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Conductor for national chorus appointed

Koo ChunThe Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Thursday that Koo Chun, artistic director and permanent conductor of the Ulsan Metropolitan Chorus, was appointed artistic director of the National Chorus of Korea. He will serve a three-year term. Koo studied vocal music at Chongshin University and has since served as conductor of the Gwangju Metropolitan Chorus and Jeonju Metropolitan Chorus, as well as president of the Korean Federation for Choral Music. He studied conducting at Westminster Choir College in the United States. In 2009, he received the Seoul Music Award and the Daewon Music Award.

Apr 4, 2014
Conductor for national chorus appointed

Artist Oh hosts charity exhibition

Artist Oh Sea-young, right, poses with Starkey Korea CEO Shim Sang-don in front of his work at the Gallery Chosun, Wednesday./ Courtesy of Starkey KoreaBy Lee Kyung-minArtist Oh Sea-young is having an exhibition in commemoration of his 55-year painting, printmaking and brush-works career. The exhibition, “Signs of Mentality,” is taking place at the Chosun Ilbo art gallery (April 2-7), and Misul Segye in Insa-dong (April 9-15), Seoul.The event also celebrates the 30th anniversary of the Misul Segye monthly art magazine. Born in 1939 in Seoul, Oh was a fine art major at Seoul NationalUniversity, and later went on to Hongik University graduate school.He went to Pratt Institute in New York in 1981, and later studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia in the U.S. A painting named “Signs of Mentality” by Oh Sea-young. / Courtesy of Oh Sea-youngThe awards he has won include first prize at the 1985 Media Art Exhibition in Pennsylvania, the gold&nbsp

Apr 3, 2014
Artist Oh hosts charity exhibition

How to win customers' hearts

Kang Soon-iBy Kim Tae-jongKang Soon-i built her career as a sales agent at Kyobo Life Insurance over the past 30 years. Since joining the insurance firm in 1983, she has sold more than 17 billion won in life insurance to more than 2,000 customers.The sales veteran, 59, recently received an award from her firm for her dedication to her customers. This was the eighth award she received from the firm in her career.She attributes her successful career to her close relationships with her customers, which have lasted from generation to generation.“The secret is, I treat my customers like they’re my family,” she said. “You always have to come to your customers if they need you as a financial advisor.”When her customers are in trouble, she also uses her social network to help them out. Along with providing financial advice, she tries to help them find new jobs after retirement and even help their children find soul mates. She has helped 12 couples tie the knot over the past three decades.As she takes care of about 2,000 customers, half of whom are VIP clients, s

Apr 3, 2014
How to win customers' hearts

Former defense attache receives Legion of Merit

Maj. Gen. Lee Seo-young, left, former defense attache of the Republicof Korea Embassy in the United States, poses with Sung Kim, U.S. ambassador to Korea, after receiving a Legion of Merit at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, Wednesday. / YonhapMaj. Gen. Lee Seo-young, former defense attache at the Korea Embassy in Washington, was conferred with the Legion of Merit by the U.S. government, the Ministry of Defense said Wednesday. U.S. Ambassador to Korea Sung Kim presented Lee with the medal. The Legion of Merit is a military award of the U.S. Armed Forces that is given to military and political figures of foreign governments in recognition of meritorious conduct in the performance of their services. Lee was recognized for having strengthened Korea-U.S. ties and security cooperation while he was defense attache. “Lee has solidified the U.S.-Korean alliance by contributing to resolving security issues,” Ambassador Kim said. Lee was dispatched to Baghdad while he was a colonel and was chief of the coordination team while serving in the multi-national forces-Iraq (MNF-I). For th

Apr 3, 2014
Former defense attache receives Legion of Merit

Actress Park Jin-hee to marry next month

Park Jin-heActress Park Jin-hee will be tying the knot in May. According to Park’s agency, Costar Entertainment, Park has yet to decide on the exact date and place, but she will be wed to a lawyer five years her junior sometime in May. Park and her fiance met while she was shooting MBC drama “Hur Jun, the Original Story,” and have dated for about 10 months. He is also an active environmentalist. Park is best known for her leading roles in the 2006 TV series “Please Come Back, Soon-ae,” 2010 SBS drama “Giant” and the 2007 film “Shadows in the Palace.”She made her debut in a teen drama titled “Start” in 1996 and made a name for herself in the 1998 horror film “Whispering Corridors.”

Apr 3, 2014
Actress Park Jin-hee to marry next month

Hyo-yeon hit by rumors over police questioning

SM contemplates legal action against bloggerHyo-yeonHyo-yeon, a member of girl group Girls’ Generation, is the subject of rumors related to police questioning her about an alleged assault case. The Yongsan Police Station said Tuesday that Hyo-yeon, 25, was called in for questioning when a man filed a report claiming that she had hit him in the eye when a practical joke went amiss. According to the police, Hyo-yeon had feigned the act of jumping off a second-floor balcony and the man sustained the injury while trying to stop her. SM Entertainment said in a statement that the two had been messing around with each other when the incident occurred, and that the report was just the result of a practical joke gone too far. But a blog post, which claimed that Hyo-yeon had attempted suicide because she had been bullied, went viral soon after. The posting had been uploaded on March 31, a day before police made public the incident. Other rumors include claims that the man is 35. But those reports have not yet been confirmed. According to the blogger, a police officer was the source of th

Apr 3, 2014
Hyo-yeon hit by rumors over police questioning

Peace in Asia

Nam Boo-won, left, head of the National Council of the Young Men’sChristian Association (YMCA) of Korea, rings a bell with Tu Hanqiao, center,general secretary of the National Council of YMCAs of China and Shigeru Shimada, general secretary of the National Council of YMCAs of Japan, after praying together for peace in Northeast Asia at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, Wednesday. The three YMCA leaders gathered to celebratethe 100th anniversary of the National Council of the YMCAs of Korea, which vowed to eliminate poverty and discrimination against the underprivileged. / Yonhap

Apr 2, 2014

Man hunts buildings to install solar panels

Park Gyu-seop, secretary general of Seoul Citizen’s Solar Power CoopBy Kim Se-jeongBusiness and renewable energy were in Park Gyu-seop’s mind for awhile.In 2011, he joined a group of people to found the Seoul Citizen’s Solar Power Coop (SCSPC) where he works as secretary general. The SCSPC was officially formed in February of last year.A business model for the SCSPC is simple: generating solar energy in Seoul and selling it.A new energy supply regulation requires Korea Electric Power Corp., the sole distributor of electricity, to include renewable sources into their supply mix, and to pay more than the market price to a third-party supplier.His team mainly builds solar power-generating units on the rooftops of buildings. Each installation has its own investors, mostly individuals, and profits will be shared among them.“We don’t aim at becoming a big company. We want an equal representation of members in the decision-making and an equal share of profits,” Park said during a recent interview.It’s not just about money.“This

Apr 2, 2014By Kim Se-jeong
Man hunts buildings to install solar panels

Korea Times to promote homegrown English test

Lee Byung-hyun, right, president of the National Institute for International Education (NIIED), poses with Korea Times President-Publisher Park Moo-jong after signing an agreement on the promotion of the National English Ability Test (NEAT) at Park’s office in Seoul, Wednesday. / Korea TimesBy Kwon Ji-younThe National Institute for International Education (NIIED) and The Korea Times have agreed to promote a homegrown English test in a move to reduce the nation’s heavy reliance on the TOEFL and TOEIC. Lee Byung-hyun, president of the NIIED, and Korea Times President-Publisher Park Moo-jong signed the agreement on the promotion of the National English Ability Test (NEAT), Wednesday.Under the deal, The Korea Times will allow the NIIED to use its articles in test questions. It plans to provide articles written by its reporters, columnists and contributors to the institute.The institute provides conversion sheets so that the scores can be compared to the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) scores and Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) s

Apr 2, 2014
Korea Times to promote homegrown English test

Memorial hall to be built for late priest

The late John Lee Tae-seokA memorial hall will be built in memory of the late Catholic priest John Lee Tae-seok in Seo-gu, Busan. The hall, along with other facilities including a memorial park, will surround the Songdo Catholic Church, where Father Lee spent his childhood.The hall will be located close to Father Lee’s birthplace, which is currently being restored. Other projects for the area include painting murals on the walls of buildings surrounding the church and a commemorative street that celebrates the movie “Don’t Cry for Me Sudan.” Father Lee is known for having provided medical care in Sudan from 2001 to 2010. “Don’t Cry for Me Sudan” features his time with the poverty-stricken villagers of Southern Sudan. He died of cancer in January 2011 while caring for the poor in Africa.

Apr 2, 2014
Memorial hall to be built for late priest
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