Lifestyle - The Korea Times

Korea's most senior poet Kim Jong-gil dies at 91

Kim Jong-gil / YonhapBy Brother Anthony of Taize On Saturday, Korea’s most senior poet died suddenly in his 91st year, only two weeks after his wife’s death.Kim Jong-gil was born in 1926, in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, and received the name Kim Chi-gyu. Kim Jong-gil was his pen name. His mother died when he was only two years old.In his early childhood, he was cared for by his father and grandmother and especially his great-grandfather, who was a noted scholar of the old Confucian tradition. He began to learn Chinese characters from his great-grandfather almost before he could walk. He studied at a teachers’ training school in Daegu and from 1940, for several years, he helped edit a literary coterie magazine there. In 1945, after the liberation of Korea from Japanese rule, he entered the humanities section of Hyehwa College (Hyehwa Jeonmun Hakgyo) in Seoul. There he formed a literary club with other students, which began to produce its own magazine.Having begun to write poems, he won the 1947 Spring Literary Award of the Kyunghyang Sinmun, marking the st

Apr 2, 2017

Korea's most senior poet Kim Jong-gil dies at 91

Baseball books soar as regular season kicks off

Fans pack the Gocheok Sky Dome ballpark in Seoul during the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) League’s spring exhibition game between the Nexen Heroes and the Samsung Lions, Sunday. This year’s KBO League started its new season Friday. / YonhapBy Baek Byung-yeul A cover for “Pro Yagu Scouting Report 2017”A cover for Son Hyeok’s “Mental Coaching of the Pitcher”The new Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) League season started Friday, aiming to reach its biggest ever attendance mark this year.Last year, the nation’s top baseball league set a new single-season attendance record, attracting some 8.34 million spectators. The sport’s governing body said it set an attainable goal of over 8.78 million this season, with an average 12,203 fans a game.With the popularity of professional baseball, sales of baseball books are also increasing.Interpark Corp announced Wednesday, sales of sports books increased 13 percent in March compared to February.The local online ticket and bookseller also said baseball books “Pro Yagu [baseball] Sco

Mar 31, 2017

Baseball books soar as regular season kicks off

Turning poems into 3D artwork

Professor Wayne de Fremery holds up a 3D model to explain how it was made at his office in Sogang University in western Seoul, March 9.  / Courtesy of MicrosoftForeign professor offers Korean literature as high-tech edutainmentBy Yun Suh-youngImagine there's a poem you’d like to send to your loved one. Instead of mundanely writing it out or printing it, you want to find a fresh and unique way to turn this poem into something really interesting. You decide to print it out in 3D.With technology made available from the MooN Project, you're now able to create a funky physical model of the poem through a program that analyzes the patterns of Korean letters and converts them into a 3D model. You wrap that "poem" in a box to send as a gift. Now you have a secret language to share _ a poem that only you and your counterpart can understand.As funky as this sounds, the technology is already available for the Korean language, developed by a foreigner. American professor Wayne de Fremery at Sogang University in Seoul has taken the initiative to transfer Korean literary texts into 2D a

Mar 27, 2017

Buddhist monk Haemin's essay is most-sold Korean essay in 10 years

"The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down" by South Korean Buddhist monk Haemin turned out to be the best-selling Korean essay in a decade, a local online book store said Monday.Online bookshop Yes 24 said an analysis on sales of essays over the past 10 years shows that Ven. Haemin's book tops the list.The book, published in 2012, became an instant best-seller for a whopping 39 weeks and has maintained a unwavering popularity for many years since.Last month, the English version was published by Penguin Random House (PRH). Another book of his, whose title is roughly translated as "Love for Things Imperfect," ranked fourth in the essay section.Noteworthy is that there are two more essays written by Buddhist monks on the list, which came in eighth and ninth, indicating that Koreans seek comfort from words of wisdom offered by religious leaders.The top ten is dominated by Korean authors. Paulo Coelho's "Like the Flowing River" came in 14th. "Essays that are written by Korean authors and reflect the social atmosphere have been popular. More recently, books that talk about living an

Mar 27, 2017

Book tells of Yook's sundae journey

By Yun Suh-young Cover of the book "Sundaesilrok"Many people enjoy sundae, a Korean food consisting of intestines stuffed with various ingredients, but only a few know the history of this popular Korean food.Yook Kyung-hee, CEO of Heestory Food and owner of Sundaesilrok, a sundae restaurant in Seoul, does, and she traveled miles (literally) to track down the best sundae in Korea. She didn’t stop there. Following her local journey, she turned her eyes outward to travel thousands of miles around the world to find the most representative sundae of each nation. Her discoveries were recorded in a book called “Sundaesilrok” or “Sundae Annals” which was published last month.“Sundaesilrok” is like a tribute to all the dishes like sundae in the world. It begins with the history of sundae in the first chapter. She explores how the word “sundae” came to be and where it could have possibly originated from. She searches historical documents, journals and books and runs down various assumptions.According to her comprehensive studies, she w

Mar 24, 2017

Review: 'Someone Always in the Corner of My Eye.' Shim Bo-seon

By Choi Yearn-hong‘Someone Always in the Corner of My Eye’ by Shim Bo-seon, translated by Ji Young-shil and Daniel Parker. Shim Bo-seon is known as a social scientist educated at Seoul National University and Columbia University, some of the best institutions of higher education in Korea and the United States, respectively. Although he is not yet a well-known poet in Korea, his poetry book has already been published in English in the United States.I opened his poetry book with some curiosity, because I had never read his poems and was not familiar with his name. I needed to know a new poet from Korea. Like him, I am also a social scientist, albeit retired, and poet. He teaches sociology and writes poems, while I taught public policy and administration and also wrote poems. We are very similar in this regard .First of all, his poems are neither easy to read nor comprehend. Readers are somewhat puzzled and have difficulty understanding his poems or the spirit of his poetry. I am not sure what he aims to achieve with his poetry. However, I can see that he is somewh

Mar 17, 2017

Review: 'Someone Always in the Corner of My Eye.' Shim Bo-seon

Young poets remember late Gi Hyeong-do

Poet You Hee-kyoung and other participants read the late poet Gi Hyeong-do's poems at the bookstore Wit N Cynical, in Hapjeong, Seoul, Wednesday.    / Korea Times photo by Park Jin-haiBy Park Jin-hai Poet Gi Hyeong-do A special poetry night for the iconic 1980’s poet Gi Hyeong-do was held at the small bookstore and cafe Wit N Cynical in Hapjeong, Seoul, Wednesday.Some 40 young people who filled the cafe quietly read his poems together in remembrance of him. In between the reading, four aspiring poets and You Hee-kyoung, a poet and the owner of the poetry-specialized independent bookstore, came to the stage and shared their stories related to Gi and recited two of his favorite poems. You, who went to Gi’s cemetery first thing in the morning on the day his debut poetry book was published, said he felt “strongly indebted” to Gi. “Gi’s was the very first poetry book that I bought. At the time, I couldn’t tell why I loved his poems, but I loved them so much that I copied them in beautiful writing over and over,” said

Mar 10, 2017

Korean Turtle enters U.S. race to help boost literacy

By John C. SticklerImages of the Games 13 and 14 ballot as it will appear on March 9To celebrate one year of reading together, students at Los Angeles' Sunrise Elementary School pose with their adult volunteers, all members of a local law firm. Read to a Child has presented each one with a copy of “Maya and the Turtle.” Due to a shortage of personnel, the school library is open only one day a month. / Courtesy of Read to a ChildIn spring 2014, students enrolled in international schools across South Korea voted for their favorite English children's books in an annual reading competition run by school librarians. The winner in the upper elementary category was an old Korean fairy tale, “Maya and the Turtle,” published by Tuttle in 2012. Their votes awarded Maya the annual Morning Calm Medal, among four titles for different grade levels.This month, Maya and her reptilian pet are in another competition, a "March Madness" book tournament to help at-risk children learn to read. A U.S. non-profit literacy agency, Read to a Child, has selected 32 books, new and old, p

Mar 7, 2017

Korean Turtle enters U.S. race to help boost literacy

New Haruki Murakami book eagerly awaited in Korea

Fans of Japanese best-selling author Haruki Murakami line up next to a display of the new book "Kishidancho Goroshi," or "Killing Commendatore," at Kinokuniya bookstore in Shinjuku district, Tokyo, Japan, just after midnight on Feb. 24. / EPA-YonhapAdvance royalties expected to reach 2 billion won By Kwon Mee-yooHaruki MurakamiJapanese novelist Haruki Murakami is off and running again. His latest full-length novel, "Killing Commendatore," was released in Japan Feb. 24 and people have queued to get their hands on the highly anticipated book.The novel, in two parts ― "Arawareru Idea” (Emerging Idea) and "Utsurou Metaphor” (Moving Metaphor) ― is Murakami’s first multi-volume novel in seven years, following "1Q84" in 2009Shinchosha Publishing printed 1.3 million copies of the first edition ― 700,000 copies of part 1 and 600,000 copies of part 2.According to AP, the novel is a two-part story about a portrait painter, 36, and what happens after his wife divorces him and he moves into an old house on a mountainside west of Tokyo.The mysterious events include

Mar 3, 2017

New Haruki Murakami book eagerly awaited in Korea

Book Review 'I want to build a world of justice'

Moon Jae-in discusses change of governmentBy Kim Jae-heun Cover for "A Completely New Nation - Questions from the Republic of Korea and Answers from Moon Jae-in"Moon Jae-in, former leader of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), is currently the frontrunner in the presidential race. As the presidential election is set to take place as early as April or May if incumbent President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment is upheld by the Constitutional Court, Moon has already started his campaign to strengthen his top position.His book “A Completely New Nation -- Questions from the Republic of Korea and Answers from Moon Jae-in,” released late last month, is one of his first moves to reveal his future vision, suggesting Moon’s specific pledges for the country if he becomes president.In the 360-page long book, Moon begins the story with the word “Jaejosanha,” meaning rebuilding of the country from ruins. The liberal candidate strongly argues for a change of government, as involving the President’s confidant Choi Soon-sil in state affairs has put the coun

Feb 24, 2017

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