Lifestyle - The Korea Times

Book details how Korea can lead fintech industry

Author calls for deregulation on banking sector   By Park Jin-haiLee Suk-geun“Fintech Revolution; A Game Changer for the Financial Industry” by Lee Suk-geunLee Suk-geun, an endowment professor at Sogang University and former presidential economic adviser, has released a book that details Korea’s place in the fast-evolving financial technology (fintech) industry and how it can lead the sector.In the 193-page book, “Fintech Revolution; A Game Changer for the Financial Industry,” the financial expert, who has worked at various global consulting firms and most recently consulted for financial IT infrastructure firm Telco Systems, and the government in formulating a fintech strategy, warns that the Korean financial industry is facing real and serious challenges stemming from heavy and obsolete government regulations _ some dating to 55 years ago. “Compared with Korea’s strong IT infrastructure, the competitiveness of Korean banks ranked below 50 for years,” Lee said during an interview with The Korea Times, citing Bankers and

Apr 28, 2017

Book details how Korea can lead fintech industry

Make your own suspect at new 'Case Closed' tribute site

"Case Closed Face-Maker" opened on Wednesday to celebrate the comic book’s 200 million sales worldwide. / Screen capture from Case Closed Face-MakerBy Eom Da-solJapanese comic book franchise “Case Closed” has opened a website where visitors can create their own “criminal sketch” in the style of the comic’s creator, Gosho Aoyama.The franchise introduced the website on Wednesday to celebrate sales of 200 million copies worldwide.Visitors make their own characters by selecting gender, hairstyle, eyes, eyebrows, nose, mouth, glasses, hats and other accessories. They even can adjust the gap between facial features to depict who they had in mind. Combinations of facial parts can create over 130 billion different montages.“One out of all montages made on the website will be chosen to appear in the comic series,” a franchise associate said.Visitors can make a more distinctive character by using “locked” facial parts that can be accessed with a password from certain magazines or past comic books.The website is open until May 31.

Apr 27, 2017

Make your own suspect at new 'Case Closed' tribute site

6 writers to be celebrated on 100th anniv.

Park Byung-soonYoon Dong-juSohn So-heeLee Ki-hyungCho HyangChoi Seok-dooBy Yun Suh-young A century ago, Park Byung-soon, Sohn So-hee, Yoon Dong-ju, Lee Ki-hyung, Cho Hyang, and Choi Seok-doo were born. One hundred years later, only Yoon Dong-ju is widely remembered by the public.The bitter truth about literary figures is that only a few become legends and are remembered for generations to come, while others are left in the shadows. As well as we know Yoon Dong-ju, we feel unfamiliar with the other five.But there will be opportunities to discover more about these unknown writers next week thanks to a centennial event organized by the Daesan Foundation, which will host a symposium as well as a cultural event for readers to enjoy.On April 27 at 10 a.m. at the Kyobo Building in Gwanghwamun, a symposium will be held all day on the theme “Violence of the ages and the path of a writer.”The symposium will begin with a general discussion on the topic and then touch upon each of the writers’ lives and their works in detail. The first session will explore Lee Ki-hyung&rsq

Apr 21, 2017

6 writers to be celebrated on 100th anniv.

Importance of public libraries to communites

By Choi Yearn-hongWASHINGTON D.C. —The month of April is a celebratory time for the literary arts. Not only is April National Poetry Month, but April 9-15 is also National Library Week. In celebration of the latter, my local County Board of Supervisors held a proclamation ceremony, inviting the Board of Public Library Trustees. The supervisors praised the virtues of the library services to its citizens and reflected on how beneficial libraries were in their own lives.When I was young, I had no concept of a “public library.” Seoul had one national library, and Jongro-gu has its own small district library. Yonsei University had its Central Library, where I and my friends at the university spent most of our time and where my fondest memories during university usually took place. Between classes, I spent time there, reading newspapers and other periodicals.In the United States, Indiana University Library was my favorite spot outside of my classroom and the departmental library. I worked at the library for 10 to 15 hours weekly to earn some income. The Book Review Digest

Apr 21, 2017

'World's first newspaper published in Korea in 1557'

A page of the Jobo, which is claimed to be the world's first daily newspaper. / YonhapBy Lee Han-sooDid Korea publish the first newspaper?One Buddhist monk believes so. Jibong, 52, from the Yonghwa Temple in Yeongcheon, North Gyeongsang Province, says he has copies of the world’s oldest daily newspaper, published in 1557.Until now, the oldest was believed to be German daily Einkommende Zeitungen, whose first issue dates to 1660.The monk said he has five issues of “Jobo” -- which translates into “morning news” -- dated Nov. 6, 15, 19, 23 and 24, 1577, in the lunar calendar.Jobo’s existence is only recorded in the historical script “The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty,” known in Korean as Silok. The script has a record of the daily’s issue from Nov. 28, 1577, which reported on the dynasty’s then ruler King Seonjo. He was greatly angered when he found that information about royal court was being circulated outside the palace and ordered the newspaper to cease publication. He punished 30 people involved in reading or publishin

Apr 20, 2017

'World's first newspaper published in Korea in 1557'

Prosecutors eye royalty from Chun's memoir

By Kim Se-jeong Prosecutors are seeking to collect book royalties from former President Chun Doo-hwan whose memoir went on sale earlier this month, according to a local newspaper.In 1997, Chun was found guilty of insurrection and corruption and ordered to return an illicit fortune of 220 billion won to the government. He has paid only 114.8 billion won so far.According to the DongA Ilbo, the memoir’s royalties are 2,300 won per copy. The publisher is owned by Chun’s eldest son, Jae-kook, and the details of the contract are unknown. An accurate number of the copies sold is yet to be known but it is at least 5,000 so far.The Korean-language newspaper wrote that money collection is easier said than done. “We have many questions to answer before collecting it. The first question is who receives the royalties,” an anonymous prosecutor was quoted as saying, explaining it’s possible that it’s not Chun himself.The second question is if the book royalties can be subject to the collection. The law states the money subject to the collection should be par

Apr 17, 2017

More diverse feminism books published

Third issue of independent feminism magazine "Sonyeomunhak" / Courtesy of SonyeomunhakBell Hook's "Feminism Is for Everybody"Lee Min-kyung's "We Need Language"By Kwon Mee-yooDespite the recession in the publishing industry, the topic of feminism has become a good seller in Korean bookstores, reflecting increasing interest in women's rights.According to Aladin, a major online bookstore in Korea, sales of the books categorized in women's studies and gender jumped 178 percent in the first half of 2016, compared to the same period the previous year. The number of feminism titles also increased from 73 in 2015 to 114 in 2016.Classic feminism books such as "The Second Sex" by Simone de Beauvoir and "Egalia's Daughters: A Satire of the Sexes" by Gerd Brantenberg were rediscovered.A Korean translation of Bell Hook's "Feminism Is for Everybody" was voted in an Aladin survey as the issue of the year in 2016.Two other books ― Roxane Gay's "Bad Feminist" and Lee Min-kyung's "We Need Language" ― also made the top 10 books of the year.Hallym University sociology professor Shin Kyung

Apr 14, 2017

Ex-president's memoir angers people in Gwangju

By Kim Se-jeong A memoir by former President Chun Doo-hwan is angering people in Gwangju and South Jeolla Province, where a popular uprising against his military regime in May 1980 was violently suppressed by armed forces.Bookstores in Gwangju were flooded with complaints and requests to remove copies of the memoir from their shelves. A Kyobo bookstore in Jamsil, southeastern Seoul, also received a request from a shopper to remove the copies. “After taking time to calm down, I asked the bookstore director to remove the books from shelves,” the shopper told the Hankyoreh, a local newspaper.The May 18 Memorial Foundation said Wednesday that along with other groups and lawyers, it will ask a court to ban sales of “Chun Doo-hwan’s Memoir,” which went on sale April 3 across the country.“Chun is denying history. Chun was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment by the Supreme Court,” the foundation said in a statement. “Instead of repenting what he did, he is trying to make a case for himself in the book.’’Local newspa

Apr 12, 2017

INTERVIEW 'Translated works need wider publicity

Sohn Hae-il, president of PEN International Korean Center, speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at the association's headquarter's in Yeoduido, Seoul on April 5. / Courtesy of Lee Soo-jinPEN Korea’s president aims to create translation centerBy Kwon Mee-yooKorean novelist Han Kang drew global attention when her novel "The Vegetarian" won the Man Booker International Prize for fiction last year."The novel was published years ago in Korean, but it did not gain international attention before it was translated into English. It is an example of the significance of translation in literature," Sohn Hae-il, president of PEN International Korean Center, said at an interview with The Korea Times last week.The PEN International was founded in London in 1921 by Catherine Amy Dawson Scott and John Galsworthy to create bonds among writers worldwide. The regional centers of PEN International also recommend candidates for the Nobel Prize in Literature every year.The history of PEN International in Korea dates back to 1954, when Korea was recovering from a war-scorched land. "Back th

Apr 11, 2017

[INTERVIEW] 'Translated works need wider publicity

Book reveals unseen sexual discriminations

“Born in 1982, Kim Ji-young” by Cho Nam-joo / Courtesy of MinumsaBy Kim Jae-heunIn 1999, the Korean government approved a bill banning gender discrimination, establishing the Ministry of Gender Equality two years later. The law fought for woman’s rights in Korean society where serious sexual discrimination was prevalent and people did not recognize it. Traditional values _ many stemming from of Korean neo-Confucian ideas _ dominated gender roles in modern society such as forcing women out of work once they are married. Wives had to obey their husbands and their parents-in-law and take care of housework without complaint.In 2005, the ministry changed its name to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. The National Human Rights Commission of Korea took over the task as former institutional strategy to protect women was integrated into a law prohibiting general discriminations including sex, race, age and more.The world has changed and Korean women do not suffer serious sexual discrimination as they did in the past. However, just like how any other discriminat

Apr 7, 2017

Books