Lifestyle - The Korea Times

Leading Marxist economist dies at 73

Kim Soo-haengBy Park Si-sooKorea’s leading Marxist economist Kim Soo-haeng, who translated the legendary economic book “Capital: Critique of Political Economy” into Korean in 1990, died of a heart attack in the United States, Saturday, his associates said Monday. He was 73.“He left for the U.S. on July 28 to see his two sons who lived there and died of heart attack on Saturday,” said the Korean Association for Political Economy in a statement. The late scholar served as the association’s chairman. “He was healthy. So his death was unexpected.”A memorial service took place, Monday, in Moab, Utah State, according to the statement.Kim is widely known to have played an important role in promoting Marxism in Korea. In the 1980s when the government cracked down on left-leaning economists, Kim and his peers committed themselves to promoting Marxism to ensure academic diversity and above all, to keep the government’s growth-oriented economic policy in check.His academic peer Chung Woon-young, a Kyunggi University professor who died in 200

Aug 3, 2015

Ran Hwang seeks meditation through button artworks

“Another Myself,” an installation using buttons, pins, beads and threads on wooden panels, created by Ran Hwang / Courtesy of Ran HwangRan HwangBy Chung Ah-youngWhen Ran Hwang worked at an embroidery company in New York in the early 2000s, she found some abandoned buttons covered with dust in the corner. She thought these lifeless, worthlessly abandoned objects were just like her because she was struggling to find her identity while working for a living as an artist at the time. To enliven these objects, she picked up the buttons, pins and thread and began making a figure of a Buddha, a temple, a bird and other designs. “When we lose a tiny button, we realize that for the first time how precious it is. I think the existence of an individual human has a similar meaning as a button,” she said. “Furthermore, buttons are tied with pins.  It is similar to the limited freedom of humans in society.” New York-based artist Hwang is renowned for her unique art installations using buttons and pins which evoke feminine and meditative features. After movin

Jul 31, 2015

Ran Hwang seeks meditation through button artworks

Super Junior entertainer to serve military

Singer and actor Choi Si-won will say goodbye to his legion of fans when he begins military service later this year.Choi, from idol boy band Super Junior, will serve in the military for about two years.The star, 28, will join after finishing his new TV series ― tentatively titled “She was Pretty” ― that will air on MBC in September. The exact date when his period of duty begins has not yet been set, according to media reports on Thursday.Choi will be the seventh member of the 12-member band to serve in the military.He also has a successful acting career, appearing in more than 10 TV series and seven movies since his debut with the band in 2005. He recently shot the Hong Kong action movie “Helios.”

Jul 30, 2015

Mobile text application gains traction

Aurumplanet CEO Kim Jinu speaks during an interview at a cafe near Sinchon Station in Seoul, Saturday. The company’s mobile text highlighting application Liner has more than 9,000 monthly active users across the world. / Korea Times photo by Lee Min-hyungBy Lee Min-hyung Aurumplanet CEO Kim Jinu says the company’s web highlighting application Liner aims to become a text version of the visual scrapbook service Pinterest.“Liner users across the world have highlighted more than 130,000 sentences since we launched the application in February this year,” Kim, 24, said in an interview last week in Seoul. “There are 9,000 monthly active users across the globe,” he said.Kim plans to advance into the U.S. market to expand its business. He added that its performance in the United States will decide if Liner is successful or not.“Earlier this year, the Liner beta service ranked second as soon as we released it on Product Hunt, a famous online community among Silicon Valley startups,” he said. “It has since earned a great respo

Jul 30, 2015

3 Korean professors listed in Marquis Who's Who

Kim Jung-supKim Hyo-joongKim Soo-youngBy Chung Hyun-chae Three Korean professors will be listed in an international biography directory, Marquis Who’s Who in the World.Kyung Hee University said one of its Korean language professors, Kim Jung-sup, will be included in the 2016 edition of Marquis Who’s Who.Kim has been recognized for his achievements in Korean language education. He has also made efforts to spread Korean to the rest of the world.He was director of the university’s Institute of International Education and also served as chairman of the International Association for Korean Language Education.Kim Hyo-joong, 40, is a biology professor at Kunsan National University, and will also appear in Marquis Who’s Who.He has been recognized for his work on the evolutionary history of insects, especially fireflies. He is currently working on how exotic insects including spotted lanternflies came to the country. A number of his research papers were published in different international journals.Kim Soo-young, professor of the hotel and tourism management depar

Jul 29, 2015

3 Korean professors listed in Marquis Who's Who

Chun promotes visions for new party

Chun Jung-baeBy Do Je-haeRep. Chun Jung-bae is promoting a vision for a new party with nationwide lectures that started this week.The independent lawmaker has been at the center of speculation of the formation of a new party since his by-election win in Gwangju, a stronghold of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD). Chun, formerly an NPAD lawmaker who had ties with late President Kim Dae-jung, has been talking openly about the resurgence of the “DJ spirit.”He is reportedly gathering experts from various sectors to work with him to create a new party.Chun envisions a party that can take power in the 2017 presidential election. “I am talking with people from all over the country,” he said during a radio interview Wednesday.” “More details will be announced sometime in August.“There are many people who are calling for a new reform party with nationwide support, not just from the Honam region. The NPAD has already lost its ability to take power.”The lecture series is viewed as an attempt to raise his profile outside Honam. He start

Jul 29, 2015By Do Je-hae

Actor Lee Min-ho promotes Korean tourism in video

Lee Min-hoBy Ko Dong-hwan Actor Lee Min-ho features in a new government produced video promoting tourism in Korea that will be broadcast around the world.The hallyu star managed by Starhaus Entertainment appears in the ad produced by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The commercial’s catchphrase is, “Korea, let your story begin.”Lee, 28, finished shooting the ad in mid-July. The ad will be aired on major TV networks in other countries, including the American TV news channel CNN and Chinese state-run CCTV, starting in August.    The ad features Lee introducing some of the nation’s most popular tourist destinations, including the Cheonggyecheon stream, and a traditional hanok (Korean house) town in central Seoul.The ad aims to increase the number of foreign tourists whose numbers dropped after the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) epidemic in May and June. The government declared  an end to the outbreak Tuesday morning.“It was meaningful to participate in the ad and promote the nation to the world,” the compa

Jul 28, 2015

Actor Lee Min-ho promotes Korean tourism in video

Former sports champions mentor youth for charity

Former table tennis players Hong Cha-ok, left, champion of the Barcelona Olympics women’s doubles, and Yoo Nam-kyu, who won the gold in the Seoul Olympics men’s singles, at Olympic Park in southern Seoul during a photo session for the Korean Association of National Team Members’ “sports classes” program. / Courtesy of Emerson K PartnersBy Nam Hyun-wooFormer athletes who represented Korea in international competitions are helping underprivileged young people learn sports.Members of the Korean Association of National Team Members (KANTM) on Monday joined a charity program dubbed “sports classes for juveniles” as part of their efforts to contribute to society by mentoring young students.The classes were organized for several selected students in Seoul, Gyeonggi and Gangwon Provinces and will run for five weeks.“The KANTM and national athletes opened the classes to provide opportunities for juveniles to nurture a sound mind and body,” said KANTM President Chang Yoon-chang.Chang, who is a former national volleyball team

Jul 28, 2015By Nam Hyun-woo

Former sports champions mentor youth for charity

Former US ambassador to teach at HUFS

Kathleen D. StephensBy Lee Kyung-min  Former U.S. Ambassador to Korea Kathleen D. Stephens, 62, has been named a chair professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS) in the language and diplomacy department, the university said Monday.She will begin teaching undergraduates in this year’s second semester starting Sept. 1.“We believe Stephens’ hands-on experience and knowhow will profoundly benefit students in the department, who aspire to become diplomacy experts,” said HUFS President Kim In-chul.  HUFS founded the division, which combines language and diplomacy, last year to provide education to aspiring diplomats who want to work at various international organizations.  Born in El Paso, Texas, Stephens first came to Korea in 1975 when she was a Peace Corps volunteer and taught English in Yesan Middle School in Buyeo, South Chungcheong Province.  After serving as the U.S. ambassador to Korea from 2008 to 2011, she joined Stanford University in California as Koret Fellow at the Shorenstein Center for Asia-Pacific Research from 2013

Jul 28, 2015By Lee Kyung-min

Korean football coach presents 'sports diplomacy' in Africa

Lim Heung-saeBy Jhoo Dong-chanKorean football coach Lim Heung-sae, 59, has run a “hope project” through sports for youth in South Sudan by teaching football to children there.Lim, who taught some legendary Korean footballers, including Hong Myung-bo, first came to Africa in 2006 for his missionary service to help needy children in South Africa.Lim taught football to children in a country where many young people had long suffered from hunger and AIDS.He also made teaching materials and DVDs about football, distributing them not only in South Africa but in 54 other countries on the continent.The South African government recognized his dedication and service, granting permission to build a football school there when the South Africa World Cup took place in 2010.Lim then decided to go to South Sudan to help more deprived children.For his project there, Lim held a fundraising event in Korea to buy footballs for South Sudanese children. Hong and former national team footballer Kim Joo-sung also joined the event and sent a total of 13,000 footballs to the country.Recognizing Lim

Jul 24, 2015

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