Lifestyle - The Korea Times

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

Young lawyers launch online legal service

Founders of the online legal service “Help Me,” from left, Lee Sang-min, Park Hyo-yeon and Nam Ki-ryong. / Courtesy of “Help Me”By Lee Kyung-minYou can book a movie ticket, order food or call a taxi via online and mobile tools. So, what about legal services?That idea had led three lawyers ― Park Hyo-yeon, 33, Lee Sang-min, 35, and Nam Ki-ryong, 36 ― to launch a website for instant messaging to better and more easily provide legal help.Named “Help Me,” the service is available on KakaoTalk and its website, www.help-me.kr.The three started the service in response to the growing needs of people who seek immediate help with cases not high-profile enough to warrant the services of large law firms, Park said.“People usually do not know where to find lawyers, and the idea of hiring a lawyer itself is a lot of stress amid the lack of credible information about who are the good ones,” she said.“We hope to provide easier access to those who need legal help. We hope they will find out answers to any questions they may have regardin

Aug 21, 2015

Young lawyers launch online legal service

Hyungji chairman gets top CEO award

Choi Byung-ohHyungji Group ChairmanBy Lee Hyo-sikHyungji Group Chairman Choi Byung-oh was selected Thursday as the CEO of the Year for transforming his 30-year-old company into one of Korea’s fashion powerhouses.The Korea Academic Society of Business Administration, which represents hundreds of scholars majoring in the areas of business administration, chose Choi as the top CEO among the heads of mid-size enterprises.The organization said the Hyungji chairman set a good example for younger entrepreneurs in turning dreams into reality, It said Choi is a successful self-made entrepreneur creating what Hyungji is today from scratch over the past three decades.“It is such an honor to be named as the 2015 CEO of the Year of mid-sized enterprises by a group of business management professors,” Choi said. “This award further reminds me of my initial resolution, which is to create a sustainable corporation that makes contributions to society. I will spare no effort to continue to do so.”Choi has also been serving as the chairman of the Korean Apparel Industry Ass

Aug 20, 2015By Lee Hyo-sik

Korean-American woman donates artwork on 'comfort women'

Jonathan Sisson, left, a human rights activist, and Choi Im-ja, president of Penn Asian Senior Services, pose in front of a piece of art titled “Lines of Violation” at the Gyeongnam Art Museum in South Gyeongsang Province on Aug. 13./ Courtesy of Choi Im-jaBy Kim Hyo-jinA Korean-American woman has donated a piece of art depicting “comfort women” to South Gyeongsang Province on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule. “I’m really glad that it found its permanent home,” Choi Im-ja, the donor and president of Penn Asian Senior Services, an organization for Asian American seniors based in Philadelphia, said in a recent interview.“It means a lot for the piece to have a home here, considering South Gyeongsang Province is the region from where many women were taken to become victims of Japanese military sexual slavery.”The piece, titled “Lines of Violation,” depicts the hands of 53 sexual slavery victims in Korea, Vietnam and the Philippines and their fingerprints.The 157-b

Aug 19, 2015

Woozoostar breaks boundaries in music

Composer Woozoostar in her studio in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul/ Courtesy of WoozoostarBy Kwon Ji-younWoozoostar is not your average composer ― not only does she create the music, but she also writes the lyrics, arranges the score and sings the prerecording guide. She is a true utility player ― her work spans background music for films and advertisements to tracks on K-pop albums.Especially catchy is her most recent jingle, the “Hope Song,” which she wrote for the Industrial Bank of Korea’s (IBK) new commercial. The song may be less than a minute long, but writing a jingle is not as easy as many people think, she says.“Music for advertisements and films are conceptual,” Woozoostar said in an interview with The Korea Times, Monday. “It must fit the images like a custom-made suit, and we are not always provided with the images. So at times we’re working with just visual continuity, a comprehensive script or scenario.”Woozoostar did not start as a composer of popular music. In college, she majored in piano and classical music.

Aug 18, 2015

Smiling Carter

Former President Jimmy Carter reaches to embrace his brother Billy’s widow Sybil while greeting family following service at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Ga., Sunday. Sunday at church was emotional because it was the first time many members had seen Carter since his announcement that he has cancer./ AP-Yonhap

Aug 17, 2015

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