insights in the book “Building the Brand,” where she gives over 30 examples of how language can propel a company to rise above competitors. The book describes the complexity of creating a name for a brand. The name must be memorable and d

Mar 16, 2019
'Building Brand' says language holds key to win over competitors

Decade on, actress' death haunts

In a memoir, fellow actress laments justice is missing in sex scandal probe By Kang Hyun-kyungThere's a victim but no one was found to have committed the crime.Probe results of sex scandals involving prominent politicians, business moguls or other influential people have repeatedly reached that "same old, ridiculous" finding and there has been no exception. In a memoir titled “The 13th Testimony: 10 Years After March 9, 2009,” author, model and actress Yoon Ji-oh confronted the absence of offenders in high-profile sex scandals. The author put together shards of her memories about the late actress Jang Ja-yeon, who committed suicide on March 9, 2009, and her bond with the fellow actress. As a witness who saw in person how former journalist C sexually assaulted Jang in August 2008, Yoon testified what she saw in the investigations conducted by the police and then the prosecution. However her testimony ― lasting thirteen times - did not result in justice. The journalist and other influential figures managed to avoid punishment. “Investigations of sex scandals involving

Mar 15, 2019By Kang Hyun-kyung
Decade on, actress' death haunts
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