Lifestyle - The Korea Times

Se7en Confesses Love for Actress Park

By Lee Tae-hoon Staff Reporter Singer Se7en Wednesday confessed his love for actress Park Han-byul. The K-pop artist acknowledged on his personal blog that widespread rumors about the union had not been groundless. ``It is true that I and Park Han-byul have been more than just friends for more than seven years since we debuted. I sincerely apologize for having had to deny the rumors,'' Se7en said in an online message, titled ``Let me tell you everything." ``We have been best friends since senior year at high school. Our friendship has remained strong and gradually turned into love.'' Se7en, 24, and Park attended the same high school. He explained that he kept their relationship secret to protect Park's privacy. Se7en denied the courtship when photos of them dating were recently leaked from her private Internet message board. Se7en became a household name in 2003 with his debut album, ``Just Listen." He made his acting debut in 2007 in ``Prince Hours,'' the sequel of the mega-hit drama, ``Princess Hours,'' but the ratings for the series were poor. He

Jun 10, 2009

Singer Rain to Promote Seouls Global Image

By Kwon Mee-yoo Staff Reporter Renowned actor and singer Rain, also known as Jung Ji-hoon, was appointed the first global goodwill ambassador for Seoul City, Tuesday. Rain was featured in ``Hip Korea, Seoul Vibes,'' a documentary co-produced by Seoul City and Discovery Channel promoting the city and its pop culture. The 45-minute program aired in Asia and Australia earlier this year, showing the young and dynamic aspects of Seoul with Rain motorcycling through the Hongik University area, Cheongdam-dong and along Cheonggye Stream. After shooting the documentary, Seoul City asked Jung to become its global goodwill ambassador, to better publicize the city as a part of its overseas promotion. Mayor Oh Se-hoon thanked Rain for his role in publicizing the city and asked Jung to promote the capital's vibrant charms at the appointment ceremony. ``I am glad to join promoting Seoul as a native Seoulite,'' Rain said. Jung donated T-shirts he designed himself bearing the slogan for the city this year, ``Infinitely Yours, Seoul.'' The shirts will be auctioned and the proceeds

Jun 9, 2009

Jang and No Are a Couple

By Han Sang-hee Staff Reporter Popular singer Jang Yoon-jung and entertainer No Hong-chul have officially announced they are a couple. Inwoo Productions, the trot star's agency, sent out a press release last night to confirm the relationship between the pair. Jang has not had a boyfriend in the last six years. ``It was all due to No's sincere affection toward Jang for the past two years,'' the agency said. The 30-year-old had said publicly that his ideal girlfriend was Jang, 29, and the agency said that for the past two years he had been wooing her. ``Jang was touched by the unlimited affection No showed her for the past two years. She finally accepted his proposal a month ago and have decided to open up to the public, mainly because of the program the two are working on these days,'' the agency added. The couple currently appears together on the popular matchmaking program ``The Gold Misses Are Coming.'' ``I thought it would be unfair to still go out on blind dates during the program when I already have a boyfriend. No is a serious and heartwarming perso

Jun 8, 2009

Ryu Si-won Wins Hearts of Japanese Through Localization

By Bae Ji-sook Staff Reporter Actor and singer Ryu Si-won received the Seoul Tourism Award Thursday in recognition for his work in attracting about 12,000 Japanese tourists to Korea a year. Thousands of people visit Korea on Oct. 6 for his birthday party and thousands of others see him race at auto racing tracks. He also drew 80,000 spectators to his concerts in various regions of Japan and has reached a level of stardom there that is on par with local artists. In an interview with The Korea Times at the award ceremony, Ryu said in order to show Korea to the world, Koreans should deliver the culture in the respective country's way. He said it is showing the respect for their culture and customs. ``Some people praise those people who stick to speaking Korean and living in Korean style abroad ― saying they are patriotic. However, what is the purpose of using Korean when nobody understands a word? Just repeating that Korean culture is the best could be a disrespect toward the country where you are staying,'' he said. His strategy fits with Ryu's way of approaching the J

Jun 7, 2009

Veteran Actress Do Passes Away

By Han Sang-hee Staff Reporter Veteran movie star Do Kum-bong passed away last Wednesday. She was 79. Her death was later known as the actress insisted not to inform the world of her death in her will. Born in 1930 at Incheon, Do started her acting career through a theater club called ``Changgong'' and made her movie debut when she was chosen by director Jo Keung-ha in 1957 for the main role of the film ``Hwang Jin-i.'' Do nailed the femme fatale character flawlessly, becoming the talk of the town and earning the nickname, ``the temptress of the century.'' She later appeared in Korea's first horror movie ``A Bloodthirsty Killer'' (1965) by director Lee Yong-min's as the villain, and proved once again her wide-ranging acting skills. Thanks to the ``Killer''s success, Do continued to star in following horror films, including ``A Neckless Beauty,'' ``A Public Cemetery of Wol-ha'' (1967) and ``The Magical Sword of Skeletal Spirit''(1969). Despite her reputation of acting sexy and evil characters, Do still managed to pull off more serious roles, like in the movie

Jun 7, 2009

105-Year-Old Mother Searching for Body of Korean War Soldier

By Kim Se-jeong Staff Reporter On the eve of Memorial Day, first lady Kim Yoon-ok consoled the mother of a fallen Korean War soldier whose body was never found. Having read the story of Kim Un-yeon, 105, in the Korea Defense Daily, the first lady visited her at the Seoul Hyo Hospital, a medical facility for the elderly where she was hospitalized, and told her, ``I wanted to come to support you. Especially, the fact that you didn't move in case your son returned was heartwarming.'' The last time Kim saw her son Lee Gap-song was in the winter of 1950, months after the outbreak of the Korean War. He was drafted to fight in the 28th regiment of the Ninth Army, leaving his mother and a six-month old baby in his wife's womb. ``One cold day, Gap-song came up to me crying, and said, `Mom, I will be back,' I asked where he was going, and he said, `look what I am wearing.' That was it," the mother told the Defense Daily reporter during an interview. According to government records, Gap-song was killed on Dec. 1, 1950 at either Daedoon Mountain or the Hyun-ri battles. The

Jun 5, 2009

Cambodian First Lady Receives Honorary Doctorate

By Bae Jong-hyun Korea Times Intern Cambodia's first lady Bun Rany Hun Sen received an honorary doctorate in economics from Seoul Women's University in Seoul, Wednesday, in recognition of her outstanding contribution to women's rights and social welfare in her country. Her husband Prime Minister Hun Sen, who attended the two-day Korea-ASEAN summit on the resort island of Jeju, which ended June 2, accompanied her to the ceremony. He was awarded an honorary doctorate in politics from Korea University on that day. ``I am very pleased to receive an honorary degree. This represents the efforts of the Cambodian people, including me, toward the reconstruction of our country,'' the 55-year-old first lady said in her acceptance speech. As chairperson of the Cambodian Red Cross since 1998, she has been engaged in fighting poverty and AIDS, as well as helping civil war orphans in her country. ``As a woman of Cambodia, it is my desire to overcome poverty and achieve development of the nation,'' said the first lady. She wept when she mentioned the orphans from the long

Jun 4, 2009

KTO Vice Head Ohm Becomes Acting President

By Kim Rahn Staff Reporter Ohm Kyong-sop, Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) executive vice president and vice president for strategic management, was appointed as acting president of the tourism body Sunday, the organization said. He will lead the organization until a new head is selected. Former President Oh Jee-chul resigned last week after losing a bid to become secretary-general at the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in early May. A new head will be appointed by President Lee Myung-bak following public consultation and a recommendation from the tourism minister. Ohm, 57, entered the KTO in 1977 and has held positions including executive director for the New York office, executive director for the tourism academy, executive director for the domestic marketing department and vice president for tourism technology. rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr

Jun 3, 2009

Son Makes Van Cliburn Finals

By Lee Hyo-won Staff Reporter South Korea's young pianist Son Yeol-eum has advanced to the third and final round of the prestigious Van Cliburn International Piano Competition underway in Fort Worth, Texas, organizers said. The 23-year-old will vie against five other young artists, including Nobuyuki Tsujii, a young blind man from Japan. Other finalists are Evgeni Bozhanov (23, Bulgaria), Mariangela Vacatello (27, Italy), Di Wu (24, China) and Haochen Zhang (19, China). The Dallas Morning News gave a mixed review of her performance thus far, saying she ``alternated between relatively nondescript and fussy performances of solo repertory. But she came from behind in the chamber-music round with a flawlessly paced and expressed Brahms Piano Quintet'' with the Takacs Quartet.'' A graduate of Korea National University of Arts, Son is a popular soloist here who recently released a Chopin album for Universal Music. A third-prize winner of the 2005 Arthur Rubinstein event, she has appeared with the Israel, New York and Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestras, among many other top ensembl

Jun 3, 2009

I Got Heartfelt Ovation in Cannes

By Lee Hyo-won Staff Reporter Director Park Chan-wook, who won the Jury Prize at the 62nd Cannes International Film Festival for ``Thirst’’ Sunday, said he had secretly anticipated a win, he told reporters in Seoul Thursday. ``The audience’s response was so heated. I wouldn’t be able to win if the jury didn’t like it, but it was the first time I ever received such a heartfelt ovation, so I began to hope for the chance,’’ he said. This is his second Jury Prize ― which he shared with Andrea Arnold's ``Fish Tank” ― from the prestigious French event after ``Oldboy’’ in 2004. ``Thirst’’ is a bloody thriller about a priest who turns into a vampire and agonizes over his newfound desire for blood and sex. The film received critical acclaim, but the response among regular moviegoers is often split. It was the first time a vampire film entered the competition pool at Cannes. ``I heard it was the first vampire film entered the competition pool in the history of Cannes. In Korea, `Thirst’ is treated like a peculiar film, but Cannes seemed to have regarded it as a special case whe

May 28, 2009

People & Events

People & Events

Se7en Confesses Love for Actress Park

Singer Rain to Promote Seouls Global Image

Jang and No Are a Couple

Ryu Si-won Wins Hearts of Japanese Through Localization

Veteran Actress Do Passes Away

105-Year-Old Mother Searching for Body of Korean War Soldier

Cambodian First Lady Receives Honorary Doctorate

KTO Vice Head Ohm Becomes Acting President

Son Makes Van Cliburn Finals

I Got Heartfelt Ovation in Cannes

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