Lifestyle - The Korea Times

'Knowing Japan is key to winning'

Lee So-ri By Lee Kyung-min Knowing Japan and its strengths in defending its territorial claims over Dokdo is the key to winning the argument over the issue, according to Lee So-ri, 53, a senior researcher at the Division of Dokdo Policy under the North Gyeongsang Provincial Government, Friday.Japan took control of Dokdo, Korea’s easternmost islets in the East Sea, in 1905, when it forced the Joseon Kingdom to abandon its sovereign rights of diplomacy in a prelude to colonizing the Korean Peninsula in 1910.“Koreans tend to get instantly angry and verbally attack Japan, dominated mainly by emotions rather than a winning strategy to logically refute its claim point by point,” said Lee, who began her work involving Dokdo in September 2005 at the provincial government.A more efficient and wiser way should be learning from Japan to better prepare counterarguments and follow-up strategies, she added.“Dismissing everything Japan only helps it further achieve its aim of claiming Dokdo. Accumulating accurate knowledge more than Japan does is the only way to su

Aug 12, 2016

Doctor instills van Gogh into photography

Dr. Yoon Sang-min publishes a book containing his photos, “Photos from the future.”Yoon Sang-minBy Yoon Ja-young Yoon Sang-min, an otolaryngologist in Uijeongbu, Gyonggi Province, liked pictures of Vincent van Gogh as a child. The doctor is becoming famous with his photographs that resemble the pictures of the great artist.“I saw a picture on calendar as a child and it left a deep impression on me. I wondered, ‘how can one draw a picture like this? Who painted this picture?’ It was a painting by van Gogh,” recollects Yoon.The boy once dreamed of becoming a painter, but he majored in medicine at Catholic University. He had served as a professor at the ENT department of St. Mary’s Hospital in Uijeongbu until he opened his own clinic a few years ago.He was drawn to mountain biking and photography as hobbies. Then one day, he came to take a very unique photo by chance.“It was not the ordinary photo that people think of. It looked like a painting. It reminded me of a painting by van Gogh. I thought at the moment, ‘Maybe I can make

Aug 11, 2016

Doctor instills van Gogh into photography

Jun. K makes statement as solo artist

Jun. K performs on stage at YES24 Live Hall in Gwangjin-gu, eastern Seoul, as he promotes his mini solo album “Mr. No♡.”  / Courtesy of JYP EntertainmentBy Kim Ji-sooAs the Seoul summer heat soared to the temperature of a barbecue grill, Jun. K showed his fiery passion as a solo artist on stage at YES24 Live Hall in eastern Seoul on MondayJun. K? Yes, Jun. K, the main vocalist of the six-member idol group 2PM.Twelve years after entering JYP Entertainment, and after eight years as 2PM’s lead singer, Jun. K has a mini solo album, “Mr. No♡” featuring eight songs in Korean. A few are remakes of singles he introduced several years earlier, but he wrote some new songs, sometimes working with such well-known writers as BoyToy, as he did with the title song, “Think About You.” The other songs are “Mr. No♡,” “Better Man,” “Young Forever,” “Surfing,” “Don’t Go,” “Our House” and “No Love Part2.”Album jacket image of Jun. KJun. K has written many songs for both

Aug 10, 2016

Startup CEO hopes to change public perception of flowers

Park Chun-hwa, flower subscription service Kukka CEO, poses with a bouquet of flowers at his office in Gangnam, southern Seoul, Tuesday. / Courtesy of KukkaBy Kim Hyo-jinA bouquet prepared by the Kukka startup, delivered to a customer’s homePark Chun-hwa began the startup company, Kukka, in 2014 that sells fresh flowers online on a subscription basis ― the first of its kind in the nation’s flower business.Business mentors, wholesalers in the flower market and even florists all said it would not work considering people’s patterns of buying flowers, not to mention the delicate characteristics of flowers being delivered. “Truly, few people buy flowers unless there are special occasions like anniversaries but that was why it captured my attention,” Park told The Korea Times, Tuesday. The 33-year-old startup founder noted that the flower market also seemed to lag behind other markets with no marketing strategies developed since the 1990s. Due to a lack of frequent customers visiting walk-in shops, they became dormant even in dealing with flowers.Many asp

Aug 10, 2016

Startup CEO hopes to change public perception of flowers

Bridging Finland, Korea through media art

Tytti RantanenBy Kwon Mee-yooTytti Rantanen, program coordinator of AV-ARKKI, visited Korea to attend the Seoul International New Media Festival (NeMaf) 2016 to introduce Finnish media art to Korea and promote exchanges between artists of the two countries.Media art is a genre of art which includes anything with moving images in a broad sense, its root coming from experimental films."It could be a single channel video or multi-channel installations. More artists are doing online projects through the Internet. It is something different from film but has something to do with moving images," Rantanen said during an interview with The Korea Times, Monday. "Media art is for open-minded people who are not afraid of experimental and abstract art. It is also for those who are interested in what is going on in the world now as media art sometimes deals with complicated, contemporary issues such as refugees and gender equality."The AV-ARKKI is a distribution center for Finnish media art with over 200 member artists and Rantanen's role is to liaise between artists and institutions."When artists

Aug 9, 2016

Bridging Finland, Korea through media art

Environmental engineering student chosen for global doctoral fellowship

Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) environmental engineering student Pyo Jong-cheolBy Yoon Sung-wonPyo Jong-cheol, 27, an environmental engineering student at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), has been chosen as a beneficiary for a global doctoral fellowship for his dedication to research on remote green algae exploration technology, the institute said Monday.As a beneficiary of the 2016 Global Ph.D Fellowship (GPF), Pyo will receive tuition fees for his doctoral degree program and an additional 40 million won for his academic activities.“I am glad that winning the fellowship will allow me to concentrate on research activities without other concerns,” Pyo said. “I will do my utmost to be one of the most influential researchers in the environmental engineering sector.”The GFP is a governmental initiate, run jointly by the Ministry of Education and National Research Foundation of Korea, to foster world-class scientists and researchers. The government has chosen graduate students nationwide and provided financial

Aug 8, 2016

Environmental engineering student chosen for global doctoral fellowship

A unique hanok stay in central Seoul

Steve Sung-jung Woo, right, and his wife, Cho Sun-mi pose in front of their hanok stay that opened in July and is called Pungkyung in Jongno, Seoul. The Korean word pungkyung means scenery or landscape./ Korea Times photos by Choi Won-sukBy Kim Ji-sooBefore towering modern apartments took over Seoul, people lived in small, cozy houses — some in the traditional Korean hanok style.Many of them are gone, while some remain scattered in clusters around Seoul. One is Pungkyung, a traditional Korean-style house near Sungkyunkwan University that Steve Woo and his wife Cho Sun-mi acquired last year.“We wanted people who step in here to feel they want to take off their shoes and lie on this low wooden bench and have a slice of watermelon,” Woo said of the four-bedroom hanok in Jongno District, Seoul. “Similar to a tranquil templestay-like ambience, but right in the city.”The hanok is snugly situated among modern buildings but more strategically, it is located right across the street from Sungkyunkwan, which was the foremost educational institution during the Gorye

Aug 5, 2016

New Zealander promotes charms of Korea's mountains

Roger ShepherdBy Kim Bo-eun Korea is popularly known by foreigners for its flashy streets in Gangnam, city nightscapes and advanced IT gadgets.Few foreigners, let alone locals, know about its mountains and natural landscapes.Yet New Zealander Roger Shepherd, 50, has acquired extensive knowledge of Korea’s terrain as well as an understanding of the local culture from his years of hiking here.Interestingly, Shepherd was not a hiker before he started trekking Korea’s mountains.He spent eight years in Africa where he was a safari guide and wildlife ranger.Back in his home country, he was a diplomatic protection officer with the New Zealand police. Shepherd was a guard for the Prime Minister and heads of foreign states visiting the country. He guarded former President Lee Myung-bak when he visited New Zealand in 2009. “I always enjoyed outdoor life, but the Korean mountains got me interested in the idea of walking the ridges non-stop,” Shepherd said. “‘Baekdudaegan’ was the pinnacle of it.”Baekdudaegan is the mountain ridge along t

Aug 5, 2016

New Zealander promotes charms of Korea's mountains

Professor paves way for exact diagnosis of arterial diseases

Oh Wang-yuhl, professor at KAISTBy Lee Min-hyung Oh Wang-yuhl, a professor at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), has developed a three-dimensional (3D) image recording system for a more precise diagnosis of arterial diseases.A group of researchers _ led by Oh _ succeeded in recording high-resolution 3D images of coronary arteries, the nation’s top science and technology school said Thursday.“The system will be widely adopted,” Oh said. “In particular, this will be very useful for stent treatments of patients suffering from coronary artery blockages. We are preparing to get authorization from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety over using the system for patients.”Oh, 48, studied physics at KAIST, receiving a bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree from the university.His overseas career started in 1997 when he became a postdoctoral researcher at Imperial College London for two years. He also served as an instructor and research fellow at Harvard Medical School and Wellman Center for Photomedicine for five ye

Aug 4, 2016

Professor paves way for exact diagnosis of arterial diseases

Nurse awarded for fight against MERS

Shin Kyo-yeon, the head nurse at Konyang University Hospital, receives the Civil Merit Medal from ViceHealth Minister Bang Moon-kyu at the government complex in central Seoul, July 29./ Courtesy of Konyang University HospitalBy Kim Hyo-jinShin Kyo-yeon, the head nurse at Konyang University Hospital, was at the forefront of fighting the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) when the deadly virus hit the country a year ago.When she heard an 80-year-old MERS patient at an isolation ward was in critical condition, she stepped up and without hesitation performed CPR, which lasted over an hour.Exhausted, she unwittingly wiped sweat. And that was when she was exposed to the patient’s body fluid. A few days later, she was confirmed to have contracted the virus. But luckily after 20 days in quarantine for treatment, she overcame it and was able to get back to her job.The government awarded the Civil Merit Medal to the 40-year-old nurse, Friday, citing her fighting for patients suffering from MERS.“The last year was the most frightening year of my life,” Shin said. “D

Aug 3, 2016

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