Lifestyle - The Korea Times

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

Korean baritone Jin Sol wins at Metropolitan Opera's audition

Art curator to work for foreign ministry

Sun Seung-hyeBy Kang Seung-woo A renowned Korean-Japanese art curator will assume the job of handling foreign cultural exchanges and cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).According to the ministry, Wednesday, , former director of curatorial affairs at the Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA), has been named director of the Cultural Cooperation Division under the Cultural Affairs Bureau.It is rare for the ministry to fill a director-level position with a non-governmental expert who has not taken the civil service examination.After designating the position last year as being available for only seasoned applicants, MOFA began openly recruiting candidates, leading to their selection of Sun as the first non-civil servant to take the job.“After special consideration, the ministry selected Sun to introduce a culture specialist’s competence to officialdom,” the ministry said.Sun, 45, received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in aesthetics from Seoul National University and holds a Ph.D. in Japanese art from Tokyo University.Before her appointment at MO

Mar 16, 2016

Art curator to work for foreign ministry

Former CNN reporter recalls experiences in book

Sohn Jie-ae, former CNN correspondent for Seoul and former CEO of Arirang TV and Radio, is now the author of a new book titled “Sohn Jie-ae. CNN. Seoul.” / Courtesy of Gimmyoung PublishersBy Kim Ji-sooHow does a job that entails eating organic food in North Korea sound? Appealing? Thrilling? Hard work?For former CNN correspondent Sohn Jie-ae, it was all of the above.Sohn was able to sample organic local fare in Sinpo, South Hamgyeong Province, in 1997, while covering a consortium involving South Korea, Japan, the United States and the European Union that aimed to provide light-water nuclear reactors to North Korea in return for halt to its nuclear development program.By “organic food,” Sohn meant the flies that ended up in her mouth, attracted by the light from the camera that was set up earlier in the day in preparation for the coverage that evening, she wrote in her first book, recently published. The book, “Sohn Jie-ae. CNN. Seoul,” provides an account of her experiences covering major events on the Korean Peninsula.“Last year, I

Mar 15, 2016

Former CNN reporter recalls experiences in book

Lawyer sells alternative to US bar exam

Kim Ki-taeBy Kim Jae-wonIn the past, becoming a lawyer in the U.S. was a distant dream for ordinary Korean students and employees. Not only did it require excellent intellectual ability but adequate financial resources to attend a law school in the U.S.But, Kim Ki-tae, a lawyer in New York State, says Koreans can pass the U.S. bar exam without going to a law school there. He is advertizing that Koreans can obtain a law license in the U.S by attending his private academy in southern Seoul and following his recommendations.“The easiest way is to apply for the bar exam is to go to Palau which has a legal system similar to that of the U.S. And then take the bar exam in California, which allows those with a license to practice law in Palau to take the test,” said Kim in an interview with The Korea Times.He said anyone with a bachelor’s degree of law can apply for the bar exam in Palau, and the test is not as difficult as people think. Palau is an island country in the western Pacific Ocean that gained independence from the U.S. in 1994.“The Palau test is similar to

Mar 14, 2016

Han Kang makes Man Booker Prize list

By Kim Ji-sooHan KangNovelist Han Kang is among the nominees for the 2016 Man Booker International Prize.Han’s “The Vegetarian” is among the 13 books long-listed for the prestigious award. The 13 were chosen from 155 authors from 12 countries by a panel of five judges, ranging from novelists to journalists. Han’s “The Vegetarian” has been well received overseas, where it has become a New York Times bestseller. It is about a modern-day Korean woman, Yeong-hye, who becomes a vegetarian. The protagonist, however, deals with her family and husband who perceive the change in shock and consider it an aberration. Han’s other novel, “Human Acts,” which is about the 1980 Gwangju Uprising, was published to rave reviews in Britain this year. On April 14, a shortlist of six nominees will be announced, with the final winner chosen on May 16.Boyd Tonkin, chair of the judging panel for the annual award, said the long-list reflects not only superb writing but also the sheer diversity of today’s great fiction.

Mar 11, 2016

'I want to help those who feel alienated'

By Lee Kyung-minSong SaraBorn and raised in Argentina after her Korean parents moved there in 1996, Song Sara, 20, came here for the first time last July, to attend university.She said she wants to become a nurse and treat not only physical injury but also inner pain, the way her mother did for her.The freshman at Ewha Womans University School of Nursing said she is excited to study nursing in her home country and follow in her mother’s footsteps.“I am truly happy that I was admitted to the school of my dreams, and I look forward to becoming the nurse that I’ve always wanted to be ― the one who takes care of her patients beyond the physical injury, just like my mother,” she said.Song, who has received an Overseas Koreans Foundation scholarship, is fluent in Korean, Spanish and Portuguese. She is also learning French and German. “I am happy that I am able to study here to benefit from advanced education and training programs for nursing than where I lived,” she said.Her mother, 49, who was a nurse here before moving to Argentina, has alway

Mar 11, 2016

'I want to help those who feel alienated'

CEOs pitch community programs

G-CEO Chairman Kim KyungBy Lee Hyo-sikThe Global Enterprise CEO Association (G-CEO) in Korea, representing the heads of global firms operating here, will implement more community service programs to fulfill the idea of “noblesse oblige,” its new chairman said Thursday.G-CEO Chairman Kim Kyung said the heads of 410 member companies will spare more time helping young jobseekers find employment, as well as assisting housewives who gave up their careers for marriage or childcare return to work.Kim was elected as G-CEO’s fourth chairman on Jan. 4, for a three-year term with the group that was founded in 2005.“Our members meet once each month and the gathering has been mostly for friendship and network building,” Kim said. “But what I would like to do is organize lectures given by professionals from different walks of life so that our members can learn something new every time we meet.”At the same time, the chairman hopes to more actively involve member CEOs in volunteer programs through which they can donate their talents.“G-CEO members can

Mar 10, 2016

Courtesy call

Thailand Ambassador to Korea Sarun Charoensuwan, left, shakes hands with Korea Times President-Publisher Lee Chang-sup during hiscourtesy visit to the English newspaper’s office in Seoul, Wednesday. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

Mar 9, 2016

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