Lifestyle - The Korea Times

Pastor helps undocumented Koreans

Pastor Kwon Tae-ilBy Jhoo Dong-chanA pastor at a church in Incheon, Gyeonggi Province, has helped more than 150 undocumented Koreans around the world.Sarangbat Church pastor and founder of the church’s charity group, 62-year-old Kwon Tae-il, said, “We should not hesitate to help overseas Koreans, now that the country is the world’s 11th largest economy and is expanding its Official Development Assistance to more developing countries every year.”Kwon first started helping overseas Koreans who had troubles with visas or had financial problems when he founded the church in China, 2011.“I saw the pitiful circumstances of those people during my service there. One had his company bankrupted overseas, some were swindled by locals, and another committed a crime at home and fled from Korea,” said Kwon.“My job is to help those who become undocumented outside of Korea for unfortunate reasons, and also to support runaways who want to start a new life.”In order to provide better and more efficient operations, Kwon founded the rescue team for undocum

Mar 3, 2016

Miss Korea helps deliver aid to Nepal

Miss Korea 2015, Lee Min-ji, poses with a local child during the opening ceremony of the Nepal Gunji Korea Franchise Association and Um Hong Gil Human School in Bardiya, Nepal on Feb. 23./ Courtesy of the Um Hong Gil Human FoundationBy Kim Hyo-jinMiss Korea 2015, Lee Min-ji, participated in voluntary activities in Nepal last month, according to a philanthropic foundation.Lee, 25, reportedly volunteered to help bring medical aid for locals and engaged in charity work for children in Bardiya, a western border district of Nepal, the Um Hong Gil Human Foundation said. She accompanied a group of foundation officials and 40 other volunteers to the district Feb. 22-29 to commemorate the opening of a school there. The school, named the Nepal Gunji Korea Franchise Association and Um Hong Gil Human School, was built as part of the Human School Project, aimed at building 16 schools in Nepal. Um, a renowned South Korean mountaineer who has climbed 16 Himalayan peaks, started the project in 2008 to help children deprived of education opportunities because they live in remote mountainous area

Mar 2, 2016

Shin Ha-kyun to play skilled negotiator

Actor Shin Ha-kyunBy Kim Jae-hunActor Shin Ha-kyun is to star in tvN’s new police procedural “Pied Piper” as a police negotiator trying to track down a mysterious criminal whose nickname gives the show its title.The negotiator was a former smart looking and eloquent businessman and he uses his psychological skills to penetrate the minds of hostage takers and terrorists.“Communication is the most important part in this drama,” said Shin during a press meeting at Times Square in Yeoungdeungpo-gu, western Seoul, Thursday. “Negotiating is a form of this so to understand the drama people will have to watch it closely.”Shin and his fellow actors trained with a police negotiation team before shooting began; and studied under Prof. Lee Jong-hwa at the Korean National Police University, who gave them background knowledge on negotiating skills. Lee completed a course in crisis negotiation at the New York Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States.“We did not know much about negotiation teams before filming the

Mar 1, 2016

Lee Byung-hun, Sumi Jo at Oscars

Korean actor Lee Byung-hun, left, and soprano Sumi Jo, wearing a dress designed by Korean designer Seo Seung-yeon, stand for photo at the Oscars at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, Sunday. Lee was the first Korean actor to present an award at the Oscars while Jo was invited as ‘Simple Song #3,’ which she sang for Paolo Sorrentino’s film ‘Youth,’ was nominated for Best Original Song. / Yonhap

Feb 29, 2016

HUFS alumni award

Kim In-chul, right, president of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS), poses with Kwon Soon-han, left, chairman of the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies Alumni Association, and the three winners of the HUFS Alumni Award at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul, Monday. The winners were Park Noh-hwang, second from left, CEO of Yonhap News Agency; Ko Dae-young, center, president of KBS; and Oh Kyun, the first vice minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination. They were honored for contributing to the development of their alma mater.   / Courtesy of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies

Feb 29, 2016

'Clothes key for research on int'l relations'

Choi Yeon-woo, a professor at the Korean Traditional Clothes Department at Dankook University, shows off a silk shroud at the Sangmyung Art Gallery in Daehangno, downtown Seoul, Friday. / Courtesy of Dankook UniversityBy Lee Min-hyungChoi Yeon-woo, 46, calls for more attention to traditional clothing as a major tool for research into the historical relations between Asian countries.“Traditional clothing is not about what people wore, but an object for more thorough research to analyze the political and historical relations of neighboring countries,” said Choi, a professor at the Korean Traditional Clothes department at Dankook University, in an interview, Friday.She said some experts have approached the matter from this perspective, as Korea has long-term close relations with China and Japan. But they have yet to reach satisfactory results, which is why she is pushing for a leap forward in the area.She said she became interested in traditional clothing at an early age, as her hometown has a strong tradition of weaving ramie cloth.“My hometown, Hansan in South C

Feb 29, 2016

'Clothes key for research on int'l relations'

Helping children with cancer

Park Dae-woo, second from left, a managing director of Green Cross Corp., stands with Oh Yeon-cheon, second from right, chairman of the board at the Korea Childhood Leukemia Foundation, at a restaurant in central Seoul, Wednesday, after presenting 2,000 blood donor cards to the foundation. The cards, which were collected from employees of the pharmaceutical firm, will be given to leukemia or cancer-stricken children requiring blood transfusions. A blood donor card is a certificate given to blood donors, who can use it for themselves or donate it for others needing blood transfusion. The company has so far donated over 6,000 blood donor cards to hospitals or nonprofit organizations supporting children with cancer./ Courtesy of Green Cross Corp.

Feb 26, 2016

Teacher offers free screening for 'comfort women' film

‘It’s our duty to remember sex slave victims’'Choi Tae-sung The poster of “Spirits’ Homecoming”By Kim Bo-eunA Seoul high school teacher rented a cinema to provide a free screening of a newly released film on Korean sexual slavery victims during World War II.Daekwang High School's Korean history teacher, Choi Tae-sung, 46, paid for 434 seats in five halls screening "Spirits' Homecoming" on Friday evening at a cinema in Gangnam, southern Seoul."I thought about what I could do as a history teacher after reading an article which said the film had difficulty finding theaters that would screen it," Choi said. "I believe it is our duty to remember our painful past as well as remember the victims, apart from the deal Korea and Japan reached about comfort women. Also, the movie can be used as a video in teaching children about Japanese colonial rule in Korea, so I thank those who made this film.”Considering movie tickets cost nearly 10,000 won, Choi spent more than a month's pay buying the seats.“Spirits' Homecoming” is base

Feb 26, 2016

Teacher offers free screening for 'comfort women' film

'Comfort women' movie tops box office

Exchanges between defense universities

Army Lt. Gen. Wee Seung-ho, right, president of Korea National Defense University, shakes hands with Maj. Gen. Frederick M. Padilla of the U.S. Marine Corps, president of the National Defense University in the U.S., after signing a memorandum of understanding on academic exchanges at Wee’s office in Goyang, northwest of Seoul, Wednesday. Under the accord, the two universities will exchange students and faculty and conduct joint research. / Yonhap

Feb 25, 2016

Dongwon chairman's biography published

Dongwon Group chairman and founder Kim Jae-chulBy Yoon Ja-young                                             Dongwon Group chairman and founder Kim Jae-chul had his biography published, which details his life as well as entrepreneurial spirit and management philosophy. The book was written by Gong Byoung-ho, the country’s most renowned economics and management writer. He interviewed the chairman many times over one year.Born in Gangjin, South Jeolla Province as the eldest of 11 children in a poor family, the boy chose to go to a fishery college in Busan instead of Seoul National University, in the belief that the ocean would provide big opportunities.At the age of 23, he got on the Jinam, the first deep-sea fishing boat in the country, to head to the South Pacific. He had no fear as he had nothing to lose.Two years later, he became the captain of the Jinam II, navigating through the South Pacific and the Indian Ocean, laying the foundation for Korea to become a fish

Feb 25, 2016

People & Events

People & Events

Pastor helps undocumented Koreans

Miss Korea helps deliver aid to Nepal

Shin Ha-kyun to play skilled negotiator

Lee Byung-hun, Sumi Jo at Oscars

HUFS alumni award

'Clothes key for research on int'l relations'

Helping children with cancer

Teacher offers free screening for 'comfort women' film

Exchanges between defense universities

Dongwon chairman's biography published

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