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Bong’s Mother Leads AFA Nominations

Director Bong Joon-ho's ``Mother'' scored six nominations, including best film and director, for the fourth Asian Film Awards, the organizer said Friday. The thriller about maternal love was also nominated for best actress for Kim Hye-ja, best supporting actor for Won Bin, best screenwriter and best editor for Moon Sae-kyoung. It led the nominations along with Teddy Chan's Hong Kong-China co-production film ``Bodyguards and Assassins.'' Chinese-language films from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan were led the pack with 32 nominations in 14 categories, followed by South Korea with 17 and Japan with 13. Director Park Chan-wook's Cannes winner ``Thirst'' was also nominated for best actor for Song Kang-ho. Bae Doo-na was nominated for best actress for her leading role in ``Air Doll.'' This year's nominations saw a diverse mix of films from over nine countries across Asia, including Iran, India, Vietnam and the Philippines. ``The diversity shows that there are distinctive Asian films that can withstand Hollywood hegemony,'' Wilfred Wong, chairman of the AFA board of directors,

Jan 22, 2010

Peace Corps Made Me Better Diplomat

By Chung Ah-young Staff Reporter About 30 years after Kathleen Stephens, the U.S. ambassador to Korea, served in the Peace Corps in Korea, she still remembers that life back then was pretty tough for both Koreans who were struggling for a better life and herself at just 21. But at the same time, she looks back with a certain amount of romanticism. ``Certainly I fell in love with the intense beauty of the changing seasons in Korea, which I experienced so vividly in the countryside,'' she said in an email interview with The Korea Times. Stephens taught English at a middle school in Yesan, South Chungcheong Province from 1975 to 1977. In a book of photographs, ``Through Our Eyes: Peace Corps in Korea, 1966-1981,'' she expressed her long-held mixed feelings about her memories. ``I am grateful to have experienced a Korea that in some ways is now gone forever. Many of the photographs in the book are in black and white, but when I look at them I remember the intense blue skies above the deep green rice fields, and I remember the pleasure I took in watching the bright gold of

Jan 21, 2010

Go Sus TV Series to Air in Japan

The ongoing SBS TV drama ``Will It Snow on Christmas?’’ _ starring heartthrob Go Su _ will be broadcast in Japan this spring. The melodrama will begin airing March 20 on KNTV, Japan’s satellite network devoted to Korean content. KNTV has promoted ``Christmas?’’ as a notable work featuring top stars Go Su and Han Ye-seul. It has also highlighted the fact that the series was created by the writer of ``I’m Sorry, I Love You’’ and helmed by the director of ``What Happened in Bali’’ _ both of which attracted a sizeable fan base in Japan. Go recently made comebacks to the big and small screens, after a five-year hiatus. He appeared in the mystery-thriller movie ``Baekyahaeng,’’ which is based on the best-selling Japanese novel ``Byakuyako’’ by Keigo Higashino. hyowlee@koreatimes.co.kr

Jan 21, 2010

Shin Ji-yai Wins Young Talent Award

By Kwon Mee-yoo Staff Reporter Shin Ji-yai, a 21-year-old professional golfer, won a Korea Young Talent Award, in recognition of her outstanding performance on the world golf scene, Wednesday. The golf rookie added another title to her long list of trophies, including the LPGA Rookie of the Year award clinched last year. The Korea Young Talent Award, hosted by the Korea Foundation for the Advancement of Science & Creativity, goes to 40 university students and 60 high school students who became distinguished in certain fields through effort, challenging spirits and creativity. Shin, born to a pastor in a small church in Yeonggwang, South Jeolla Province in 1988, started playing golf as a fifth grader in the year Pak Se-ri created a golf boom that swept the country. In 2004, she lost her mother in a car accident, leaving her younger brother and sister with severe injuries. Shin had to take care of her hospitalized siblings for almost a year. The insurance money helped fund the beginning of Shin’s golf career. Shin won three titles in her professional domestic debu

Jan 21, 2010

Ensemble Ditto to Debut in Japan

By Lee Hyo-won Staff Reporter Violist Richard Yongjae O’Neill, member of the Seoul-based classical music ensemble Ditto, met with Japanese reporters in Tokyo, Tuesday, ahead of its Japan tour. The all-male chamber group will give concerts June 28 and 29 in Tokyo and Osaka, respectively. Joined by popular young Japanese violinist Goto Ryu, who performed with Ditto in Seoul last summer, O’Neill spoke to the local press, including Asahi TV. ``I’m very honored and excited to come to Japan in June. And last year Ryu came to Seoul and impressed the Korean audiences; they went crazy for him,’’ said O’Neill, in a video clip of the press event released by Credia. Goto, who is known as the brother of violin virtuoso Midori, visited Korea for the first time in 2009 to play with Ditto. He said he was deeply impressed by the Korean audience’s enthusiasm for Ditto’s music, and was inspired to introduce the group to Japan. Japanese agency E-Plus is organizing the performances. The two played Handel-Halvorsen’s ``Passacaglia’’ and also screened the music video from Ditto’s third

Jan 21, 2010

John Park Emerging as Star on American Idol

A 20-year-old Korean American collegian has impressed judges on hit FOX show “American Idol” and received a ticket to Hollywood to star on the show’s ninth season, raising hopes that he might become the next American idol. Park is from Northbrook, Illinois and is currently an economics major at Chicago's Northwestern University. He performed “I’ll Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know” and impressed the judges, especially guest judge Shania Twain who mentioned that he had a “beautiful bottom end and nice lips.” Park is a member of a cappella group, the Northwestern Purple Haze. John's friends and fellow members talked about him in an article in The Daily Northwestern. It quoted Christian Gero, Park’s roommate and fellow member of Purple Haze, as saying he went to Park’s audition in Chicago. “He really impressed the judges,” he said. “He came out with the golden ticket and we all went crazy.” Gero said Park’s personality is what makes him a great candidate for American Idol. “He’s a charmer,” he said. ”He’s a really lovable character.” And it doesn’t hurt that Par

Jan 21, 2010

Rep. Lee Yong-sam Dies at 52

By Lee Tae-hoon Staff Reporter Rep. Lee Yong-sam of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) has died of stomach cancer, his family said Wednesday. He was 52. His death reduced the DP's total number of National Assembly seats to 86. The governing Grand National Party has 169 seats in the 299-member legislature. The four-term lawmaker had served as chairman of the National Assembly Inter-Korean Relations Development Committee since June 2008. He also worked as a prosecutor before being first elected to the Assembly in 1992. Born in Hwacheon, Gwangwon Province, Lee worked at a factory since high school to support himself. A funeral ceremony will be held at the Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, Friday. leeth@koreatimes.co.kr

Jan 20, 2010

Teddy Bear CEO Strives to End Tuition Problems

Kim Jung-soo, who runs a company making teddy bears, aims to provide full scholarships to as many students as possible. Kim, CEO of JS&F, which operates a teddy bear museum on Jeju Island, has led a campaign calling for alumni of Yonsei University Business School to donate 1,000 won daily. More than 1,930 graduates have joined the program by opening accounts for the daily donation, with 60 students benefitting from the scholarships created. ``If a graduate donates 1,000 won a day, it will make 30,000 won a month. And if there are 30 such graduates, they will help a student attend the school without having to worry about tuition,’’ Kim said on the Web site for the campaign. Kim, also the chairman of the alumni association of the business school, has recently expanded the scope of the ``micro scholarship campaign,’’ using a limited edition of 2,000 teddy bears bearing ``blue butterfly’’ logos. The logo reflects Kim’s hopes that the ``1,000-won donation’’ campaign he started three years ago will spread to a great number of graduates in a ``butterfly effect.’’ ``We hav

Jan 20, 2010

San Francisco Community Delegation Visiting Seoul

By Cho Jae-hyon Staff Reporter A delegation representing Chinese and Vietnamese communities in San Francisco is visiting Seoul at the invitation of Grand Korea Leisure (GKL), a unit of the Korea Tourism Organization from Jan. 17 to 21. The delegation, comprising six members, visited The Korea Times President Park Moo-jong and shared opinions on the promotion of Korean tourism. William Lee, director of International Economic and Tourism Development of San Francisco, said a growing number of Chinese and Vietnamese Americans are expected to visit Korea in the future. He said it will be a good idea to talk Chinese and Vietnamese Americans into visiting Korea on their way to China and Vietnam. ``We have never thought of that in America. I think the idea is very good,'' he said. He said San Francisco has earmarked China, India and Korea as its ``three top emerging markets.'' The American city is also making all efforts to attract more Korean travelers to San Francisco. Lee, who is visiting Korea for the first time, said that he felt Koreans are ``extremely well-educate

Jan 19, 2010

Traveler Building Libraries for Children on World’s Edge

By Cho Jae-hyon Staff Reporter Traveler Kim Hyung-wook, 32, does not have a regular job. Nor does he have his own house. He has no specific plans on marriage and has no intent to settle in one place for the ordinary life led by most of his friends. Instead of pursuing a higher salary and other mundane goals, he has engaged himself with a self-imposed mission: building small libraries for needy children in Nepal, India and other poor nations. He has already built three tiny libraries at schools in India and Nepal. "They don't need big, fancy libraries. I just put some bookshelves in the corner of schools and fill them with books for children," Kim said in an interview with The Korea Times. "What they need is books. It's far better to get them more books than spend money on building libraries." Kim aims to build 1,000 libraries in villages stricken by poverty across the world. "I set the goal high because if I set it at 100 I may end up building just 100, but if I set it higher, I will be able to build more," he said. Kim came down with the idea of building librar

Jan 19, 2010
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