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Moon Jae-wan named to lead Arirang TV

Moon Jae-wanBy Kim Ji-sooMoon Jae-wan, 55, has been appointed to lead Arirang TV, a state-run English-language broadcaster. The Hankuk University of Foreign Studies law professor replaces Bang Suk-ho, who resigned after a scandal in 2015 over the misuse of his Arirang TV corporate credit card to pay for travel to the U.S. and meals for him and his family.Moon, tapped by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, was formerly a reporter with Maeil Business News Korea before becoming a law professor. He earned his bachelor’s in law from Seoul National University and his master’s and doctorate from Indiana University. His term will run until June 20, 2019.

Jun 22, 2016
Moon Jae-wan named to lead Arirang TV

Korean War vet and pianist Bernstein revisits Korea

Seymour BernsteinBy Jun Ji-hye Seymour Bernstein, a world-renowned pianist and a Korean War veteran, will visit Korea with his former comrades, Thursday.The American pianist, 89, is among 70 visitors that include former U.S. soldiers who fought in the Korean War (1950-53) and their relatives as well as Korean veterans living overseas.The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs invited them for a visit until Tuesday.Bernstein, a New Jersey native, joined the U.S. Army in December 1950 at the age of 23 and was dispatched to Korea after completing his 14-week training.He arrived by ship in Incheon in April 1951 and served in the war as a private first class infantryman belonging to the 8th U.S. Army until he was discharged in November 1952.His special mission was performing at military camps to boost the morale of the troops.“Bernstein served in the war both with arms and a piano,” the ministry said in a release. “He performed around 100 concerts for the frontline units.”Recalling his war memories, Bernstein said in an email interview with the ministry, &l

Jun 22, 2016
Korean War vet and pianist Bernstein revisits Korea

B-boy group leader Kim on future of dancers

Members of Jinjo Crew perform in this file photo. / Courtesy of Jinjo CrewJinjo Crew director Kim Heon-junBy Kim Ji-sooBUCHEON — The intersection near Sandong Station in the city just outside of Seoul boasts a dizzying sprawl of commercial buildings. And somewhere amid this sprawl is the office and dance studio of Jinjo Crew, the world’s top b-boying group.Inside the office, several b-boys, in their usual caps and casual ensemble, were hard at work in front of computers, uploading news about the team and the b-boying ahead of a world event soon to open. Kim Heon-jun, 32, is leading the preparations for the upcoming Bucheon Bboy International Championship from July 22 through July 24 (bbickorea.com).Korean b-boys are world-class, and Jinjo Crew, formed in 2001, sits atop. The team has come a long way since it first won at the world competition in China in 2004. By 2012, the group, named after a Korean word meaning “rising fire,” won five major international competitions to achieve “grand slam” status: the UK Bboy Championship in 2012, the Frees

Jun 22, 2016
B-boy group leader Kim on future of dancers

Director Hong, actress Kim allegedly having affair

Director Hong Sang-soo, left, and actress Kim Min-hee during a press conference for Hong’s film “Right Now, Wrong Then” at the Locarno International Film Festival in Locarno, Switzerland. A local media outlet reported that the two have been having an affair. Hong is married and has a college-age daughter. / YonhapBy Baek Byung-yeulDirector Hong Sang-soo and actress Kim Min-hee have allegedly been having an affair for about a year, local media reported Tuesday.The report said the 54-year-old director, who is married and has a college-age daughter, and Kim, who is 22 years younger than him, met last year while filming “Right Now, Wrong Then.” The film, which Hong directed and Kim starred in, won the top-prize Golden Leopard and Best Actor awards at the Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland last year.The report said it was Kim who expressed her interest in him first and the two became a couple with her unrelenting efforts to win his heart.Hong met his wife in the U.S. while studying film and has been married since 1985. The two permanently move

Jun 21, 2016
Director Hong, actress Kim allegedly having affair

Korean basketball prodigy offered spot by Spanish league teams

Yang Jae-minBy Baek Byung-yeulKorean teenage basketball player Yang Jae-min has been offered a spot on multiple Spanish basketball league teams.The Korea Times learned Monday that the 17-year-old forward received tryouts with multiple Spanish clubs while staying there for two weeks last month and was offered a position from Fuenlabrada, a professional basketball team in the Liga ACB and youth club Torrelodones.Standing at almost 200 centimeters, Yang is regarded as a top prospect in Korea with his already impressive physical skills. Last year, Yang was chosen as the best FIBA (International Basketball Federation) Asia player in the small forward sector after clinching the FIBA Asia U16 Championship title.After selecting top position players, the FIBA commented on him: “One guy to watch out for in the near future is Korean phenom Yang Jae-min. The 1.98-meter 16-year-old is a one-man wrecking crew who can potentially become his country’s main man once he matures.”Yang Won-jun, Yang’s father and secretary general of the Women’s Korean Basketball League (WKB

Jun 21, 2016
Korean basketball prodigy offered spot by Spanish league teams

Local microbrewery creates Korea's first native cider

Phil Kelm, second from left, and Bryan Do, third from left, toast Korea’s first cider — with a glass ofthe same. /  Courtersy of Andrew SalmonBy  Andrew SalmonCraft ales have transformed Korea’s beer scene in recent years, and now a local microbrewery has created Korea’s home-grown cider — the world’s fastest-growing alcoholic beverage category.“Cider,” however, could prove a misleading term for locals.In Japan and Korea, “cider” customarily refers to a category of soft drink, but the English term “cider” means a kind of wine made from apples — albeit usually drunk in the manner and quantity of beer. For centuries, cider has been appreciated by drinkers in England, France and Spain, is now produced and drunk worldwide, from Scandinavia to New Zealand, and is surging in popularity.Thus far, only imported ciders have been available in Korea. That is now set to change.“Cider is the fastest-growing alcoholic beverage category in the world, according to Euromonitor,” said Bry

Jun 20, 2016
Local microbrewery creates Korea's first native cider

Lawmaker aims to regulate bad loans

Rep. Je Youn-kyung of the Minjoo Party of Korea smiles during an interview with The Korea Times at her office at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul last week. The one-term lawmaker vowed to regulate banks’ practice of selling bad loans to debt collectors. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukBy Kim Jae-wonRep. Je Youn-kyung of the Minjoo Party of Korea is a newcomer to the National Assembly. It has been less than a month since she became a member of parliament, but the activist-turned-lawmaker has already submitted a bill to prevent debt collectors from claiming debts that have expired.The bill nicknamed “Preventing dead debt from being revived” brought on a strong backlash from financial institutions which sell their bad loans to debt collectors, but she said that she aims to regulate them with tougher rules.“I plan to submit another bill which mandates that financial firms reschedule loans for their customers,” said Je in an interview with The Korea Times at her office at the Assembly. “The bill still allows them to sell their bad lo

Jun 20, 2016
Lawmaker aims to regulate bad loans

Lee Jong-ki dreams of making world-class product

Master blender Lee Jong-kiBy Kim Ji-sooOmija ― the berry’s unusual name, vivid blood-red color and nutritional benefits conjures positive images of health and well-being. Also known by its scientific names maximowiczia typica and schisandra chinensis, it is widely used in summer drinks, tea and Oriental medicine.But not many thought it could be made into wine or liquor, except for Lee Jong-ki.Last week, master blender Lee introduced Gowoon Dar, a 52-percent-alcohol distilled liqueur made from omija.“I feel confident about this product,” said Lee, 60, in an interview with The Korea Times, flashing his signature smile and the curiosity in his eyes that has got him so far in the local industry. “I used traditional Korean ingredients and world-class methods for fermenting, distilling, maturing and blending,” he said.Among these steps, blending is the most crucial part.“Blending is an art rather than a science,” said Lee, head of JL Co., consultant and professor. He is also known as Johnnie Lee. He said he draws from his five senses and more than

Jun 20, 2016By Kim Ji-soo
Lee Jong-ki dreams of making world-class product

Canadian promotes Korean literature

 Theresa Hyun  By Kim Bo-eun Novelist Han Kang’s “The Vegetarian” winning the Man Booker International Prize last month has shed light on Korean literature, but a Canadian Korean-language poet and scholar says she wishes to contribute to further promoting literary works here.“Western people are not very familiar with Korean literature. I would like to make it better known,” Theresa Hyun told The Korea Times in an interview in downtown Seoul, Wednesday.Hyun said she will do this by continuing to study literary translation, teach related courses as well as create festivals and events to which she will invite Korean writers to in the future.“Translation is a difficult, painstaking process, but is important for Korean literature,” she said.Hyun is currently teaching Korean studies at York University in Toronto and is an honorary member of the Korean Canadian Writers' Association. She is visiting Seoul for the publication of her second poetry book.Hyun first came to Korea in 1980 to teach English and French literature at Kyung

Jun 17, 2016
Canadian promotes Korean literature

Goethe expert retiring

Prof. Chon Young-aeBy Yoon Ja-young Chon Young-ae, a professor of German Language and Literature at Seoul National University, is retiring. She was the first Asian female to be awarded the golden Goethe Medal by the Goethe Society in Weimar, Germany, in 2011.Born in a family with a Confucian background in Yeongju, North Gyeongsang Province in 1951, she grew up surrounded by books. Her passion for literature, which started with the works of Rainer Maria Rilke, led her to study German Language and Literature at Seoul National University, but she didn’t enter the Ph.D. program until the age of 33 due to marriage and childcare. She has been teaching at her alma mater for 20 years since 1996.Her class, “Understanding German Classics,” has been cited as one of the best courses at Seoul National University.Throughout the semester, students read pieces by virtuosos of the German literature, such as Franz Kafka, Thomas Mann and Hermann Hesse. The students make their own books at the end of the semester, based on their discussions and writings. On the last day of th

Jun 16, 2016
Goethe expert retiring
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