Lifestyle - The Korea Times

'Real carbonara does not have cream'

Sebastiano Giangregorio, executive Italian chef at Lotte Hotel Seoul /  Courtesy of Sebastiano GiangregorioBy Kim Jae-heunSebastiano Giangregorio, an executive Italian chef at the Lotte Hotel Seoul, is one of the very few cooks in Korea who serves authentic Italian dishes. He prepared a luncheon for Pope Francis during his August 2014 visit and Giangregorio is the only certified Italian Cuisine Master Chief (ICMC) in the country ― which he earned in 2013.The Italian chef has been working in Korea since 2005, consulting for Italian restaurants and cooking in Seoul, but there is one thing that he wants to correct about his motherland’s food ― Korean’s favorite Italian food, pasta a la carbonara does not have cream in it.Giangregorio promotes authentic Mediterranean cuisine by using only imported seasonal ingredients from specific regions.“Real Italian food is only made by an Italian chef with Italian vegetables and sauces using an Italian oven in a traditional way,” said Giangregorio during a interview with The Korea Times, Monday, at the Peninisu

Dec 15, 2015

Former National Assembly Speaker dies at 83

Former National Assembly Speaker Lee Man-sup bangs the gavel in this September 2001 file photo to proclaim the dismissal of then Unification Minister Lim Dong-won. Lee passed away Monday at age 83. / YonhapBy Kim Hyo-jinLee Man-sup, former National Assembly speaker passed away, Monday. He was 83.He died of a chronic disease at 4:31 p.m. at Yonsei Severance Hospital, according to Kwon Joong-tae, a parliamentary official. His National Assembly sponsored funeral will take place Friday.Lee, an eight-term lawmaker and two-term National Assembly Speaker, was a veteran politician at the forefront of Korean politics for five decades since the 1960s.He served as the National Assembly speaker from 1993 to 1994, replacing Park Jyun-kyu, who was involved in a land speculation scandal. He served his second term from 2000 to 2002.Even after his last legislative term in the 16th Assembly, which ended in 2004, Lee still remained active in politics, serving as an advisor.Lee, a one-time politics reporter at the Dong-A Ilbo, entered politics in 1963 during the leadership of the late President Par

Dec 14, 2015

Former National Assembly Speaker dies at 83

Barista overcomes hearing disability

Kwon Soon-miBy Lee Hyo-sikIt is not easy for a person with a hearing impairment to work as a barista because he or she has to take orders from customers and brew coffee accordingly. Being able to hear exactly what customers say is more important than anything.However, for Kwon Soon-mi, 36, a hearing disorder has not deterred her from pursuing her dream of becoming a barista at Starbucks Coffee Korea, the country’s largest coffee chain. Four years after Kwon joined Starbucks in August, 2011, she was recently promoted to a deputy store manager despite her disability.“I am really happy that I was able to pass a stringent, highly-competitive test to assume the post of deputy store manager at the Olympic Park South Gate store in southern Seoul,” Kwon said. “Over the past four years, I have worked really hard to figure out what customers say by closely watching how their mouths move. I have also done vocal exercises every day to make the correct sounds so customers can understand what I am saying.”She also acquired an in-house barista certificate in February a

Dec 14, 2015By Lee Hyo-sik

Ex-lawmaker named person of year by George Washington alumni

Kim Jung-sookBy Kim Se-jeong Kim Jung-sook, 69, a former lawmaker and the president of International Council of Women (ICW), has been selected as person of the year by the George Washington University Alumni Association in Korea.The association chose Kim based on her contribution to building women’s capacities as decision-makers in Korea and her leadership at the ICW.The award ceremony and the association’s year-end party will take place at the Millennium Seoul Hilton on Monday.Kim was elected to lead the ICW in May this year. Apart from that, she is running the Korean Institute for Women and Politics, which she founded in 1989.She was a National Assembly member between 1996 and 2004, representing the ruling conservative party which is now the Saenuri Party.As a lawmaker, she led efforts to revise the law on equal employment between genders in 2000, as well as another law on punishing sex crime offenders and protecting victims of sex trafficking.She also spearheaded the effort for political parties to have the same number of male and female candidates for the Assembl

Dec 11, 2015By Kim Se-jeong

Ex-lawmaker named person of year by George Washington alumni

Paralegal finds daily happiness

Song Han-sooBy Choi Kyong-ae  For Song Han-soo, 2015 will be remembered as a memorable year, as he got married and now expects a baby, after passing an examination for his dream job two years ago.Song, 45, who studied law at Kookmin University, began to prepare for the exam in 2003 to work as a paralegal, offering advisory services to the general public.“We paralegals are a sort of legal staff available for our neighbors when they need advice and documentation work for legal disputes in their daily lives,” Song told The Korea Times in a recent interview. “For instance, we can help clients get back their deposit money for real estate rentals from landlords.”Paralegals do not defend their clients in court but rather compete with more than 20,000 lawyers in nearly all legal disputes, he said.The number of paralegals reached 6,509 as of Dec. 10, according to the Korean Association of Beommusa Lawyer. Paralegals are called beommusa lawyers here.   Song was attracted to the job when he worked for an insurance company in the early 2000s. Back then

Dec 10, 2015

Workshop for Mongolian scholars

Dankook University Vice President Kim Wook, third from left in the front row, poses with professors from 10 Mongolian educational institutions during the opening ceremony of a five-day workshop for Mongolian scholars of Korean studies at the school’s campus in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, Monday. Dankook invited the Mongolian professors to lectures on various subjects including Korean language education, folklore, shamanism and mythology. Dankook established the Mongolian Studies Department, Korea’sfirst, in 1993. It launched the Institute for Mongolian Studies in 2008. / Coutesy of Dankook University

Dec 9, 2015

Soldier awarded for capturing sex offender

Kim Ji-yoon, center, a second lieutenant in the Army’s 30th Mechanized Infantry Division, poses with officers at Dobong Police Station in Seoul on Dec. 3 after receiving an appreciation award for helping the police arrest an alleged sex offender in November. / Courtesy of the Army’s 30th Mechanized Infantry DivisionBy Yi Whan-wooKim Ji-yoon, a Republic of Korea Army second lieutenant, says the soldier’s creed to serve the nation’s citizens was on his mind when he helped the police apprehend an alleged sex offender last month.Kim, 24, said he never thought about walking away from the crime scene when he spotted a suspect, only identified as a man in his 30s, groping a drunken woman on a subway train in Seoul on the night of Nov. 23.“I had it drilled into me that my duty is protecting the country and its people when I was commissioned into the Army,” he told The Korea Times in a phone interview, Wednesday. “To me, leaving the scene would have been going against my duties.”Kim serves as troop information and education office

Dec 9, 2015By Yi Whan-woo

Soldier awarded for capturing sex offender

Kang honored as 'Woman in Film of the Year'

Kang Soo-youn, actress and co-executive director of the Busan International Film Festival, speaks during her acceptance speech for the Woman in Film of the Year award at the 16th Women in Film Korea Festival at Megabox Artnine Theater in Seoul, Monday.  / YonhapBy Baek Byung-yeulVeteran actress Kang Soo-youn was selected as The Woman in Film of the Year at the 16th Women in Film Korea Festival, Monday, for her distinguished service as co-executive director of the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF).“I feel happy as a woman these days and I think I have been doing well as an actress. I am deeply moved as the award recognizes women in the industry,” the 49-year-old said during her acceptance speech at Megabox Artnine Theater in Seoul.“Ever since I began acting in the 1970s, I have had to endure a lot of difficulties as an actress. I think women filmmakers and actresses have been taking an indispensable role in the industry,” she said, adding she would like to receive an acting award next year too.Before the awards ceremony, Kim Dong-ho, found

Dec 8, 2015

Kang honored as 'Woman in Film of the Year'

Paintings boost Korea-China cultural ties

Choi Chang-won, a Chinese studies professor at Chungwoon University, paints in a private exhibition in Beijing in January. / Courtesy of Choi Chang-wonBy Park Jin-haiChoi Chang-won, 57, professor of the Department of Chinese Studies, Chungwoon University is called in many names.He is the one and only ink wash painter specialized in sea shrimps, popular professor in both Korea and China and now a father of 19 adopted Chinese students.“Shrimps with the bent back are the symbol that shows the virtue of modesty. It is insignificant creatures in broad and blue water. But also, it means dynamics and abundance they leap actively and move in groups. Their long antennas symbolize good health and long life,” he said during the interview with The Korea Times. Choi started learning ink wash painting in 1075, from a protégé of a most celebrated Joseon Kingdom calligrapher Kim Jeong-hui. He has been painting shrimps over 25 years now.His pieces, with bright red shrimps and words of late poet Wang Ao’s poem on sea shrimps, have become his unique art of world, wh

Dec 7, 2015By Park Jin-hai

Paintings boost Korea-China cultural ties

Brother Anthony honored by Queen Elizabeth II

Brother Anthony, right, is presented with a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) by Charles Hay, the British ambassador to Korea, on Dec. 2. / Korea Times photo by John DunbarBy Robert NeffBrother Anthony of Taize lowered his head with the humility of a true religious man as he was presented with an MBE (Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) by Charles Hay, the British Ambassador to Korea, on Dec. 2.In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the relationship between the United Kingdom and Korea, the ceremony in Brother Anthony’s honor was held at Ambassador Hay’s residence in Jeong-dong, downtown Seoul, and was vaguely reminiscent of the past.  Built in the 1890s, the residence retains much of its original charm and the ambassador was attired in his diplomatic uniform.In attendance were several notable Korean poets, translators, a tea master and many members of the Royal Asiatic Society Korea Branch (RASKB).  In his short speech, Hay noted that it was “perhaps the largest grouping of experts on Korea&rd

Dec 7, 2015

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