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German School Lends Helping Hand

By Lee Tae-hoon Staff Reporter The only German school in Korea donated 2.6 million won ($1,660) that its 170 students raised by selling the European country's native food and drinks at a Christmas charity bazaar last year. The school's annual Traditional Christmas Market, which has grown into one of the biggest German festivals in Korea, drew an unprecedented number of people last year, completely filling its schoolyard. The donation, made Tuesday, will be spent to help handicapped and underprivileged local children, and was given to the Order of the Sisters of Notre Dame, which has actively supported social welfare projects in Korea since 1967. Through its year-end charity event, the International German School (DSSI) has made a donation every year to the Notre Dame group since 2000. Its students also regularly visit the order, where sisters run an orphanage. "The school was especially pleased this year to make such a large donation," Frau Schmidt, the principal of the school, said. "I felt it appropriate to remind the German expatriate community that there are

Mar 5, 2009

ACRC Head Gives Lecture on Transparency

By Kim Sue-young Staff Reporter Yang Kun, chairman of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC), gave public servants in Seoul a lecture on his commission's programs to achieve transparency and eradicate corruption, Thursday. In the lecture, titled ``Ways Toward A Transparent Advanced Country,'' the 62-year-old former law professor asked participants to join the anti-corruption campaign. ``Today's economic growth engine is social assets, such as trust and transparency,'' he told 3,700 public officials present at the event, held at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts. ``For that reason, national transparency is in proportion to economic development, and corruption must be eradicated for our livelihood as well as social justice,'' he said. After the speech, Seoul City officials adopted a five-point resolution that bans its employees from receiving bribes and promised to do work in a more transparent way. ksy@koreatimes.co.kr

Mar 5, 2009

Legendary Dutch Conductor Bernard Haitink Turns 80

By Do Je-hae Staff Reporter Legendary conductor Bernard Haitink turns 80 today and musicians around the world are unanimously professing their admiration for the Dutch maestro's exceptional contribution to classical music. To mark the occasion, Decca this month released a commemorative 7-CD edition entitled "The Art of Bernard Haitink," consisting of the musician's definitive projects for the British recording label. Currently the principal conductor of the Chicago Symphony, the octogenarian artist is as enthusiastic about his profession as ever, continuing to work with the finest orchestras in the United States and Europe. It seems he is well on his way to duplicating the feats of legendary conductors like Herbert Von Karajan or Sir Georg Solti, who performed rigorously even in the final days of their lives. Born in 1929, the Amsterdam native was initially an orchestra violinist, but switched to conducting in his early 20s. His first major conducting was with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (RCO) of the Netherlands in 1964, leading the ensemble for almost 25 years. Perha

Mar 3, 2009

Chinese Film Director to Teach in Korea

By Han Sang-hee Staff Reporter Chinese director Zhang Yimou, the chief director of the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, will visit Korea to lecture local students at Dankook University. The school announced Tuesday that the 57-year-old director will work as a chair professor for two years and start teaching in his second semester, which starts in autumn. ``We decided to invite Zhang to specialize in our humanities, movies and arts departments and further bring them to the international level,'' Chang Ho-sung, the president of the school, said. ``The school is focused in bringing three technologies, namely information, biological and culture technology, to the next level, and inviting Zhang is part of the cultural project. The professors have been contacting the director since last year, and now he's finally agreed to come to Korea,'' Kim Chang-hae, the public relations coordinator at Dankook University, told The Korea Times. ``I would like to bring the two cultures of Korea and China together through discussion with Korean students and arti

Mar 3, 2009

`Banknotes Are Symbol Worthy of Respect

By Han Sang-hee Staff Reporter The news has finally broken that the Bank of Korea (BOK) would introduce 50,000-won banknotes in June, and that Shin Saimdang would be featured on them. And for artist Lee Jong-sang, who drew the portrait of the famous mother figure, it was more than mere currency. ``The 50,000-won banknote is the most cultural and artistic of Korean banknotes. It may seem strange at first because it looks a bit different, but there are interesting features here and there. I feel like we can now compete with other countries' banknotes. I am even thinking of bringing them to my art exhibition in Paris this July and recreating them into modern artwork,'' Lee said during an interview with Yonhap News agency. Shin Saimdang was a female writer and calligraphist during the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910) and is renowned as the mother of famous scholar Yulgok. She will be the first female to appear on a Korean banknote. ``Shin Saimdang was a modern woman and an artist,'' Lee said when asked what he thought about her being the figure featured on the bill. For Lee,

Mar 1, 2009

Japanese Transgender Celeb Becomes Korea Tourism Amb.

By Kim Rahn Staff Reporter A Japanese transgender makeup artist has been named an honorary ambassador to promote Korean tourism. The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) appointed Ikko, one of the most famous celebrities in Japan's beauty industry, as the ambassador for Korean tourism at the organization's headquarters in Seoul, Friday. The appointment comes after recognizing the drag queen entertainer's promotion of Korean culture in Japan. The 47-year-old makeup artist and ``actress'' has developed ``beauty charisma'' in Japan by presenting fascinating hair and makeup styles on televisions, magazines and stages and became a trendsetter among the Japanese youth in beauty management, and beauty products he recommends usually become hits within a week. In recent years, Ikko has promoted Korean culture to Japan, particularly the beauty industry. He published a travel guidebook titled ``Make Your Beauty Up in Korea'' last May. After his introduction of Korea's major tourist destinations, food, shopping and cosmetics, the book created a Korean boom among Japanese youngsters.

Mar 1, 2009

Korean Opera Singer Receives Top Prize in New York Audition

By Han Sang-hee Staff Reporter Korean tenor Lee Sung-eun was named the winner of the 2009 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions at the Grand Finals Concert last Sunday. After competing against eight talented national finalists, Lee was one of the four Grand Winners and was awarded $15,000. Tenor Paul Appleby, countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, and soprano Nadine Sierra were the other three. The audition is an annual competitive event for aspiring young opera singers. The competition aims to discover exceptional young talent and to assist promising musicians in the development of their careers. Some of the world's foremost opera singers such as sopranos Renee Fleming and Debora Voigt, tenor Ben Heppner and baritone Thomas Hampson have received the award. The competition, designed for young musicians, accepts applicants between the ages of 20 to 30, and this year had been the last chance for the 30-year-old Korean tenor to compete. A devout Christian, Lee said he ``would like to gain international fame and be able to support missionaries.'' He has already donated

Feb 26, 2009

KLTI to Launch Translator Pool System

By Chung Ah-young Staff Reporter Kim Joo-youn, new director of Korea Literature Translation Institute (KLTI), said that the institute will launch a translator pool system to improve the quality of translations of Korean literature. The Korea Literature Translation Institute Translator System will be operational in the second half of the year, targeting translators of major languages. ``Korean literature has been widely known to the world in terms of quantity due to the institute's efforts but we still can't guarantee the quality of the work, so among the major tasks ahead of me, I will put more emphasis on raising the quality of translated literature,'' Kim said at a press conference in Seoul, Thursday. Since its inception in 2001, the institute has published 358 works in 26 countries and made contracts with 160 publishing companies in other countries. To enhance the quality of the translated works, the 68-year-old director, who was appointed the fourth director of the institute last month, said that it needs to adopt a more aggressive program to support the quality of t

Feb 26, 2009

LGs Chung to Lead PR Association

By Kim Yoo-chul Staff Reporter Chung Sang-kook, executive vice president of LG Group, was named as the chairman of the Korea Public Relations Association (KPRA), Monday. Chung will lead the body by 2010, officials said. ``I will pay closer attention to relations between the media and PR officials and will make efforts to raise the standing of the association,'' Chung said in an inaugural speech. Chung had served as the chief of LG Electronics' corporate communications and was the top official at LG Group's restructuring team. Now, he is a managing director of ``LG Sangnam Press Foundation,'' according to LG officials. The association was established in 1989 with the aim of educating PR personnel and to develop the local PR industry. It has some 35,000 individual members and corporate clients, including Samsung Group, LG Group, SK and Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group. yckim@koreatimes.co.kr

Feb 24, 2009

Novelist Chung Eul-byeong Dies of Cancer at 75

By Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter Chung Eul-byeong, a novelist and former representative of the Korean Novelists' Association, died last Wednesday after losing his battle with liver cancer. He was 75. Yonhap News Agency reported Chung was diagnosed with liver cancer three years ago. A wake was held at the Sinchon Severance Hospital before he was buried Friday. His bereaved family, close friends and members of the Korean Novelists' Association attended the funeral. According to the Korean Novelists' Association and Chung's friends, the late novelist focused on his writing and lived a secluded life after his retirement. Chung was born in Namhae, South Gyeongsang Province. He debuted through the monthly literature magazine ``Contemporary Literature'' in 1961. He wrote various novels such as ``Gaesaekkideul'' (``Sons of Bitches'' tentative) and ``Dopiyeohaeng'' (``Escapade'' tentative). The novelist has won various awards such as the Modern Literature Award in 1967, South Korea Literary Fiction Prize (1976) and Republic of Korea Literary Award (1987). Chung was als

Feb 24, 2009
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