People & Events

Winners of 52nd Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards

Fiction Grand Prize winner Youngjae Josephine BaeThe Korea Times is pleased to announce the winners of its 52nd Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards.This year, the Grand Prize in fiction, awarded by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, goes to Youngjae Josephine Bae for her translation of novelist Park Hyoung-su's “The Tall Dwarf.” The Grand Prize in the poetry category is awarded to Joanne Park for her translation of poems by Yu Hyoung-jin, including “Adolescence.” The Commendation Award winner for fiction is Clare Richards for her translation of Kim Keum-hee's “Half of His Egg Muffin.”We congratulate all participants and winners for their hard work and hope for more entries next year, as Korean literature needs more skilled translators to reach a global audience. The awards are sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and KB Financial Group.Poetry Grand Prize winner Joanne ParkGrand Prize in fiction: Youngjae Josephine Bae (Park Hyoung-su's “The Tall Dwarf”)Grand Prize in poetry: Joanne Park (Yu Hyoung-j

Wife of independence activist An Jung-geun's nephew dies

The bereaved family members of Park Tae-jeong, wife of the nephew of Korean independence activist An Jung-geun, carry Park's photo and coffin during her funeral ceremony at Ewha University Seoul Hospital in Gangseo District, Seoul, Monday. Yonhap.By Nam Hyun-wooPark Tae-jeong, the wife of the nephew of Korean independence movement activist An Jung-geun, has died at the age of 91. Among An's surviving family members, she was the closest to An, and was known to have suffered financial problems until her final days.According to the Center for Historical Truth and Justice, Park died Saturday after a month of treatment for cerebral infarction. Her funeral ceremony was held at Ewha University Seoul Hospital in Gangseo District, Seoul, Monday, and she was buried in a Catholic cemetery in Gyeonggi Province. Park was a daughter-in-law of An Jeong-geun, the second younger brother of An Jung-geun. Jeong-geun was also an independent activist who served in the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, which existed from 1919 to 1948, when the country was und

Former President Roh Tae-woo dies

Former President Roh Tae-woo takes the oaths of office during his inauguration ceremony at the National Assembly on Feb. 25, 1988. YonhapBy Nam Hyun-wooFormer President Roh Tae-woo died Tuesday at the age of 88, leaving behind a checkered political career. He was the first Korean president sworn in through a direct election since 1971 and made efforts to broaden the country's international ties as well as introducing the country's National Health Insurance plan.According to his aides, Roh was being treated at Seoul National University Hospital for a chronic illness, but failed to recover. He had not made any public appearance for nearly two decades after his health weakened following surgery for prostate cancer in 2002.Roh was the 13th president of Korea serving from 1988 to 1993. Before taking office, he led the Democratic Justice Party, was a member of the 12th National Assembly, an interior minister and defense security commander. Born in Dec. 4, 1932, in a rural area of Daegu, Roh entered the Korea Military Academy ― after graduating high school ― where he met Chun Doo-hwan, who

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Yoido Full Gospel Church founder Cho Yong-gi dies

Rev. Cho Yong-gi, founder and senior pastor of the Yoido Full Gospel Church, speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at the church office, Seoul, March 27, 2020. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulBy Park Ji-wonRev. Cho Yong-gi, founder and senior pastor of the Yoido Full Gospel Church, died Tuesday. He was 85.The pastor emeritus passed away at 7:13 a.m. in Seoul National University Hospital due to a brain hemorrhage, the church said. Cho had been hospitalized due to the stroke since July last year. He is considered as the pioneer in expanding the size of Protestant church in Korea.Born on Feb. 14, 1936 in Ulju, Ulsan, South Gyeongsang Province as the eldest of nine children, he was raised in a Buddhist family. Cho was diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis in his second year of high school and was told that he would not have long to live. He was introduced to Christianity through a friend of his sister and decided to follow the religion. Cho met with Kenneth Tice, a missionary from the Assemblies of God, an American Pentecostal denomination in Busan and began helping him. He

Rev. Cho Yong-gi, founder of Yoido Full Gospel Church, dies

Rev. Cho Yong-gi / Courtesy of Yoido Full Gospel ChurchRev. Cho Yong-gi, the founder of Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, died Tuesday. He was 85.The pastor emeritus of the world's largest congregation passed away at 7:13 a.m. at a Seoul hospital. He had been under medical treatment suffering a cerebral hemorrhage since last year.In 1936 in the southeastern rural county of Ulju, he was born to a family with Buddhist belief. His family moved to the southern port city of Busan after the 1950-53 Korean War broke out.He is known to have come to believe in God after being diagnosed with fatal phthisis when he was 17 years old.In 1956, he entered a Full Gospel college in Seoul to study theology. While there, he met Choi Ja-shil, who later became his mother-in-law and a close religious associate.After graduating in 1958, he opened a tent church in northwestern Seoul, which later moved to Yeouido, a financial district in the capital, and became Yoido Full Gospel Church with more than 700,000 followers.He engaged in many social activities other than religious pastorship at the church.He esta

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10th Korea Multicultural Youth Awards

Korea eyes resumption of new FTA with group of Arab nations

gettyimagesbankSouth Korea's trade ministry said Monday it aims to resume talks for a new free trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to forge deeper economic ties with the Middle East after a hiatus of more than 10 years.Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo plans to meet his UAE counterpart Thani Al Zeyoudi virtually later in the day and propose resuming talks for the South Korea-GCC FTA, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.Asia's No. 4 economy and the GCC agreed to launch negotiations for the free trade agreement in 2007, but related talks have been stalled since 2009.The GCC has six members under its wing, namely the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait."A multilateral FTA plays a crucial role in establishing sustainable economic ties and coping with changes in the global supply chain amid the COVID-19 pandemic," Yeo said in a statement.During the meeting, the two countries also plan to discuss a wide array of bilateral issues to forge deeper ties in the energy sector. "South Korea and the UAE have been holding close ties in traditional ene