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Ex-President's brother-in-law dies

Lee Seong-hoBy Kim Ji-soo Lee Seong-ho, brother-in-law to the late former President Kim Dae-jung, has passed away. He was 85, various reports said Friday.Police officials in Jongno District, downtown Seoul, said that they found Lee lying still in his officetel residence Tuesday, after receiving a call from an acquaintance of Lee’s that he could not be reached.Lee, the youngest brother of former First Lady Lee Hee-ho, graduated from Gyeongbok High School and Seoul National University, after which he went to the United States and studied at Emory University. He at one time headed a Korea-American group in Washington, D.C., and also ran a travel agency.He returned to Korea in 1985, setting up a travel agency to take care of the travel of his brother-in-law who at that time was at the Party for Peace and Democracy.Lee was often dubbed an “insider” in President Kim Dae-jung’s administration (1998-2003) but was implicated in graft scandals afterwards.Lee divorced and his two sons also live in the United States, leaving him to live alone in Korea. A mortuary is

May 27, 2016
Ex-President's brother-in-law dies

Taxi driver is 35-year volunteer in traffic control

Yang Pan-young controls traffic at the crossroads in front of Jeongeupseo Elementary School in Jeongeup, North Jeolla Province. He has been doing this as a volunteer every morning for the past 35 years.  / YonhapBy Kim Rahn Every morning for the past 35 years, students at Jeongeupseo Elementary School in Jeongeup, North Jeolla Province, have met a person on their way to school ― not a teacher but a taxi driver who works as a traffic control volunteer at the crossroads near the school.Yang Pan-young, 76, started his voluntary work in 1982 when he was named an “exemplary driver” by police, the title given to taxi and bus drivers who have not had an accident for 10 years.“Living through a poor childhood, I had wanted to serve society when I grew up,” he said. “I didn’t have much money to help others, so I came up with the idea of helping with traffic control work that I could do without having to pay any money.”Meeting every morning of their years as schoolchildren, Yang and the students get to know each other well. If Y

May 27, 2016
Taxi driver is 35-year volunteer in traffic control

Luna of f(x) to drop solo mini album

LunaBy Kim JI-soo Luna, main vocalist of the girl band f(x), will release a mini-album titled “Free Somebody” on Tuesday. This will be the first solo album for Luna since her debut seven years ago. She is the second member of f(x) to make a solo album. Fellow f(x) member Amber released the solo EP “Beautiful” in February 2015 and followed it up with singles as well.The 22-year-old Luna in recent years has been actively participating in various original sound tracks and winning the network MBC’s “King of Mask Singer” program, in which singers compete wearing masks. She also starred in the musical “In the Heights,” and in the movie “Lightning Man” (2016) and also in dramas.  In the album “Free Somebody,” Luna presents six songs that feature a musical style different from that of her group. The four-member girl band is known for their eclectic, electropop-based sound. 

May 26, 2016
Luna of f(x) to drop solo mini album

Monk helps Nepalese people in need

Ven. WoljuBy Jhoo Dong-chan Song Wol-ju, or Ven. Wolju, established a non-governmental organization (NGO), The Good Hands, to help poor people across the world in 2003.The 81-year-old Buddhist monk and The Good Hands have visited remote areas in poor countries, including Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia, to build water supply systems and schools.Nepal is also one of the countries where the organization has worked since 2008, building schools, a youth education center and social enterprises.“Last year’s earthquake in Nepal killed 8,700 and injured 22,000 people. A total of 1.6 million children lost their schools,” said Ven. Wolju.“I believe education is fundamental in fighting poverty and improving the economy. The Good Hands have thus far built one youth education center, two public schools and three elementary schools.”When the earthquake struck the country in April of last year, The Good Hands carried out six different relief projects to help 60,000 Nepalese in need.The goodwill organization has already spent over 900 million won ($758,000) to help stud

May 26, 2016
Monk helps Nepalese people in need

Honorary doctorate

Sookmyung Women’s University President Hwang Sun-hye, right, poses with Christy Clark, premier of British Columbia, Canada, after conferring an honorary doctorate in political science on her at the university’s campus in Seoul, Wednesday. The university recognized Clark for her leadership as the second woman premier of British Columbia after Rita Johnston. Clark was sworn in March 14, 2011, after taking over the leadership of the British Columbia Liberal Party./ Courtesy of Sookmyung Women’s University

May 26, 2016

Helping babyboomers to prepare for post-retirement life

 Students at the first 50+Life School busily writing in this file photo. / Courtesy of Jung Gwang-pil By Kim Ji-sooIn his 2015 essay about living as a novelist, Japanese writer Murakami Haruki mentions the need of a certain space for personal recovery.And who would disagree? For Koreans, especially those in pressure-cooker metropolises such as Seoul, such a space is both a necessity and a rarity. While they need the space for their well-being, the space is hard to find.Jung Gwang-pil, dean of the “50+Life School” at the Seobuk 50Plus Campus in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, wants however people who apply to his school to be little more serious. The school recently opened its first program.“I had people write a one-page essay on ‘mind-riddance’ or why they want to take part in the school. Mainly, they are asked to write what they want to purge from their minds or life now, and what they boldly want to add to their life in the future,” Jung said in an interview with The Korea Times.The school’s name “50+Life School” refers to a pers

May 25, 2016
Helping babyboomers to prepare for post-retirement life

Family has parachute training together

Army Brig. Gen. Yoo Hae-il, right, Lt. Col. Hong Young-mi, left, and their son, Private Yoo Joon-hyuk, pose for a photo before attending parachute training together, Monday. / Courtesy of ArmyBy Jun Ji-hye A father, a mother and a son, who are an Army brigadier general, a lieutenant colonel and a private, went through parachute training together on Monday.According to the Army, Brig. Gen. Yoo Hae-il, 53, Lt. Col. Hong Young-mi, 52, and Private Yoo Joon-hyuk, 21, jumped together from a CH-47 Chinook helicopter at altitudes of 1,800 to 2,000 feet.The Army said their jump was successful, adding that it was the first time that both parents and their son attended parachute training together. Before this, only a father and son, or a father and daughter made parachute jumps together.It was Hong who asked her husband and son to jump together as she wanted a special event to mark her discharge scheduled for next month after serving 30 years in the military.Hong underwent the parachute course seven years ago when serving at the Special Warfare Command as a press officer.Her husband,

May 25, 2016
Family has parachute training together

SHINee's Jonghyun releases first solo album

Singer Jonghyun of K-pop group SHINee poses for his first full-length album cover./ Courtesy of S.M. EntertainmentBy Kim Jae-heunSHINee’s Jonghyun released his first solo album “She Is” online at midnight, Monday.The leader of the K-pop boy band previously issued a mini-album “BASE” last September, but this is his first full-length release.“After finishing the tracks, I finally released my full-length album,” said Jonghyun during a press conference at Platoon Kunsthalle in Gangnam, southern Seoul, Monday.“I tried to concentrate on telling a story on the album,” he said. “I thought of one character, a man who has fallen in love, singing all the tracks. He is sweet, witty and sly. On other albums, I can have many people singing different tracks but that was not the case this time.”The K-pop idol’s new album consists of nine songs including the title track. “She Is” is an electro-funk song with a repeating melody and lyrics that are easy to sing along with. The second track “White T-Shirt” is

May 24, 2016
SHINee's Jonghyun releases first solo album

Investment is learned skill: Man Group chief

 Man Group President Luke Ellis holds a copy of The Korea Times’ May 18 edition, which covered an English translation of novelist Han Kang’s book “The Vegetarian” winning the Man Booker International Prize on the front page, during an interview with the Times in Seoul last week. Man Group is a long-term sponsor of the literature prize. / Courtesy of Man GroupBy Kim Jae-won Luke Ellis, president of U.K.-based investment firm Man Group, said that investment is a learned skill which requires a lot of practice and intensive study of past records. But, he warned of short-term investments, saying it is almost impossible for investors to receive steady returns from them.“Like golf, investing is a learned skill. With investing, you need to be intelligent but there is no substitute for smart practice,” said Ellis in an interview with The Korea Times in Seoul last week.He came to Korea to take part in a hedge fund forum held at the Conrad Hotel in Yeouido where he met with his current and potential clients, mostly institutional

May 23, 2016
Investment is learned skill: Man Group chief
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