Lifestyle - The Korea Times

Choreographers Work Together to Bring Out Emotions

By Han Sang-hee Staff Reporter Working together as a team needs effort and understanding, but for two choreographers exploring the world of dance at the Seoul International Dance Festival 2008 (SIDance 2008), collaborating meant much more. ``We want to set an example in collaboration. We are two different people, a man and a woman, with different cultural backgrounds, and delving into art together was a great process in itself, not to mention an effective way to bring higher quality artworks. This is what makes collaborating special,'' Kim Yoon-jin told The Korea Times during an interview last Thursday. Kim and American video artist and choreographer Dean Moss are bringing ``Gisaeng Becomes You,'' a ``time-transcending exploration'' of discovering one's life through the gisaeng, Korean female entertainers, just like looking into a mirror. The artists explained that it's not about theater, for this includes narrative, but more about dance and performance art. Moss discovered a poem about the entertainers in 2005, and found a part of his life in their stories and decid

Sep 15, 2008

Singer BoA to Knock on US Music Market

By Han Sang-hee Staff Reporter Korean pop princess BoA is about to knock on the door of the U.S. music scene. At a press conference in Seoul, the 21-year-old singer expressed her excitement at being finally able to reveal to the world what she has been up to for the past couple of years. ``It was so hard to hide our plans. People kept asking me why are you not making an album, but the truth was, I was already working on one! Now, I am finally showing everybody what I've been working on. Now it really feels like I'm going to the U.S.,'' she said at the conference Wednesday. Lee Soo-man, president of her agency SM Entertainment, project manager and producer Max Gousse, music executive Hayden Bell and choreographer Flii Stylz joined her for the conference. Debuting in 2000, BoA started out as a young, aspiring artist with a big voice and superb dance talent. She moved to Japan, becoming one of most popular performers among Japanese fans. With the catchphrases ``Best Of Asia'' and ``Bring on America,'' she has teamed up with some of the best producers, choreographers and m

Sep 11, 2008

Dongguk Professor Listed in Marquis Whos Who

By Kang Shin-who Staff Reporter Dongguk University professor Kang Sam-mo has had his name listed in the 2009 edition of ``Marquis Who's Who’’ for his economic papers. Marquis Who's Who, a subsidiary of News Communications, has been published since 1899, presenting the achievements and biographies of millions of influential people and leaders in a variety of fields around the world. Some 3,000 Koreans so far have had their names listed. Kang was recognized for his papers on the influence of foreign exchange rates on economics and his analysis method on currency rate overvaluation. kswho@koreatimes.co.kr

Sep 11, 2008

Korea Can Play Mediator Role in Fighting Climate Change

By Kim Se-jeong Staff Reporter Korea can play a bridging role between the developing and developed countries in global efforts to slow down climate change, according to the head of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the U.N. convention who stopped by Korea en route to Guam, told reporters Tuesday, ``Korea is no longer a developing country, and can play a bridging role between developing and developed nations.'' His remarks were an echo of the Korean climate change ambassador, Chung Rae-kwon, who had proposed Korea's bridging role at a U.N. climate change meeting in Ghana in August. The Korean government announced it would come up with plans for Greenhouse Gas Mission Reduction 2020 by next year, for which Boer praised Korea. ``This will be a very important contribution to the international agreement next year,'' in Copenhagen, Denmark, where an aspiring post-Kyoto Protocol agreement is to be struck. Korea is one of few countries outside the 37 industrialized nations under the Kyoto Protocol, talkin

Sep 10, 2008

Korean-Japanese Singers Rebel With a Cause

By Lee Hyo-won Staff Reporter A rough, coarse voice pierces through the crashing of the electric guitar. Listening closer, one recognizes Memphis blues jazzed up with reggae rhythm, janggu (Korean drum) beats and bangs of ggwaenggwari (Korean gong). The lyrics, sung with a heavy Japanese intonation, are actually Korean. The dissonant sounds ultimately form overarching melodies suffused with feeling and warmth. Korean-Japanese rocker Pak Poe defies convention, ironically, by sticking to tradition and roots. Born in Japan to a Korean immigrant father and Japanese mother, he was the first Japanese singer to croon Korean lyrics. This was in the 1980s ― ``long before Bae Yong-joon and hallyu (Korean wave),'' the 54-year-old told The Korea Times. ``People laughed at me,'' he said. According to the South Asia Human Rights Documentation Center, nearly half of all registered foreigners in Japan are Korean, as a result of Japan's occupation of Korea (1910-45). Despite generations of residence in Japan, many have maintained Korean citizenship and thus lack many political rights. Early

Sep 10, 2008

Motivational Speaker and Author Hansen Visits Korea

By Kim Ji-soo, Jeyup Kwaak Staff Reporter, Korea Times Intern Thirty years ago he was penniless. Today he is one of the best-selling authors in history. Mark Victor Hansen, famous for his bestseller ``Chicken Soup for the Soul'' series, has visited Korea, the ``72nd country'' he has ever been to, for a public lecture at the Sungkyunkwan University on Tuesday. His visit was sponsored by the Korean Leadership Center. He opened the press conference by saying how Korea's almost unprecedented pace of economic development is for him a poignant story of inspiration. He then drew the parallel between the economic miracle and his striking personal journey, where he rose from rags to riches as a publishing tycoon and marketing genius. Hansen said ``Chicken Soup'' was at first rejected by 144 publishers when he planned it 15 years ago with another motivational speaker Jack Canfield because almost no one at the time saw the demand for a book filled with short motivational stories. They could not be more mistaken; to date, the series have sold more than 157 million copies, becoming

Sep 9, 2008

Cimino Inaugurates Chungmuro Competition

By Lee Hyo-won Staff Reporter Director Michael Cimino and other esteemed cineastes came together as judges for the 2nd Chungmuro International Film Festival in Seoul (CHIFFS). Chungmuro, the founding ground of South Korean cinema, has turned into a cinephile's playground with some 140 films from 40 odd countries, of which 13 are competing for cash prizes in CHIFF's new competition section. Cimino, who is best known for his Academy Award-winning film ``The Deer Hunter'' (1978), leads the panel of judges including Korean helmer Im Sang-soo, producer Kim Young, Japanese film critic Ken Terawaki and French actress Lise Bellynck. While he has not yet viewed all of the competing films, Cimino said they were ``generally of a high level.'' ``I have a very simple definition of a good movie: a good movie makes you forget you're watching a movie,'' he told reporters at a press conference Monday. Kim, who recently appeared as chair of the International Women's Film Festival in Seoul (IWFFIS), said the competition pool is diverse, and works range from artsy independent films to more com

Sep 8, 2008

TVXQ to Release Pan-Asia Album

By Lee Hyo-won Staff Reporter K-pop group TVXQ will be releasing their fourth album on Sept. 24 in South Korea, followed by its release in other Asian countries. The boy band makes a comeback in the domestic music scene after two years of working mostly in Japan. Their last album ``O-Jung.Ban.Hap'' was released here in September 2006. ``A teaser photo of TVXQ's dramatic new look drew a lot of attention,'' said the group's agency SM Entertainment. The five singers showed off a more mature ambiance in a black and white image. ``We are receiving a lot of calls from overseas record companies inquiring about releases in other parts of Asia. Beginning with its domestic release on the 24th the album will be circulated in other countries one by one,'' said the agency. ``Because we have been away for a long time, we put a lot more effort into the album. You can look forward to seeing a new TVXQ,'' the group was quoted as saying. After sweeping the Korean music awards at the end of 2006, TVXQ went on to Japan where they ranked number one on the Oricon singles chart for three consecut

Sep 4, 2008

US Human Rights Activist Wins Seoul Peace Prize

By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter Suzanne Scholte, a renowned American human rights activist, has been selected as the winner of this year's Seoul Peace Prize, the Seoul Peace Prize Cultural Foundation announced Wednesday. Scholte, 49, who serves as president of Washington-based Defense Forum Foundation (DFF), has spearheaded efforts to improve human rights conditions in North Korea. DFF is a non-profit foundation that sponsors educational programs on foreign affairs, defense, national security and human rights issues. The foundation is best known for its Congressional Defense and Foreign Policy Forum, which holds monthly national security briefings on Capitol Hill for members of Congress and their senior staff. ``I wish to accept this great honor on behalf of the people for which I have devoted much of my life: the North Korean defectors who are valiantly working for freedom, democracy and human rights for their homeland, and the Sahrawi refugees of Western Sahara, who are seeking self-determination and the right to live as a free people through peaceful and democratic me

Sep 3, 2008

Lee Elisa Quits as Chief of National Training Center

By Yoon Chul Korea Times Intern Lee Elisa has stepped down from her post as the chief of the Korea National Training Center. The 54-year-old former table tennis star tendered her resignation to Lee Yeon-taek, the president of the Korea Sports Council (KSC), last weekend, and the KSC head accepted it Monday. ``I am satisfied with the records South Korea achieved at the Beijing Olympics,'' said Lee, the first women to serve as chief of the training center. ``Now I want to teach at Yong-In University.'' Lee was a key member of the women's team that won the title at the World Table Tennis Championships at Sarajevo in the former Yugoslavia in 1973. She became the chief of the training center in March 2005. During her reign, she contributed to the remodeling of the center and renovated its management. South Korea got high marks at the Turin Olympics and Doha Asian Games in 2006, the Changchun Winter Asian Games in 2007 and the Beijing Olympics last month. ``Though we don't know who will take over, the replacement has to help South Korea maintain among the top-10

Sep 2, 2008

People & Events