Lifestyle - The Korea Times

Lesson 100: Difference in Counting Rules (2)

By Nam Chi-hyung As we’ve seen in the last lesson, the main difference between the two existing counting rules_Area Counting and Territory Counting,_is what is counted. While the latter takes into account the number of captured stones, the former considers the stones left on the board instead. Since the number of stones on the board is the number of moves each player played minus the number of captured stones, the results taken through these two counting rules are usually the same. However, in certain situations, the application of the two rules can result in a big difference. Let’s start with some notable features of Area Counting. • First, in Area Counting, a player returns his prisoners to the opponent because they are not counted. • Second, there is no neutral point as in Territory Counting because it is a two-point-difference whether a black stone is on a certain intersection or a white stone is. • Third, it is not a loss at all that a player adds his stones inside his already-built territory, because both the empty intersections and the stone

Jun 14, 2007

Fruits, Vegetables Good for Skin

By Park Chung-a Staff Reporter Summer is a tough season for skin. Skin is vulnerable to strong sunlight, ultraviolet rays and sweat. In order to counterattack ultraviolet rays your skin excessively secretes melanin pigments and when pores get blocked by sweat and fail to excrete waste liquids, skin trouble like freckles and acne can arise. With the start of the summer which requires more attention to skin care, Kim Jin-hyung , an oriental medical doctor at Myungokhun Oriental Beauty & Mental Clinic in southern Seoul has recommended the following fruits and vegetables that are effective for skin care this season. Grapes Grapes have various vitamins other than glucose and fructose. These enhance the action of skin cells, are good for reviving skin and have detoxification effects. Watermelon Watermelons provide water to skin that is exhausted by strong heat and are also good for easing fatigue their large great amounts of glucose and fructose. Tomatoes Tomatoes have lots of pectin, a vegetable fiber. They help blood circulation, which is vital for a good c

Jun 10, 2007

Lesson 99: Difference in Counting Rules (1)

By Nam Chi-hyung In the past 50 years, Baduk has spread to the world beyond East Asia and is now enjoyed in Europe, America, Oceania and even Africa. People speaking different languages can communicate with each other through this game. Even though the sets of rules used around the world are not exactly the same, the differences between the rules are not very significant. Even if two players play following two different sets of rules, the game will end without any problems if there is agreement about a few minor points. The minor differences in rules lie mainly in the counting. There are two big branches of counting rules: Area Counting and Territory Counting. The one used in Korea, Japan and the countries affected by Japanese Baduk is Territory Counting, and so it is also what I have been using in this series. Area Counting is used in China and the countries affected by Chinese Baduk. Since you are already familiar with Territory Counting, let me introduce you to Area Counting. In Area Counting, the meaningful points include not only the empty intersections surrounded by t

Jun 7, 2007

`Skin Care Begins From Knowing Yourself

By Kim Tae-jong Staff Reporter People believe healthy skin makes beauty and spend a lot of time, money and effort to improve their skin conditions. Many of them simply think that expensive and famous cosmetic products can help deal with skin damaged from ultraviolet rays, pollution and stress, but a skin care expert from the United Kingdom said that they first need to know where their problems originated. ``First, you need to know your skin type and condition,'' Eve Taylor told The Korea Times at W Seoul-Walkerhill in eastern Seoul. ``All that makeup is going to make them beautiful? No. Makeup is an optical illusion. They don't need all that heavy stuff. What they need is a balanced program.'' She believed that there is no one simple guideline for the improvement of skin problems as each individual has different skin conditions which are affected by various factors such as life style, weather, health condition and work environment. ``(In many expensive cosmetic products stores), each one would sell me a large amount of skin care, but not one would ask me, `do I sleep

May 31, 2007

Lesson 98: Baduk in North Korea

By Nam Chi-hyung Recently, two trains respectively belonging to North and South Korea crossed the DMZ for the first time in more than half a century. Also a North Korean cargo ship arrived at the port of Busan, and will carry cargoes between Busan and Rajin, three times a month from now on. These historic events raise the hope that the Baduk players of each side can more freely meet and play each other in the near future. Even though we haven’t heard much about Baduk in North Korea, it would not be too far-fetched to say that a match between the strongest players of the two sides will be remarkable, not only in the sense of history and politics, but also in its contents. Baduk in North Korea is more advanced than is commonly expected. The first appearance of a North Korean player in an international Baduk event was in the 13th World Amateur Go Championship in 1991. The result of this competition was not wholly satisfactory, mainly because Baduk in North Korea had been considered an undesirable pastime for long time, the same as in China. However, from that time until the y

May 30, 2007

Bean Paste Effective in Controlling Diabetes

By Park Chung-a Staff Reporter A fermented soybean paste, called ``cheonggukjang,’’ could prove effective in preventing adult diabetes, according to local researchers. A research team led by Kwon Dae-young of the Korea Food Research Institute and Park Sun-min, a food and nutrition professor at Hoseo University, has recently announced its finding that the traditional Korean fermented soy bean paste could be effective in preventing type-2 diabetes by stimulating the section of insulin, the blood sugar controller. Type-2 diabetes, which mainly affects adults, occurs when the body does not respond correctly to insulin. Type-1 diabetes is caused by the body’s failure to secret insulin. Obese people are vulnerable to type-2 diabetes, since fat-related materials block insulin from functioning. Type-2 diabetes patients do not secret a sufficient amount of insulin. According to the study, the amount of anti-oxidation material polyphenol and good protein peptides increases in cheonggukjang as fermentation progresses. ^When these materials were injected into a mouse with type

May 27, 2007

Increasing the Height of Your Child (II)

By Dr.Park Chan-Joo In my last column, I briefly talked from the perspective of both Oriental and Western medicine about the reasons why certain children may not grow enough. I also discussed how oriental medicine could promote their growth. However, aside from professional help, there are also basic things that children could do themselves in their daily lives to potentially increase their height. These things are proper nutrition, exercise and changes in bad habits. Needless to say, nutrition is the most important thing to growing up strong and healthy. Not only children but also adults should eat foods of diverse nutritional value, including carbohydrates, fat, protein, vitamins, minerals and fiber. The word ``protein’’ comes from the Greek word ``prota,’’ meaning ``of primary importance.’’ As the origin of the word suggests, proteins are especially important for children when they’re growing up. Protein is an essential part of all living organisms, participating in every process within cells and is related to immune responses, biochemical reactions as enzymes and so

May 27, 2007

Lesson 97: High-level Connection (2)

By Nam Chi-hyung The technique of crossing is used not only when your stones fall into unexpected danger. If you know how to cross, you can intentionally create a river to cross and lay the proper groundwork. Diagram 1 The sequence from Black 1 to White 12 is part of a joseki. Black is building territory in the corner with the sacrifice of Black 3. It may appear a bit foolish for Black to play 9 and 11 in this early stage and leave Black 3 by itself; however these moves help form a connection between Black 1 and the black group in the corner. To simply bend at A doesn’t work because of White’s cut at B. Diagram 2 As you’ve seen in the previous lesson, a knight’s move is very useful for crossing. In this situation, Black 1, a double knight’s move, is the key. If White bends at 2, Black will answer with 3 instead of cutting at A. If White butts at A instead of bending with 2, Black will simply extend at B. Diagram 3 Black has separated the two ▲-marked white stones with 1 to 5. Now, it’s possible for him to continue the attack by jumping out to the center. H

May 24, 2007

Calcium and Vitamin D Combination Reduces Risk of Hip Fracture

By Park Chung-a Staff Reporter The risk of hip fracture can be reduced by taking oral vitamin D supplements only if they are accompanied by calcium supplements, according to a report in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. Dr. Steven Boonen from the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium, who announced the report, said that supplementation should be directed to those who are in need, including elderly people age 75 or older and those who stay home all the time or patients with diagnosed osteoporosis or people who are on certain drugs such as steroids, which can reduce the bone mineral density. In the study, Boonen and his team compared two groups of people, one on vitamin D supplements only and the other on vitamin D plus calcium against a group who took a placebo. The researchers found that the risk of hip fracture in the vitamin D only group was not statistically significant. However, the group which took both vitamin D and calcium experienced a reduction of hip fracture risk by up to 25 percent. According to Boonen, as people age, they come to f

May 20, 2007

Lesson 96: High-level Connection (1)

By Nam Chi-hyung When you’re talking about connection, it is usually about the connection between two closely related stones. However, in a real game, you sometimes want to save weak stones separated from the strong party by a wide gap or the opponent’s stones. To differentiate from a simple connection between two stones, we often call this kind high-level connection technique a ``cross’’ or ``bridge.’’ The reason why we use that expression is, I think, the situation is akin to helping an isolated lamb rejoin the main flock safely settled on the other side of a river. A crossing is mostly used near the edge of the board, since the gap between a weak group and a strong group is wide and difficult to cover in other, more open areas of the board. Diagram 1 The simplest example of a crossing is to connect the two △-marked black stones with the black group in the corner. Diagram 2 If Black plays 1 following the proverb ‘the center is the vital point of a symmetrical shape,’ White can cut by attaching on both sides with 2 and 4. Diagram 3 In general, a large

May 17, 2007

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