Lifestyle - The Korea Times

Park Jin to lead Oxbridge Society

Park Jin, right, newly elected president of the Oxbridge Society, holds hands with Kim Dong-gun, left, Park’s predecessor, and Charles Hay, British ambassador to Korea, during the society’s annual reception at the Ambassador Hotel in central Seoul, Friday. / Courtesy of Oxbridge SocietyBy Park Si-sooPark Jin, a former three-term lawmaker and incumbent chair professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, was elected as president of the Oxbridge Society, an integrated alumni association in Korea for graduates from the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge.Park, who earned a PhD in political science from Oxford in 1993, was elected unanimously during the society’s annual reception at the Ambassador Hotel in central Seoul, Friday.The integrated association was established in August last year with inaugural president Kim Dong-gun, a Cambridge graduate who currently represents Barun, a law firm. Park is his successor.“It’s my honor and privilege to lead this association representing these two esteemed universities whose history spans mo

Aug 31, 2015

Vitamin C symposium

Scholars and researchers pose during the fourth annual symposium on the effects of vitamin C on human health at the Kwang Dong Pharmaceutical Co. building in southern Seoul, Thursday. The Korean Society of Food Science and Technology organized the event in cooperation with Kwang Dong. / Courtesy of Kwang Dong Pharmaceutical

Aug 28, 2015

Adoptee campaigns against addiction

Ki-ja KristoffersenBy Kim Se-jeong Ki-ja Kristoffersen’s life veered from its original path because her biological family put her up for overseas adoption. Thirty-three years later, her life is changing again because of her desire to help her struggling family and people beyond them.Kristoffersen grew up in Denmark and is studying psychology and education. She said she wants to help her biological family torn by gambling and alcohol addiction, as well as others affected by addiction.She learned about the tragic story of her biological family six years ago when she visited Korea and met her biological mother.The mother told her that her father was addicted to alcohol and gambling. She was 4 months old when abandoned, and it happened because the family was too poor to support her.Her two siblings were not abandoned but grew up with very little education and care, and they had to work from a young age to support the family. And her brother, after becoming an adult, became addicted to computer games.She visited her brother this summer only to discover that he too is a severe a

Aug 28, 2015

FiscalNote manager urges attention on politics

Rebekah KangBy Lee Min-hyungRebekah Kang, a market development manager at U.S.-based startup FiscalNote, believes in the power of politics to drive the nation into a more transparent place.“My Candidate,” an application providing information about local politicians, was launched against this backdrop, she said Wednesday.“I decided to start the service as people could not easily access information about the nation’s legislation, administration and jurisdiction,” Kang said.She said the application was developed last year to provide detailed information about politicians, including their election pledges and their political careers.By providing the information in one application, she thought it could reduce huge social costs from the lack of communication between people and politicians.As part of her efforts to turn the application into a more organized platform, she decided to join FiscalNote this year. The company was founded in 2013 under the motto of “Make government data more beneficial.” It provides data-driven political, legal and regulat

Aug 27, 2015

FiscalNote manager urges attention on politics

Outgoing EU envoy lauds Korea's cultural strengths

 Tomasz Kozlowski By Rachel Lee Korea's ability to combine the traditional with the modern differentiates it from the rest of the world, says a former European Union (EU) ambassador to Korea.Tomasz Kozlowski, 57, whose term ended Thursday, praised Korea for this “fusion” approach.“Korea has successfully invented a way to promote its old, rich cultural heritage to the world,” Kozlowski said in an interview held at his office in Seoul on Aug. 25. “That’s why its music, movies and fashion are popular around the world including Europe. It’s very unusual and I think it’s truly a big achievement.”Kozlowski, who was appointed as the head of the EU in Korea in January 2011, had been working for EU institutions in Brussels since 2004. Before joining the EU, he was a member of the Polish Diplomatic Service, working for the Polish Embassy in Indonesia and Malaysia. He was also appointed the Polish ambassador to Pakistan and Afghanistan from 2001- 2003.His four years in the post here were rewarding as the EU and Korea built a s

Aug 26, 2015

More Belarusians rush to learn Korean

Elena Smalko, who teaches Korean language at the King Sejong Institute in Minsk, Belarus / Courtesy of King Sejong Institute FoundationBy Kwon Mee-yooKorean language teachers from across the globe gathered in Seoul to share and discuss their teaching methods at the seventh World Korean Educators Conference at Grand Hilton Seoul, running through Wednesday.Elena Smalko, currently teaching elementary and intermediate level Korean at the Minsk King Sejong Institute located in the Belarusian State University (BSU) in the capital of Belarus, attended the conference.Belarus is an Eastern European country landlocked by Russia, Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine. The country is relatively unfamiliar to Koreans, but more and more Belarusians are taking interest in Korea, thanks to the ever-popular K-pop and the state-of-the-art technology of Korean companies.There are about 10 students studying Korean at the BSU and some 40 at the Minsk King Sejong Institute. The Minsk branch was established in 2013 and it is rapidly growing."Now a lot of people show interest in studying Korean as their major

Aug 25, 2015

Kwang Dong wins design award for soy milk product

Kwang Dong Pharmaceutical’s soy milk product “Alchan Soybeans”/ Courtesy of Kwang Dong PharmaceuticalBy Chung Hyun-chaeKwang Dong Pharmaceutical received an award at an international design competition, Red Dot Award 2015, for the packaging of its soy milk product.A company spokesman said Tuesday that its “Alchan Soybeans” won the Winners Prize. The Red Dot Award is one of the world’s top three design awards. The other two are iF Design Award and the International Design Excellence Awards.About 7,500 entries from 53 nations competed in the competition. “We believe that our product won the prize because it expresses the concept of a healthy Jeju Island through the package design,” the spokesman said. The product is made of soybeans grown on Jeju, a southwestern resort island. The product is divided into three kinds: original, black beans and five grains. The packaging of the original product is green, black beans is black and five grains, brown. Led by the company’s Vice Chairman Choi Sung-won, Kwang Dong has strengthened

Aug 25, 2015

Kwang Dong wins design award for soy milk product

Chadwick names new head

Shelly Luke WilleBy Chung hyun-chaeShelly Luke Wille has been named the new head of school at Chadwick International, a K-12 school in Songdo, Incheon.Succeeding Charles Sachs, Wille has promised to create long-term strategies to enhance the learning environment for students.The California-based Chadwick School opened Chadwick International in Korea in 2010 to expand opportunities for students outside the U.S.“I feel a deep sense of commitment and a heavy weight on my shoulder as the new head of Chadwick International,” Wille said.“The school has achieved remarkable growth and success in the past five years and we hope our students become leaders of tomorrow who can contribute their exceptional talents to global society as valuable members.”She had previously served as a village school principal at the school since 2011 and as the assistant head of the school since last year.Wille played a pivotal role in acquiring accreditation of the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program (PYP), an educational program managed by the International Baccalaureate for

Aug 24, 2015

Dilip Sundaram to lead Mahindra Korea

Dilip SundaramBy Kim Yoo-chulMahindra Group, one of the top-tier conglomerates in India, said Monday that it has named Dilip Sundaram as the CEO of its Korean subsidiary.In a statement, the group said the newly appointed head will closely collaborate with divisions in the group to find new business opportunities and to level up partnership with its current Korean partners.“I hope the Korean market will get more attention from the group’s top decision-makers. I will try my best to solidify Mahindra’s leadership in the Korean market, Sundaram said in the statement.“This is a market that nobody can ignore and we look forward to further strengthening our partnership,” the new CEO added. He was a chief financial officer and senior vice president at the Ssangyong Motor Company, in which Mahindra & Mahindra holds a majority stake. He is also the chairman of the Indian Chamber of Commerce in Korea. Mahindra is one of the most active investors in Korea because the Indian company believes that localization is the key to achieve its ambitious business target an

Aug 24, 2015By Kim Yoo-chul

Honorary ambassadors

Members of girl group EXID, along with Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency chief Yoon Jong-key, pose during a ceremony in Seoul to mark their appointment as honorary ambassadors to promote the police agency./ Yonhap

Aug 21, 2015

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