Lifestyle - The Korea Times

Handong Global University appoints POSTECH professor as president

Handong Global University has appointed Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) professor Park Sung-jin as its president, it said Friday. The decision was made during the college’s board meeting on Wednesday. After graduating from POSTECH with bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees in mechanical engineering, Park worked as a research professor at Penn State University and Mississippi State University in the United States. He returned to POSTECH, serving in various roles at his alma mater while acting as a bridge with businesses in his field, including POSCO. Park still teaches at POSTECH and contributes his expertise to the policy advisory committee of the North Gyeongsang Provincial Office. His four-year term as Handong Global University president begins Feb. 1, 2026.

Dec 19, 2025By Jhoo Dong-chan

Handong Global University appoints POSTECH professor as president

Theater pioneer Yoon Suk-hwa dies at 69

Yoon uk-hwa, a leading figure in Korea's first generation of modern theater actors, died Friday after battling a brain tumor. She was 69. The Korean Actors Association said Yoon died at 9:54 a.m. at Severance Hospital in Seoul, with family members and close acquaintances at her side. Reports of her death had circulated earlier in the day before her passing was officially confirmed several hours later. Yoon had been in treatment since October 2022, when she underwent surgery for a malignant brain tumor. Earlier that same year she had appeared as Ophelia in a production of "Hamlet." After publicly disclosing her illness, she made her final stage appearance in 2023 with a brief guest role in the play "Toccata" at LG Arts Center in Seoul. Gil Hae-yeon, chair of the Theater People Welfare Foundation of Korea, said Yoon was “a central pillar of Korea’s theater community and someone who recognized and put into practice the importance of artists’ welfare earlier than anyone else.” “Her dedication to laying the foundation for the foundation and to protecting the rights of theater artist

Dec 19, 2025By Pyo Kyung-min

Premature report of Yoon Suk-hwa’s death causes confusion

Yoido Full Gospel Church shares hope with needy neighbors

Yoido Full Gospel Church, together with its affiliated non-governmental organization Good People, offered a series of charitable events to support vulnerable communities and spread a message of hope as the year comes to an end, the church said Thursday. On Wednesday, senior pastor Lee Young-hoon visited Myeong-dong in central Seoul with church members to participate in the Salvation Army’s street fundraising campaign. During the event, the church members made a donation to help the organization's nationwide efforts for the underprivileged. Following the donation ceremony, the group moved to Donui-dong in Jongno District where many residents live in tiny one-room units. The church members delivered Hope Boxes filled with daily necessities to people facing a difficult winter. According to the church, a total of 800 Hope Boxes, valued at approximately 80 million won ($54,163), were distributed. The church has a long history of reaching out to people directly. Rather than making one-off donations, Yoido Full Gospel Church emphasizes visiting those in need to understand their hardships firs

Dec 18, 2025By Baek Byung-yeul

Yoido Full Gospel Church shares hope with needy neighbors

Cuban-born descendant of Korean independence fighter joins donation campaign

A Cuban-born fourth-generation descendant of a Korean independence fighter has joined a neighborhood giving campaign in Seoul, extending her family’s legacy of sacrifice into community service. According to the Seodaemun District Office on Wednesday, Elizabeth Sanchez Rivero, the great-great-granddaughter of Independence Merit honoree Lee Seung-jun and the owner of a Cuban restaurant, signed onto its “1 Percent Miracle of Sharing” campaign last week. Under the agreement, participants donate 1 percent of their profits to the local community. The project, launched in 2023, has grown to include 170 participating businesses. She moved from Cuba to Korea in 2016 and has since settled in Seodaemun, where she runs Desayuno, a restaurant that serves Cuban cuisine and European-style breakfast dishes on the second floor of the Sinchon Youth Food Store. Her great-great-grandfather is known for supporting the Korean independence movement from Latin America during Japan’s colonial era, including efforts to raise funds overseas. Joining the campaign was a way to carry on that legacy. “My rest

Dec 18, 2025By Jung Min-ho

Cuban-born descendant of Korean independence fighter joins donation campaign

Actor Song Kang buys luxury Seongsu apartment for $5.1 mil.

Actor Song Kang has joined Seoul’s elite property club after purchasing a high-end apartment in the trendy Seongsu-dong area, an investment that is drawing attention for both its timing and its star-studded neighborhood. According to the real estate industry and Supreme Court registry records on Wednesday, Song bought a single unit measuring 227 square meters at Seoul Forest Hillstate in Seongsu-dong, Seongdong District, for 6.7 billion won ($5.1 million). He completed the purchase in late June and finalized ownership registration last month. Registry documents show the maximum secured loan amount at about 4.6 billion won. Given that mortgages in Korea are typically set at 110 to 120 percent of the actual loan amount, Song is believed to have borrowed up to 4.2 billion won — roughly 60 percent of the property’s price. The purchase has also drawn attention because it was reportedly finalized on the same day the government announced its June 27 real estate measures, allowing Song to avoid tighter lending regulations that followed. Seoul Forest Hillstate, along with Trimage and Galler

Dec 17, 2025By Xportsnews

Actor Song Kang buys luxury Seongsu apartment for $5.1 mil.

Seongdong District to host Global Cultural Experience Festival

Seongdong District in eastern Seoul will host the 2025 Seongdong Global Cultural Experience Festival, an event aimed at fostering cultural and linguistic awareness among children, on Saturday. The event will run from 1-5 p.m. at the district office’s main auditorium on the third floor and is expected to draw about 400 children from the area. Now in its second year, the festival is organized around the theme of “expedition.” Participants will receive an Explorer Card for admission and an Explorer Map to guide them through the activities. Cultural experience booths run by English teachers from various countries will give children opportunities to explore cultures from around the world. The festival will also include craft activities in which participants can create Indian henna art using natural dye, build a Canadian beaver-themed block model and make Brazilian maracas (handheld percussion instruments). A traditional costume zone will feature opportunities for children to try on outfits from different countries. The event will also include a virtual reality program offering a world t

Dec 15, 2025By Park Ung

Seongdong District to host Global Cultural Experience Festival

InterviewTempered by crisis, Lee Wang-jun seeks to lead Int'l Hospital Federation into AI-driven future

Lee Wang-jun, the incoming president of the International Hospital Federation (IHF) and chairman of the Myongji Medical Foundation, says true leadership reveals itself only in moments of crisis. That belief has been shaped by more than three decades of overcoming major challenges in the Korean health care sector. The year after the 1997 Asian financial crisis, Lee acquired a bankrupt hospital in Incheon and built it into a 400-bed institution within a decade. In 2020, Myongji Hospital successfully treated the first Korean COVID-19 patient just five days after it opened the nation’s first emergency response center for the virus. Drawing on those crisis-tested credentials, Lee now seeks to guide the IHF’s push into artificial intelligence (AI) and digital health care. Founded in 1929, the IHF is a nonprofit association that connects about 30,000 hospitals worldwide, with more than 170 member organizations across over 70 countries. Elected in November as president-designate of the IHF, Lee is only the second leader from both Korea and Asia to helm the body, succeeding Kim Kwang-tae, the

Dec 12, 2025By Park Ung

Tempered by crisis, Lee Wang-jun seeks to lead Int'l Hospital Federation into AI-driven future

Korea Times, KAFSA sign MOU to expand global reach in higher education

The Korea Times, the nation’s oldest English-language daily, signed a memorandum of understanding, Thursday, with the Korean Association of Foreign Student Administrators (KAFSA) to help bolster the global competitiveness of Korean universities. Under the agreement, the two organizations plan to expand collaborative programs aimed at strengthening universities’ global outreach through a range of joint initiatives while promoting mutual development. Founded in 1999, KAFSA supports its member universities as they seek to deepen their global engagement. As of this year, the association counts about 200 universities among its members nationwide. The association brings together leaders and staff involved in international education across Korea’s higher education institutions, facilitating information exchange and cooperation. It is now widely regarded as a key body representing Korean universities in global academic exchanges. It also works with overseas counterparts — including NAFSA in the United States, EAIE in Europe, JAFSA in Japan and CAFSA in China — serving as Korea’s repr

Dec 11, 2025By Jung Da-hyun

Korea Times, KAFSA sign MOU to expand global reach in higher education

Korea Times reporter wins Gender Equality Media Award's Grand Prize

The Korea Times reporter Jung Da-hyun won the Grand Prize in the reporting category at the 27th Gender Equality Media Award on Tuesday for her investigative series, “Deepfake crisis at schools,” produced in collaboration with the Excellence Lab team at sister publication Hankook Ilbo. Established in 1999, the honor is presented by the Korean Institute for Gender Equality Promotion and Education (KIGEPE) to strengthen the media’s role in promoting gender equality and to recognize outstanding broadcast programs and news reporting. The award-winning series, recognized with the Prime Minister’s Award, examines the alarming prevalence and impact of deepfake crimes among teenagers. The institute said the work effectively highlighted the growing severity of deepfake sexual offenses involving younger age groups by presenting concrete cases, and persuasively outlined the urgent challenges facing society through a multidimensional analysis. “The continued rise of deepfake crimes demands sustained public attention, especially as both victims and perpetrators are increasingly adolescents,

Dec 11, 2025By Park Ung

Korea Times reporter wins Gender Equality Media Award's Grand Prize

The Korea Times, PIKO to collaborate to support Filipino students nationwide

Ambassador-designate of the Republic of the Philippines Bernadette Therese C. Fernandez, front row center, poses with Jang Hwi-seong, manager at The Korea Times, front row third from right, Aya Dela Cruz, president of Pinoy Iskolars sa Korea (PIKO), front row third from left, and other embassy officials and members of PIKO during a ceremony marking the start of collaboration between The Korea Times and PIKO at the Embassy of the Philippines in Seoul, Sunday. Courtesy of the Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines.

Dec 10, 2025By Jang Hwi-seong

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