Lifestyle - The Korea Times

Putin wax figure

This picture shows a life-size wax figure of Russian President Vladimir Putin in Serbia’s only museum of wax figures in the central town of Jagodina./ AFP-Yonhap

Mar 24, 2016

Ewha Womans University President Choi Kyung-hee, second from right, stands with Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, center, and three university presidents on Ewha’s campus in western Seoul, Tuesday, after signing an agreement on youth employment. The three are Hongik University President Kim Young-hwan, far left, Sogang University President Yoo Ki-pung, second left, and Yonsei University President Kim Yong-hak. They also agreed to help small businesses and the self-employed located near their campuses. / Courtesy of Ewha Womans University

Mar 23, 2016

Executive takes Korea's cosmetics expertise overseas

Cosmax Chairman Lee Kyung-soo smiles as he sprays mist made by the company in his office in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukExecutive takes Korea’s cosmetics expertise overseas By Kim Ji-soo Had his family been better off, Lee Kyung-soo, the tall 69-year-old chairman of Cosmax, said he would have majored in liberal arts or art in college.“I’ve always liked drawing and writing,” Lee said as he showed his photo album titled “Love Story.” Containing photos he took with his cellphone, and accompanied by writings that are a “love story” to his wife, the album is also about his love of nature and people.Sitting in front of a pine tree painting by the Korean painter Do Seong-wook in his office in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, Lee looks more like a scientist than an artist. But having a long conversation with the Seoul National University’s College of Medicine graduate, or reading about his firm’s growth path, one can glean that his success is a mix of willful fight against odds, and meticul

Mar 23, 2016

Executive takes Korea's cosmetics expertise overseas

Young men reject exemptions to become Marines

Cho Nam-woo, left, and Kim Sang-hyun / Courtesy of ROK Marine CorpsBy Jun Ji-hye Two young men volunteered to become Marines even after they were granted exemptions from Korea’s mandatory two-year conscription.Kim Sang-hyun, 25, and Cho Nam-woo, 24, both privates first class in the ROK Marine Corps are currently serving at the ROK Marine Second Division in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province.The Marine Corps said it recognized the rare choice made by the two as model cases that show the willingness of young Korean men to fulfill their obligation of serving the nation at a time when many young men increasingly attempt to dodge their military duty.Kim could have chosen to work at a defense firm as an alternative to his mandatory military service after receiving a gold medal in carpentry at the 41st WorldSkills held in London in 2011.The WorldSkills is a biennial competition held around the world to showcase and inspire world-class excellence in craftsmanship.The Nation’s Military Service Law stipulates that those who possess world-class skilled craftsmanship can work at a defense

Mar 23, 2016

Young men reject exemptions to become Marines

'Information curation is key to IoT-era design'

Kim Mi-yunBy Park Jin-haiKim Mi-yun, digital design professor at Seoul Digital University, says design in the “smart city” should not remain in the domain of an art.At a time when local telecommunication companies join hands with builders and security companies to launch smart home services, using Internet of Things technologies, design should give more focus on “Information Curation,” she said.“In the past, designers have focused on the exterior, thinking about how to make a product look beautiful. Now, designers should think about how to make the product smart,” she said. “To do that, they should be aware of technologies and what related data it could tap into. In that sense, designers should become content curators who can orchestrate all the information.”Kim, after being in the field for 15 years as an interior designer, has turned to the smart home and smart city concept that emerged in the early 2000s. Now she teaches living environment design at the university.She says computer technologies have blurred the traditional barriers t

Mar 22, 2016

'Information curation is key to IoT-era design'

Reporter spreads secret of 'mega profit' farming

Lim Hyeon-wooBy Nam Hyun-wooLim Hyeon-woo, a senior reporter at The Farmers Newspaper that covers agriculture in Korea, has released an English version of his hit book explaining the know-how behind lucrative farming techniques.Lim said Sunday that he expects his book, “Megaprofit Farming, Dreams Come True,” in English is going to be a guide to successful farming for not only occupational farmers but also for those who tend vegetable gardens as a hobby.“This guidebook has been popular among farmers here, with many of them praising the farming techniques introduced in the book,” said Lim. “So I came up with a translated edition in the hope that farmers in other countries can also increase their productivity and I’m quite sure they will be able to do so.”The techniques Lim and his co-authors, all current and former faculty members of Chonnam National University’s Agriculture Research Institute, include the Gelatin-Chitin disintegrating microorganisms (GCM) farming method. According to Lim, microorganisms are admired as “ideal for or

Mar 21, 2016

Reporter spreads secret of 'mega profit' farming

Three chefs explore Korea on motorbikes

Herbert Michael Richter, from left, Bernhard Butz and Charles Muther in Richter’s restaurant ZweiterStock in Itaewon, Seoul. / Courtesy of German Bikers KoreaBy Kim Se-jeong German Bikers Korea is a club for motorcyclists looking for weekend getaways on two wheels.Herbert Michael Richter, Bernhard Butz and Charles Muther, who joined the group last month, speak German and they’re all chefs.Richter from Germany runs three German restaurants in Seoul, one being Zweiter Stock in Itaewon where the group meets. Butz, also from Germany, is executive chef at Millennium Seoul Hilton, and Muther from Switzerland is Korean Air’s executive chef.They met in Korea in 2000 and have been friends ever since. Butz left Korea and returned last year to reunite with the others.“We work under high stress,” Butz said, adding that riding motorbikes gives them the chance to burn off stress on weekends. “With a motorbike, you can get the wind in your face and your mind and body can relax,” he said. “Riding a bike feels like yoga.”What they are looking

Mar 18, 2016

Lee Yong-kak, organ transplant doctor, passes away

Lee Yong-kakBy Kim Ji-soo Lee Yong-kak, professor emeritus of Catholic University of Korea’s School of Medicine, has passed away at the age of 93. Lee, who was the first doctor to successfully carry out kidney transplant surgery passed away on March 16.Lee graduated from Gyeongseong Medical School, the predecessor of Seoul National University’s Medical School in 1945. He obtained his surgical degree at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, in 1958, and then worked as professor at the Catholic University of Korea.He also served as dean of the College of Medicine at the university, and then as president of the Korean Surgical Society and the Korean Society of Transplantation.In 1989, he became the inaugural chief of the Inha University Hospital, to build up the general hospital.In particular, Lee is well-known for the first kidney transplant surgery he carried out in 1969 when the concept was unknown in Korea at that time.Lee has won recognition and numerous awards including the government’s Mongneyon Medal of the Order of Civil Merit in 1989 and the Hall

Mar 18, 2016

Lee Yong-kak, organ transplant doctor, passes away

Hyundai chairman's son-in-law exports 3D printing

By Kim Yoo-chulSeon Doo-hoon, CEO of InstecThe oldest son-in-law of Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo has signed a contract with unnamed European companies to sell direct metal tooling (DMT) 3D equipment through his own firm.According to industry sources, Seon Doo-hoon, husband of Chung’s oldest daughter Seon-yi, clinched a “multimillion-dollar” deal for the equipment.Seon is the CEO of Instec, a local medium-sized business, and the equipment was developed using Instec-owned patents. Instec is the first medium-sized Korean company to export products manufactured with in-house technology.“Hyundai Motor Group didn’t provide any support to Seon for the development of the equipment,” said an official. “Only a few U.S. and European companies could produce DMT 3D equipment commercially, given the high tech barrier. But Instec made it.”The latest agreement will help Instec find new clients in the United States, though the official declined to specify the names of potential clients in the United States that it has been in talks with.A

Mar 17, 2016

Hyundai chairman's son-in-law exports 3D printing

Korean baritone Jin Sol wins at Metropolitan Opera's audition

 By Kim Ji-soo Jin Sol, 30, a South Korean baritone, has come out among the top five winners at the National Council Auditions held at the U.S. Metropolitan Opera. Past South Korean winners of the audition known for discovering young opera singers include soprano Hong Hei-kyung and tenor Lee Sung-eun. The audition marked its 63rd session this year. Jin, who is a graduate of Yonsei University in South Korea and the Manhattan School of Music, sang “Di Provenza il mar” from Verdi’s “La Traviata” and Tchaikovsky’s “The Queen of Spades” in the final round of the competition held at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York on Sunday.His fellow winners were soprano Yelena Dyachek, mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo, countertenor Jakub Jozef Orlinski and baritone Sean Michael Plumb. The five winners were in their mid-20s and Jin is 30. The award includes an individual cash prize of $15,000 for each winner. Jin who also completed the San Francisco Opera Merola Program is signed with the well-known New York management com

Mar 16, 2016

People & Events

People & Events

Putin wax figure

Jobs for youths

Executive takes Korea's cosmetics expertise overseas

Young men reject exemptions to become Marines

'Information curation is key to IoT-era design'

Reporter spreads secret of 'mega profit' farming

Three chefs explore Korea on motorbikes

Lee Yong-kak, organ transplant doctor, passes away

Hyundai chairman's son-in-law exports 3D printing

Korean baritone Jin Sol wins at Metropolitan Opera's audition

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