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CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

Lawyer starts 'book reading movement"

By Alexander Ahn Although Korea, like most highly developed countries, has a literacy rate of 99 percent, its reading rate is the lowest among OECD countries. According to a Statistics Korea survey, four out of 10 Koreans never even pick up a book in a year. To try and remedy the situation, lawyer Lee Suk-yeon launched the Book Reading Social Movement at the National Library of Korea in Seocho, southern Seoul, Thursday. Lee, 58, is a representative lawyer at the Seoul Law Firm and advisor to the Korean Association of Certified Public Tax Accountants (KACPTA). “Korea’s reading rate is the lowest in the OECD. Therefore, I want to foster a culture centered on reading through this practical social campaign” he said. Special guests at the launch included National Association of Reading Culture Chairman Kim Ul-ho, Hanmi Global Chairman Kim Jong-hoon, novelist Kim Hong-shin, actor Ahn Sung-ki, Olympic national football team head coach Hong Myung-bo and five other co-representatives of the movement. The campaign’s six co-representatives brought with them three books ea

May 25, 2012

Juniel's debut single 'Stupid' ranks second in Korea

By Rachel Lee New female artist Juniel has made a promising start with the recent release as duet “Stupid,” is ranked second on various music charts, FNC Entertainment said Tuesday. The up-and-coming singer released the single Tuesday, along with a music video, performing with Jung Yong-hwa from Korean rock band CNBLUE, who wrote and composed the song. “Stupid,” second on the Mnet singles chart, has received positive reviews for its acoustic guitar melody well accompanied by Jung’s smooth vocals and Juniel’s clear voice. The video features the two singers composing and strumming guitars together on a road trip. In 2010, the 19-year-old singer won “Niji-Iro Supersnova,” the Japanese version of Korean audition program “Super Star K.” She then started her career in Japan in 2011, releasing an EP called “Ready Go,” demonstrating her talent as a singer-songwriter. The solo artist is with the same agency as CNBLUE. Starting Tuesday, netizens have been invited to leave encouraging messages on her official website. Forty of them will be randomly picked and invited

May 25, 2012

Desire for English leads to world position

By Kim Susan Se-jeong Park Bok-jin, 60, was elected the Asia representative of the International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU) on May 8, defeating his strong Japanese rival Souhei Kobayashi, who served in the post for about 10 years. Park is one of four regional representatives of the IAU, created in 1984 to promote ultrarunning, generally 100 kilometers on its standard, more than double the regular marathon length of 42.195 kilometers. As a so-called grand-slam ultrarunner, he ran the 308-kilometer Ganghwa-Gangneung course in 2005, the 622-kilometer Haenam-Goseong course in 2007 and the 537-kilometer course between Busan and the border pavilion of Imjingak in 2008. Despite his successes, Park admits he never wanted the prestige. “Doing what I enjoy has led me here,” said the marathoner. And his first big dream, which eventually led to his international position, was to learn English. Born into a poor family, living under the only thatched roof in his entire elementary school class, Park was unable to pursue his love for English freely. He studied alone

May 25, 2012

Korean wins battle against ex-Japanese employer

By Chung Hee-hyun “I cannot close my eyes until I have peace in my soul,” muttered Yea Woon-taek who worked at a Japanese steel company as a forced laborer during World War II. Yea has just heard remarkable news. The South Korean Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that Japanese companies for which Yea Won-taek and seven other plaintiffs had worked were liable to pay them damages. It was the first time a South Korean or Japanese court acknowledged that Japanese companies which hired Korean workers in the Pacific War should compensate them for unpaid wages and “mental and physical sufferings.” It was a stunning victory in a lawsuit which even legal experts predicted that the defendants had at best only a slim chance of winning. So slim, in fact, that an NGO member working on behalf of the plaintiffs advised them not to be present at court for sentencing because they would most likely to hear a judgment against them. For Yea, however, no amount of money could compensate for all the ordeals he had gone through while he worked at a Japanese steel company for three years.

May 25, 2012

Pernod Ricard CEO wins CICI award

By Kim Se-jeong CEO of Pernod Pricardo Korea Jean-Manuel Spriet won a grand prize of the “Korea CQ” award Tuesday, given by the Corea Image Communication Institute (CICI). Choi Jung-wha, president of CICI, said Spriet’s abilities to communicate, cooperate, concentrate, communicate and to mingle in different cultures shown throughout the institute’s getting-to-know-Korea session has gotten him the recognition. CQ refers to five quotients — culture, communication, cooperation, concentration and communication — which Choi sees are crucial in achieving success in what he or she is doing, and are commonly found among leaders. To meet the needs of achieving members of the CICI, Choi and her staff offer lectures and activities that are customized to their interest and curiosities, she said. Scott Wightman, the British ambassador to Korea who participated in the CICI’s session, said it has given him “a wonderful opportunity to meet Korean people, to get experience in living in Korea and to learn about different aspects about Korea.” He was also awarded for his

May 23, 2012By Kim Se-jeong

Hwang wins gold medal at UK flower show

By Kim Ji-soo Hwang Ji-hae, 35, a Korean environmental artist, won the gold medal at the 2012 Chelsea Flower Show with her work “Quiet Time: DMZ Forbidden Garden.” It’s a repeat performance for Hwang at one of the world’s most prestigious horticultural events. She also won last year with her recreation of a traditional Korean bathroom into a garden, called “Hae-woo-so” or “Emptying One’s Mind.” The event is hosted by the London-based Royal Horticultural Society every May. The artist told The Korea Times before the show that she chose the Demilitarized Zone for her inspiration because its existence reminds of the history of Korea that remains divided following the 1950-1953 Korean War. The buffer cuts the Korean Peninsula roughly in half and remains one of the most heavily militarized borders in the world. Because of its isolation, the DMZ fosters a number of organisms unique to the area. The work featured three main aspects; a memorial chair, a guard post, and a wire fence. Together these factors created a garden that served as a memorial. “I thank God for this medal

May 23, 2012By Kim Ji-soo

High school student wins gold at Philosophy Olympiad

By By Alexander Ahn A third-year student at the Hankuk Academy of Foreign Studies, Yoon Hye-mi, won the gold medal at the 2012 International Philosophy Olympiad (IPO) that took place in Oslo, Norway, from May 16 to 20. The 18-year-old high school student won Korea its first gold medal from the IPO since it started participating in 2002. Korea has previously produced several silver and bronze medalists, as well as a few honorable mentions, but this is the first time in 10 years it has brought home the gold. Yoon said the key to her victory was her love of reading, a habit she developed since she was very young. As her favorite genre is fantasy, she started reading J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" in English, which helped establish her foreign language fluency. She originally planned to study science as a foreign exchange student in the United States and her prospects seem good after she received a perfect score of 2,400 on the SAT in January. Her father, Yoon Min-Sang, 60, said laughing, “I was surprised she won. When she gets back home we will

May 21, 2012

Cardinal celebrates Buddha's birthday

By Kwon Mee-yoo Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk, the archbishop of Seoul, delivered a congratulatory message on Buddha's birthday, which falls on May 28 this year, to the Jogye Order, the country's largest Buddhist sect, Monday. "We wish that the mercy of Buddha, who came to this world to save all creatures in agony, spreads to everyone, especially for those who are poor and pitiful. We also hope that Buddha's lessons give true joy and happiness of life to those who are not able to find the meaning of life," the cardinal said in the message. The Seoul Archdiocese will congratulate the 2556th anniversary of Buddha’s Birthday by posting a banner that reads, "Celebrating Buddha's birthday together" at Myeongdong Cathedral in central Seoul from Friday. Monk Jeongyul will sing a hymn at Sunday's mass at the cathedral. Once a student of vocal music, he will sing "Ave Maria" and "Centering Prayer" at the mass. Other Catholic churches will also express congratulatory wishes. Seongbuk-dong Catholic Church, which maintains a good neighborly relationship with nearby Gilsa

May 21, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Millington named to lead bird-protecting organization

By Alexander Ahn The Partnership for the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAFP) appointed Spike Millington as its new chief executive officer of its secretariat Wednesday. The EAAFP secretariat, based in Songdo International City, Incheon, was launched in 2006 as a cooperative initiative aimed at protecting migratory waterbirds, which include 28 globally endangered species, in the East Asian-Australasian flyway. The organization currently has 27 partners including 14 countries such as South Korea, Japan, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, Mongolia, Bangladesh, a number of Southeast Asian countries and the U.S. The partners also include three intergovernmental agencies, nine international NGOs and one from the international business sector. Millington has an extensive career as an environmental preservationist. From 1985 to 1998 he lived in Africa and advised the Ethiopian government on its National Conservation Strategy. He then worked at the Asian Development Bank to combat land degradation in China’s dryland areas, and in 2006 was selected as the United Nations Dev

May 18, 2012

Korean boyband member to start 1st solo Asia tour

By Rachel Lee Kim Jun-su, a member of Korean boy band JYJ, starts his own Asian tour in May to promote his first solo album, he announced Wednesday. Kim said that he would play his first solo concert in Seoul on May 19 and 20 before performing in seven Asian cities including Bangkok, Taipei, Jakarta and Shanghai through June. The 25-year-old made his music industry debut in 2003 as part of TVXQ, which led the K-pop boom in Asia. The five-member group has sold more than eight million records at home and abroad. Kim and two other members of the group dropped out in 2009 and formed JYJ after a legal dispute with their former agency. JYJ has gained huge popularity overseas through major Internet sites such as YouTube. The group’s world tour this year resulted in a round of successful performances in fourteen cities including Santiago, Chile and Lima, Peru. The singer, also known as Xia, released his first solo album Tuesday titled “Tarantallegra,” of which 80 percent of the songs are his own compositions. The new release, a mix of electronic dance and R&B ballads,

May 18, 2012
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