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FORTUNE Goes Beyond Daily Headline News

By Michael Ha Staff Reporter ``If Fortune Korea, as I’m sure it will, seeks the truth and publishes it in a way that truly engages the reader, it will be a tremendous success,” Fortune’s global editor, Brian Dumaine, said Monday. The Hankook Ilbo, the parent daily of The Korea Times, has signed a licensing agreement with the U.S. business magazine to publish a Korean-language version of the magazine. Called ``Fortune Korea,’’ the monthly publication is expected to become a major competitor on the local business magazine market. In an interview, Dumaine spoke about the 78-year-old magazine and the vast potential for the new transcontinental venture. He explained that ever since its founding, it has nurtured a long tradition of covering business personalities, ideas and trends on a global basis. ``Ever since it launched in 1930 during the onset of America’s Great Depression, the magazine has acted as a guidepost for top managers, politicians and entrepreneurs,’’ he noted, ``helping them sort through complicated issues and to find new ways to think about the world of bus

Jan 12, 2009

Theme Park to Honor Novelist Kim Joo-young

by Lee Hyo-won Staff Reporter A literary theme park inspired by Kim Joo-young iconic novel ``Gaekju'' will be built in Cheongsong-gun, North Gyeongsang Province, the county announced Friday. Kim, who will turn 70 on the 26th, rose to prominence by chronicling life in the late 19th-century during the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910) through the adventures of wandering bobusang (merchants) and gaekju (brokers who commissioned sales of goods and businesses, from warehousing to banking). ``Gaekju'' was published over 1,400 episodes in a daily newspaper from 1979 to 1983, and won Kim the 1st Yu Ju-hyun Literary Award. The 16-member organizing committee has designated a 150,000 square meter area in Jinan-ri for the Gaekju Literary Theme Town. The state and other sources will fund the 15 billion won project, scheduled over three years from 2010 to 2012. The park will feature a ``Gaekju'' literary center displaying Kim's manuscripts and personal items; a theater showing films on classic and contemporary literature; an area where visitors can learn and experience traditional folk music

Jan 11, 2009

Kim Named to Head Literature Translation Institute

By Chung Ah-young Staff Reporter Kim Joo-youn, 68, professor emeritus at Sookmyung Women's University, has been appointed the director of the Korean Literature Translation Institute (LTI Korea). The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said that Kim was selected as the new director through open recruitment, replacing Yoon Ji-kwan. Kim graduated from the department of German language and literature at Seoul National University in 1964 and earned a master's degree in 1968 and Ph.D in 1981. He served as professor at Sookmyung Women's University from 1978 to 2006. The incoming director debuted as a literature critic in ``Literature'' magazine in 1966 and worked as a visiting professor at the University of Dusseldorf in Germany from 1986 to 1987. He also served as the president of Koreanische Gesellschaft fur Germanistik (the Korean Association for German Language and Literature) in 1998. He wrote numerous research papers and books. His term of office is three years. chungay@koreatimes.co.kr

Jan 7, 2009

Three Commended for Promoting Korean Image

By Bae Ji-sook Staff Reporter ``Woman Hercules’’ weightlifter Jang Mi-ran, an Olympic gold medallist, has been acknowledged for her role in promoting Korea’s image to the world by the Corea Image Communication Institute (CICI), which also selected Noble laureate novelist Jean-Marie G. Le Clezio and pianist Cho Sung-jin, as well as Samsung Electronics, for contributing to enhancing Korea’s image in 2008. Jang, the Korea Image Stepping Stone Award recipient, won a gold medal for the snatch, clean and jerk and combined categories at the Beijing Olympics in August. ``She set a world record that has elevated Korea’s status,’’ CICI President Choi Jung-hwa said. The ``Korea Image Stepping Stone Bridge Award’’ went to Le Clezio, who showed his affection for Korea through his writing. The French national has visited Korea several times, worked for Ewha Woman’s University for six months and has written poems about Korea. In the ``Budding Youth’’ category, 15 year-old Cho Sung-jin won first prize at the 6th Moscow International Frederick Chopin Competition for Young Pianists. Sa

Jan 6, 2009

KOC Official Launches Online Sports Newsletter

By Do Je-hae Staff Reporter Yoon Kang-ro, a veteran official of the Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) and president of the International Sports Institute (ISI), now has a new role ― publisher of Asia’s first online sports newsletter. “S.O.S.’’ (SpotLight on SportLife), single-handedly created by Yoon, will be launched later this week for weekly publication. It will be electronically transmitted as a PDF file to members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), leaders of national Olympic committees, government, media and athletes, targeting anyone who has a stake in hosting or taking part in international sporting events. The idea for an online vehicle for publicizing Asia to the global sports community came from Yoon’s Asian colleagues at the IOC. ``They felt news outlets in the United States and Europe, such as Gamesbid or SportIntern, lacked our voice and suggested that I start an Asian equivalent,’’ Yoon said during a phone interview with The Korea Times. ``What separates S.O.S from its Western counterparts is that it goes beyond delivering just sports news. I

Jan 6, 2009

Novelist Reveals Herself as Ghostwriter of KAL Bomber

By Han Sang-hee Staff Reporter Novelist Noh Soo-min, 59, revealed that she was the ghostwriter of the autobiography of Kim Hyun-hee, the former North Korean agent behind the Korean Air Lines (KAL) flight 858 bombing in 1987. ``I wrote the two autobiographies, 1991’s ``I Want to Be a Woman Now’’ and 1992’s ``I Cry When I Feel Love’’ after spending almost two years with Kim, at the request of the Korea Central Intelligence Agency (the predecessor of the National Intelligence Service or NIS) in 1990,’’ she told the Yonhap News Agency during a phone interview. Her ghostwriting was first known in Japan via numerous interviews with Japanese media. Noh also wrote a memoir called ``The Bare Faces of Terrorists,’’ based on the incident, in a Japanese weekly magazine. Noh explained that she didn’t reveal that she was a ghostwriter because she ``promised she would not reveal the request and because it was nothing to be proud of as a writer herself.’’ ``But when I heard about her pain through her recently revealed letters, I thought it was my duty as a writer to say everything I

Jan 6, 2009

Ex-Science Minister Koo Dies

By Kim Rahn Staff Reporter Koo Bon-young, a former science and technology minister, died from an unspecified chronic disease early Monday morning. He was 62. Koo graduated from Seoul National University's economy department and obtained his doctorate at George Washington University. After working as a senior researcher at the Korea Development Institute, he started his career in the public sector in 1982 as an advisor to the Finance Ministry, which later became the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. He held positions as Korean minister in the United States; vice transportation minister; vice science and technology minister; presidential secretary for economy; science and technology minister; and ambassador to the OECD. After retiring from public posts, he became an advisor for Kim & Chang, a law firm, and a committee head at the Korea Center for International Finance. He is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter. A memorial service will be held at Seoul National University Hospital until Wednesday, followed by the burial. For information on the memorial service

Jan 5, 2009

Speaker Calls on Leaders to Be Farsighted

By Kang Hyun-kyung Staff Reporter National Assembly Speaker Kim Hyong-o Wednesday urged political leaders not to pursue narrow partisan interests at the expense of national interests. ``Leaders of political parties should be prepared to give up their shortsighted partisan interests when needed. This is because it is the people, not party leaders, who have the real power in representative democracy,'' Kim said in his New Year's message. The Speaker warned party leaders against jeopardizing the nation's future by following their narrow partisan interests. Kim released the message after the governing Grand National Party (GNP) and the largest opposition Democratic Party (DP) failed to reach a last-minute agreement regarding the passage of about 80 bills, including a motion to ratify the free trade agreement with the United States and media-related bills. Speaker Kim Wednesday proposed leaders and floor leaders of the three major parties hold a last-minute meeting in order to reach a compromise on contentious bills, but the parties rejected the offer. Kim stressed that

Dec 31, 2008

Tom Cruise to Visit Seoul

By Han Sang-hee Staff Reporter Tom Cruise will visit Korea for the first time in seven years as part of a promotional tour for his upcoming movie, ``Valkyrie.’’ The 46-year-old actor will arrive with filmmaker Bryan Singer and stay for two days, appearing at a red carpet event, Jan. 17 and at a press conference at the Grand Hyatt Seoul, Jan. 18. According to 20th Century Fox Korea, Korea is the only Asian country the two figures will visit during their tour. Based on a true story, ``Valkyrie,’’ is set in Nazi Germany during World War II and tells the story of German officers scheming to assassinate Adolf Hitler. Cruise plays Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, one of the key plotters in the film. The star of hit movies ``Mission Impossible’’ (1996) and ``Jerry Maguire’’ (1996), Cruise has visited Korea three times to promote ``Interview with the Vampire’’ (1994), ``Mission Impossible 2’’ (2000) and ``Vanilla Sky’’ (2001). He recently received rave reviews for his comic performance in the film ``Tropic Thunder,’’ which also gained him a Golden Globe nomination. Whil

Dec 30, 2008

People Lighting Up World in 2008

Bae Ji-sook Staff Reporter Actress Moon Geun-young, actor Kim Myung-min and ice skater Kim Yu-na were selected among 100 people that ``lit up the world’’ in 2008 in a survey conducted by the Korea Green Foundation. Twenty-one-year-old Moon, who has been working on the silver screen for the past 10 years, took the leading role for the SBS hit drama `` The Painter of Wind’’ and showed off her talent as a grown-up actress. However, what got her on the list was the fact that she had been the No.1 private donator for the charity group Community Chest of Korea for the past 10 years. The group stated that Moon declined to have her name revealed, but she has been involved in numerous charity projects and undertaking volunteer work on the advice of her mother. Kim grabbed the attention of the critics with his astounding performance in MBC smash hit drama ``Beethoven Virus’’ this fall. Taking the role of fastidious musical conductor Kang Mae, he brought viewers joy and happiness, the Foundation said. Ice skating starlet Kim Yu-na gave a breath of fresh air to those suffering un

Dec 29, 2008
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