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CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

Wearable startup company eyes foothold in night sports market

Niports CEO Noh Seung-beomBy Lee Min-hyungNiports CEO Noh Seung-beom believes in the strong growth potential of wearable devices for night sports. The company sells light-emitting-diode (LED) athletics bands ― Specter ― in the United States.The 28-year-old startup chief said he and two other co-founders gained confidence after the fashionable LED wearable device raised funds of more than $30,000 (33.7 million won) on U.S.-based crowd-funding platform Kickstarter, only 32 days after its launch in late June.“With Niports gaining more-than-expected market responses, we were convinced of the strong demand in the night sports market,” he said in an email interview. “Our long-term goal is to turn the small startup into a well-known brand focusing on manufacturing nighttime hardware devices.”Noh said he has always felt a strong sense of attraction for activities easing inconveniences of people.He studied electrical engineering in college, but his experiences were far from those of the so-called “typical engineering students” in Korea. In college

Aug 29, 2016
Wearable startup company eyes foothold in night sports market

Veteran comedian Koo Bong-seo dies at 90

Koo Bong-seo / Korea Times fileKoo Bong-seo, once one of the most famous comedians in South Korea, died of old age on Saturday, according to his family. He was 90.Koo is known as a pioneer in the nation's comedy scene, having begun his career in the 1960s. He appeared in countless TV programs and more than 400 movies.In 2013, he received the Order of Cultural Merit from the government in recognition of his contribution to the export of South Korean comedy films."His health worsened 10 days ago and he died of old age," a bereaved family member said,A memorial altar for Koo has been set up at Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital in southern Seoul, with his funeral due Monday. (Yonhap)

Aug 27, 2016
Veteran comedian Koo Bong-seo dies at 90

'South Korea, China, US need to coordinate on N. Korea'

Stephan Haggard, professor at the University of California, San Diego and an expert on the North Korean economy, poses before an interview held in Seoul, Monday. / Korea Times photo by Park Jae-hyukBy Kim Ji-sooStephan Haggard, a noted expert on the North Korean economy, said he believes the recent defection of the London-based North Korean diplomat Thae Yong-ho means that sanctions on the repressive state are working “very directly.”“Embassy staff of North Korea around the world are called upon to engage in a variety of money-making activities, and because of the unilateral sanctions that have been imposed by the Europeans and also just closer vigilance and due diligence with respect to North Korean activities ... the embassy personnel are under tremendous strain to make money out of nothing,” he said.He does not see, however, the defections as part of a wider dissatisfaction among the North’s military, security apparatus, Workers’ Party, government officials and other powerful actors.“I wouldn’t assume that this reflects some com

Aug 26, 2016
'South Korea, China, US need to coordinate on N. Korea'
  • UN Security Council to take 'significant' measures against N. Korea to thwart missile provocation

'I refuse to go to UFC. Here's why'

Kim Soo-chulBy Jung Min-ho The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the world’s largest mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion, may be a dream league for some fighters, but it never has been that for Kim Soo-chul.Over the past few years, some agents offered the bantamweight fighter of Road FC, Korea’s largest MMA organization, a chance to join the UFC, saying there would be bigger opportunities for his career there, but Kim turned them down.He said he learned an important lesson from other Korean fighters who already fought in the UFC Octagon.“I have seen some good and bad outcomes,” he said in an interview. “While some fighters made successful careers there, others tasted failure and never bounced back.“The UFC can make fighters famous for sure, but fame is a double-edged sword. It can make them famous winners and famous losers. I just think it is unwise to see fighting there only as an opportunity without thinking about risks.”In short, Kim said, he has not tried to fight in the UFC because the promotion does not offer proper compensation

Aug 26, 2016
'I refuse to go to UFC. Here's why'

DMZ peace camp

High school students from the southwestern island of Jeju pose at the entrance of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) dividing South and North Korea earlier this month during the fourth annual DMZ peace and life camp. The 35 participants visited historic relics, cultural properties and war memorial sites while enjoying the pristine nature of the DMZ on a visit to the frontline areas in Paju, Cheorwon and Yanggu Aug. 5 to 8. Kwangdong Pharmaceutical, which distributes the mineral water brand SamDaSoo under contract with the Jeju Province Development Co. (JPDC), hosted the camp./ Courtesy of Kwangdong Pharmaceutical

Aug 25, 2016

Former British golfer graduates summa cum laude from Dongguk

Jack Webster / Korea Times photo by Park Jae-hyukBy Park Jae-hyukJack Webster from England graduated with top honors from Dongguk University in Jung-gu, central Seoul, Thursday. The 29-year-old earned a GPA of 4.4 out of 4.5 from the department of business administration and was designated ‘summa cum laude’ along four other students at the graduation ceremony. During an interview with the Korea Times, Webster said with humility that the grades were just “numbers” after his four years of studying.Webster was a golfer for eight years and a golf coach for three years in England. But the Koreans he met during his trip to Australia encouraged him to visit Korea in January 2010.“The biggest reason I came was just simply the Korean people,” he said. “They were very passionate about their food, so when I came to Korea, one of my big expectations was things like samgyeopsal (grilled pork belly).”Although he met his Korean fiancé in Australia, Webster said he did not come here to stay when he first visited Korea. “I had no plan and I

Aug 25, 2016By Park Jae-hyuk
Former British golfer graduates summa cum laude from Dongguk

Pansori master looks to create 'zeitgeist' work

Ahn Sook-sun, 66, is considered the foremost leader in pansori or traditional Korean music. / Courtesy of Ahn Sook-sunBy Kim Ji-sooPansori master Ahn Sook-sunAfter performing with cellist Chung Myung-wha at Gyechon Village in eastern Gangwon Province last Friday, Ahn Sook-sun was getting some rest at her home in a leafy southern Seoul neighborhood Monday.At 66, the master and designated cultural asset in pansori, a traditional genre of Korean narrative music, said she is willing to collaborate with other artists across genres to spread the music that has been her life. Officially, Ahn is designated National Intangible Cultural Asset No. 23 in gayageum (12-string Korean zither) sanjo, a style of gayageum solo performance, and in gayageum byeongchang, or singing pansori to gayageum.“What I do, my sound, it is the sound of 300, 400 years and more. I hope to spread the artistic spirit that it was created in and familiarize the public with it,” Ahn said. At such an advanced phase in her career, Ahn doesn’t shy away from the stage, even as she embraces bigger responsibili

Aug 24, 2016
Pansori master looks to create 'zeitgeist' work

Carter on Habitat project

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, center, works on a Habitat for Humanity construction project in Memphis, Tenn., Monday. Carter said he thought he had just a few weeks to live during his battle with cancer a year ago. / AP-Yonhap

Aug 23, 2016

UFC fighter Bang vows to win in Germany

UFC mixed martial artist Bang Tae-hyun trains at the Korean Top Team gymnasium in western Seoul, Aug. 18. / Korea Times photo by Choi Ha-youngBy Choi Ha-youngMixed martial artist Bang Tae-hyun from Korean Top Team said in an open training session on Aug. 18 he was confident, ahead of his fifth competition in an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bout next month in Hamburg, Germany.The fighter, dubbed “the super natural,” will arrive in Hamburg on Aug. 25 to compete in a lightweight division competition against German fighter Nick Hein on Sept. 3. Bang is looking forward to his first visit to Germany.“I’ve always wanted to go to the country. For me it’s psychologically easier to play overseas as there are fewer things to take care of, such as relatives coming to see my match,” Bang said in an interview after his training session in western Seoul.Last November, when he won a match in Seoul against Leo Kuntz of the U.S. by a split decision, watchers pointed out Bang’s lack of physical strength. For the upcoming match, Bang has improved hi

Aug 23, 2016

Buddhist monk returns to secular world

Former Buddhist monk Hye Moon, left, poses with his wife and new-born son. / Courtesy of Hye MoonBy Kim Tae-gyuIn 2013, Buddhist monk Hye Moon hired a woman to work in his office, which was carrying out a campaign to get Korean cultural assets, mostly taken out of the nation during Japanese colonial rule (1910-45) and the Korean War (1950-53), returned.It didn’t take long for Hye Moon to realize that he had fallen in love with her and he decided to leave the monkhood and return to secular life so as to marry her in January 2015. Later that year, the newly-weds had a son.“Buddhist monks are not supposed to fall in love with women. But it was impossible for me not to love her. So I decided to leave the monkhood instead of my wife,” the 42-year-old said.“After I became a layman, we still work together to continue our jobs of restoring more cultural assets, the mission that brought us together.”Hye Moon is famous for starting a successful campaign of convincing the United States to return nine stolen Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910) seals in early 2014 ― Pres

Aug 22, 2016
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