Lifestyle - The Korea Times

Actress Jun Ji-hyun becomes pregnant

Jun Ji-hyunBy Ko Dong-hwanTop hallyu actress Jun Ji-hyun, 35, of the television drama “My Love from the Star” ispregnant, reports said Wednesday.The star is currently promoting her new film “Assassination” and is 10 weeks into her pregnancy.It is her first pregnancy since she married Choi Joon-hyuk, an employee at the Bank of America’s Seoul branch, three years ago. Her due date is early next year. She is well-known for her role in the popular television drama “My Love.”Her hit films include “My Sassy Girl” (2008) and “The Thieves” (2012).

Jul 23, 2015

Korn Ferry appoints new Korea office chief

Chae Eun-jooBy Park Yoon-baeKorn Ferry, a global leader in recruitment for executive leadership and talent, has appointed Chae Eun-joo as managing director of its Korea office, the company said Thursday.As the first Korean to become a senior client partner in the firm’s Seoul office in 2004, Chae has been serving as a senior level executive tasked with searching for suitable candidates and is a trusted advisor to her clients.Since 2014, she has been based in Singapore, the firm’s regional headquarters, serving as a core member of the Asia Pacific Consumer Team and an account leader for Asia Pacific regional clients based in the Southeast Asian nation.Over the last two decades, Chae has advised her clients on identifying and evaluating best country leaders for Korea.She has also placed numerous executives in finance, sales and marketing, human resources, as well as corporate positions in the consumer and healthcare sectors.  Her client list includes Fortune 500 companies as well as Korean leading conglomerates and start-up operations.Chae earned her MBA from Kellogg-H

Jul 23, 2015

Korn Ferry appoints new Korea office chief

Nike Korea has new CEO

Song Wook-hwanBy Lee Hyo-sik Nike Korea has appointed Song Wook-hwan, who has worked at the world’s largest sportswear maker for more than 17 years, as CEO.He is the first Korean national to head Nike’s Korean unit since 1994 when former CEO Ha Yoon-do retired. Over the past 11 years, non-Koreans were in charge of the firm’s operations in Korea.Song began his career at Nike Korea in 1994 and served in sales, strategy planning, logistics and management. He also worked in China and other Asian countries for several years.He then went to Harvard Business School in 1999 and earned an MBA two years later. Song then started working as an associate at global consulting firm McKinsey & Company for two years, before returning to Nike in 2003.Before being appointed to Nike Korea CEO, he headed the firm’s operations in Northern China for three years. Song was credited with Nike’s soaring sales in the region, which reached $4 billion in 2014. He also played a big role in improving Nike’s brand image among Chinese consumers.“I am honored and also

Jul 23, 2015

Actor Kim woo-bin in love with Shin Min-ah: agency

Kim Woo-binShin Min-ahBy Ko Dong-hwan Actor Kim Woo-bin has been dating actress Shin Min-ah for the last two months, Kim’s entertainment management agency confirmed Wednesday.The confirmation came after a local media reported that the couple had been secretly dating.The couple were spotted by the media outlet recently. Photos showed Kim, 26, driving to pick up Shin, 31, at her home and they later went to Hannam-dong, Seoul.The couple shot an ad together in February and started dating in May, an insider close to them revealed.Meeting two to three times a week, they have been cautious about disclosing their relationship to the public, the report said. Shin is set to appear in the upcoming TV series “Oh My God.” Kim is currently taking a break from acting.

Jul 23, 2015

Actor Kim woo-bin in love with Shin Min-ah: agency

Design guru calls for innovative thinking

Inno Design President Kim Young-se speaks during a forum organized by the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province, Thursday. / Courtesy of FKIBy Kim Yoo-chulKim Young-se, the first Korean to set up a design house in Silicon Valley in 1986, is a seasoned industrial designer who has produced a number of innovative products.Kim, the founder of Inno Design, has designed products for Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics. Back in 2005, then Microsoft CEO Bill Gates directly mentioned Kim’s Iriver-branded MP3 player during his speech at a major CES tech fair and praised the device as a leading design product in the digital era.Kim emphasized the importance of “innovative thinking” to design new products and have success in business and life. He put forward a new concept of “purple people,” who are creative and innovative. “If you want success, then you should have entrepreneurship. You should drop what was respected three decades ago. Try to become ‘purple people,’” Kim said in a press conference on

Jul 23, 2015By Kim Yoo-chul

Design guru calls for innovative thinking

New book highlights Park's shortcomings

Rep. Park Young-sunThe book cover of “Who are the Leaders?”By Do Je-haeRep. Park Young-sun of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) interviewed many political stalwarts during her 20-year career as a broadcast journalist with MBC which started in 1982.She collected lessons in leadership from those encounters, which she has written about in her new book “Who Are the Leaders?” released in bookstores last week.The former floor leader of the main opposition party recounts her meetings with former and incumbent presidents and several presidential hopefuls.The most intriguing segment is on her conversations with the incumbent President Park Geun-hye.President Park’s dark personal journey, marked by the assassinations of her parents in the 1970s and ensuing years of seclusion, has often been cited as the source of her inability to connect with the public.“I sincerely hope for the success of the nation’s first female President,” Rep. Park wrote in the book. “But I fear that the current president does not fully understand what the

Jul 22, 2015By Do Je-hae

Curator advocates Dokdo sovereignty

 Kim Kyoung-do By Choi Kyong-ae Two years ago, Kim Kyoung-do decided to go to Ulleungdo, an island off the east coast of Korea, to work as curator for the Dokdo Museum in the local county office.“Back in June 2013, my contract to work as a curator for the National Folk Museum of Korea located in the Gyeongbokgung palace was terminated. In the same month, I spotted the job offer in Ulleungdo,” the 32-year-old curator told The Korea Times.When he studied anthropology at the Graduate School of Yeungnam University, he came to have an interest in preserving regional assets of Ulleungdo and Dokdo and protecting the territorial rights of the latter which is called Takeshima in Japan.Tension between Japan and Korea over Dokdo has been escalating since 2012 when then-President Lee Myung-bak visited the islets.Out of 10 Dokdo-related exhibitions in the past two years, Kim picked the one he planned for Koreans and local people in Seattle from Nov. 3-30 last year.“We brought an old map and documents which showed that Dokdo belongs to Korea as well as pictures of

Jul 20, 2015

Indian to serve as green investment advisor

Mahua AcharyaBy Kim Se-jeong Mahua Acharya, the manager of a carbon finance company in India, has been appointed head of the knowledge solutions division at the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI).Acharya will start work at the organization’s Seoul office from Sept. 1.The GGGI’s knowledge solution division develops green investment projects.Her main responsibility will be to develop Green Investment Advisory Services, which will help member countries develop and seek green investment projects.“GGGI’s new strategic plan stresses developing innovative green investment projects and proposals for developing countries, which I think is a priority from my years of working in green finance,” she said. “I am therefore extremely excited to join the GGGI and share my experience.”Born in India, Acharya is the managing director at C-Quest Capital, an India-based carbon finance company. Her job is to attract socially responsible investors for community development projects in developing countries using carbon credits.She also has worked for the Worl

Jul 17, 2015

Indian to serve as green investment advisor

싸이, 중국서 교통사고…"부상자 없어"

가수 싸이(본명 박재상·38)가 중국에서 교통사고를 당했다.소속사 YG엔터테인먼트 관계자는 16일 연합뉴스와 통화에서 "행사 차 항저우(杭州)를 방문한 싸이가 오늘 오후 3시께(현지시간) 교통사고를 당했다"며 "싸이가 탄 차량이 우측으로 방향을 틀면서 버스와 부딪혔다"고 밝혔다.관계자는 이어 "차량에는 싸이와 매니저, 중국팀 직원 1명이 타고 있었다"며 "부상자는 없으며 싸이는 앞에 가던 경호 차량을 갈아타고 이동했다"고 덧붙였다.싸이는 이날 밤 항저우에서 열리는 파티 형식의 행사에 참석한 뒤 17일 베이징으로 이동한다. (연합뉴스)

Jul 17, 2015

Ex-journalist writes Oriental tarot book

Huh Yong-jungThe book cover of “Taiji Tarot — the life compass”By Park Jin-hai Huh Yong-jung, 61, a former journalist and writer, says he was always curious why some people who live honest lives face great hardships, while others just seem to have it all.“I started reading books about destiny such as saju, or the four pillars of destiny,” said Huh, who recently published a book titled “Taiji Tarot _ the Life Compass.”“People consider saju as one way of fortunetelling, reading the birth date and time of people. While I studied it over 20 years, I found that it all originated from the Oriental classics for divination, ‘Zhouyi’, or the ‘Book of Changes.’”His book is the Oriental version of tarot card reading, using the Zhouyi.The tarot card included in the book has Zhouyi’s hexagram design, called Gua, a figure composed of six stacked horizontal lines, and a Taiji symbol.Huh, a long-time journalist writing stories about Korean traditional culture for the Farmers Newspaper, said he has been naturally

Jul 16, 2015By Park Jin-hai

People & Events

People & Events

Actress Jun Ji-hyun becomes pregnant

Korn Ferry appoints new Korea office chief

Nike Korea has new CEO

Actor Kim woo-bin in love with Shin Min-ah: agency

Design guru calls for innovative thinking

New book highlights Park's shortcomings

Curator advocates Dokdo sovereignty

Indian to serve as green investment advisor

싸이, 중국서 교통사고…"부상자 없어"

Ex-journalist writes Oriental tarot book

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