Lifestyle - The Korea Times

KCUE Chairman Kim takes office

By Han Sang-hee Kim Young-gil, chairman of the Korean Council for University Education (KCUE), pledged to put greater focus on strengthening the quality of education, shifting away from the current trend of emphasizing research. The president of Handong Global University was appointed chairman of KCUE, an organization of presidents of universities, during a ceremony at the Seoul Kyoyuk Munhwa center in Yangjae-dong, southern Seoul. He succeeded Korea University President Lee Ki-su. During his speech and a press conference, Kim stressed the importance of guiding students to become global citizens and also focusing on stabilizing university education. ``My biggest interest is coming up with ideas to help schools nourish their students, help them build their potential and also show off their individual talents on the international scene,’’ he said. By encouraging schools to form partnerships, the chairman added that he hopes to see more local universities being noticed both here and abroad, and also balance the importance on research and education. When it came to

Mar 2, 2011

Girl group Kara tops Japan DVD chart

By Kwon Mee-yoo Girl group Kara has topped the Japanese music chart once again with their DVD. The group headed the weekly DVD section of Oricon, the music sales chart of Japan, with their new DVD “Kara Best Clips.” Released on Feb. 23, the DVD sold 132,000 copies in the first week. The Oricon News said the group members are the first female foreign singers to top the DVD sales list after its launch in 1999. The group finishes sixth, when male singers are included, following the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, TVXQ, JYJ and Michael Jackson. The sales exceeded the Japanese record of female singer's first-week DVD sales, previously 99,000 copies for Mai Kuraki's "First Cut" in 2000. Their latest DVD “Kara Best Clips” includes eight tracks _ the group's Japanese debut "Mister" and "Jumping" in both Korean and Japanese and video clips of other songs such as "Lupin." The five-member girl group made its debut in 2007 and expanded their horizons to Japan in August 2010, rising to stardom in both countries. Despite a dispute with Korean agency DSP Entertainment, the group wi

Mar 2, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo

SBS News names two new anchors

By Lee Hyo-won A pair of new anchors, reporter Kim Sung-joon and announcer Park Sun-young, have been cast to present the SBS 8 o’clock News, SBS announced Sunday. Beginning March 21, Kim and Park will deliver weekdays news on one of the most widely viewed national TV programs, replacing reporter Shin Dong-wook and announcer Kim So-won. Park previously anchored the news on weekends. Reporters Song Wook and announcer Jang Sun-i will succeed Park and reporter Park Jin-ho for the Saturday and Sunday evening news. Meanwhile, reporter Kim Yong-tae and announcer Lee Hye-seung will anchor the newly launched weekend morning news program. The new casting was decided after three days of auditioning 67 reporters and announcers that had applied for the positions. “The audition took into account evaluations of each candidate from not only within the company but by outsourcing, showing the audition tapes to people outside SBS. It was the most objective decision making process,” said Choi Young-bum, SBS editor-in-chief, in a press release. Anchor Kim Sung-joon was born in 1964 and

Feb 27, 2011

JYJ to kick off world tour

By Chung Ah-young K-pop group JYJ will hold concerts in 10 cities in seven countries from April, C-JES Entertainment said Friday. The band consisting of Jun-su, Jae-joong and Yu-chun, the former members of one of Korea’s and Asia’s favorite boy bands TVXQ, will tour Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the United States and Canada and lastly Korea for two months. The concerts are intended to celebrate the launch of the album “The Beginning” targeting the international audience, which was released in October last year. Jae-joong will take the helm of directing and planning the performances in Asia. “Jae-joong’s ability was proven in his participation in the whole process of the previous concert including stage arts and visual effects in collaboration with American, Japanese and other Korean staff. So we’ve decided to choose him as director,” the agency said in a statement. Ahead of the world tour, JYJ will hold a fan meeting on March 12 at Jamsil Gymnastic Stadium. After a long feud with their former agency SM Entertainment, the three members formed the ne

Feb 25, 2011

Actor Park Sang-min booked for drunk driving

By Kim Tae-jong Actor Park Sang-min was booked without physical detention for driving while drunk, police said Thursday. Park was caught driving his friend’s Porsche under the influence of alcohol in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul on Wednesday night. A sobriety test found that he had a blood-alcohol content of 0.057 percent, the level subject to the suspension of a driver’s license. Park told the police that he drank four glasses of beer in a pub with his friends, a police officer said. The actor has been enjoying rising popularity after his appearance in the hit TV drama, “Giant,” and is shooting a new TV miniseries which will be first aired next week.

Feb 24, 2011

Garion sweeps music awards

By Kwon Mee-yoo Hip-hop duo Garion won Album of the Year, Best Hip-hop Album with “Garion 2” as well as Best Hip-hop Song at the eighth Korean Music Awards, Wednesday. Composed of MC Meta and Nachal, the duo is recognized for their hip-hop music in Korean. The band name Garion refers to a legendary white horse with a black mane, living on Mt. Baekdu. Galaxy Express was awarded Musician of the Year, while Hot Potato’s “Confession” won Song of the Year. Rock band Gate Flowers took Rookie of the Year. Best Rock Album was awarded to Crash's "The Paragon of Animals" and the group Nine and the Numbers got the Best Modern Rock Album award. Cho Kyu-chan's ninth album won the Best Pop Album and girl group 2NE1's "To Anyone" grabbed the Best Dance and Electronic Album.

Feb 24, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo

ACR opens Korea representative office

About 200 insurance and reinsurance practitioners, including senior executives and industry veterans, attended a reception at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul Tuesday to mark the opening of the Korea Representative Office of the Asia Capital Reinsurance Group (ACR) headquartered in Singapore. In his opening speech, ACR Chief Executive John Tan said, "The set-up of the Korea representative office marks ACR's commitment to deepen our understanding of the Korean market and strengthen our client relationships.” “In line with our vision of being ‘In Asia, For Asia,’ we hope to continually progress towards our goal of providing long-term and sustainable reinsurance solutions to the Asian industry, which will in turn contribute to the stability and security of the region,” he said. The Seoul office is helmed by Chief Representative Park Sang-kyu who has more than 30 years of reinsurance experience in the Korea market. Through its newly established local foothold, the ACR, a pan-Asian reinsurer, seeks to extend the depth of its local network and provide more informed and responsive s

Feb 23, 2011

2NE1 to make debut in Japan

By Chung Ah-young Popular girl group 2NE1 will make its debut in Japan this spring. Japanese newspaper Sankei Sports reported that the band has signed a contract with Avex, Japan’s largest entertainment company. The upcoming debut in Japan made the paper’s headline and introduced the band as one of the top pop groups after having won more than 30 music awards since their debut in 2009 in Korea. The paper said that the line-up consisting of CL, Bom, Dara and Minzy has gained popularity with catchy R&B, hip-hop and electric dance performances along with its members’ trendy and stylish fashion sense. Before the debut in Japan, the group will release their song “Go Away” in Japanese as a ringtone on March 9. “The group is eager to debut in Japan. We will try to meet the expectations of our Japanese fans who have been waiting for us,” CL, a leader of the group, said in a statement. 2NE1, which means “New Evolution for the 21st Century,” was formed by YG Entertainment and released their first single “Fire” in May, 2009.

Feb 23, 2011

Gilsang Temples head monk resigns

By Ines Min Ven. Deok-hyun of Gilsang Temple, Seongbuk-dong, resigned from his position as head monk and chairman of the board, it was announced Tuesday. Deok-hyun left just one week ahead of the anniversary marking his second year in office next Monday, with a note on the famed temple’s website. ``I’m leaving the temple where I have been for the last two years,’’ Deok-hyun wrote online. ``My heart aches even at the thought of having hurt others for quitting in the middle of my term.’’ ``It was a grueling atmosphere every time I presided over the board meetings, even though I was led by the Buddha, and the mentality of senior monks who preserved `Purely and Redolently,’’’ he wrote, in reference to the official name of the board. ``I’ve tendered my resignation because it feels too difficult to maintain the purity and redolent character of the board. ``There are almost no words to say to the people who made it difficult for those with the Buddha to be bright and sweet inside and out, or Gilsang Temple to be bright and sweet,’’ the monk wrote. ``There was another

Feb 22, 2011

Lee Young-ae gives birth to twins

By Lee Hyo-won Actress Lee Young-ae became a mother to twins, Sunday. The 40-year-old gave natural birth to a girl and boy, around 10:30 a.m. at Cheil Hospital, Seoul, her agency Storm S Company announced Monday. The babies are fraternal twins. “The mother and babies are healthy,” said the agency. The movie star had been off the public radar since starring in Park Chan-wook’s 2005 award-winning film ``Sympathy for Lady Vengeance,’’ and surprised fans by secretly marrying a Korean-American businessman, Jeong Ho-yeong, in August 2009. In September that year, Lee entered Hanyang University to pursue graduate studies and had been working toward a doctorate degree in theater and film. Last April, the actress made headlines when she and her husband were spotted attending a basketball game in Seoul. The couple was photographed sitting in VIP seats for the Korean Basketball League match between the Ulsan Mobis Phoebus and Jeonju KCC at Jamsil Gymnasium. Lee rose to international stardom by playing a lady of the court, Jang-geum, in the period TV drama ``Jewel in the Pal

Feb 21, 2011

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