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UN General Assembly Chief Visits Seoul

By Kim Se-jeong Staff Reporter The president of the United Nations General Assembly is on a three-day visit to Seoul for talks on climate change and funds for the global food and energy crises. Srgjan Kerim arrived Sunday and held a meeting Monday with Prime Minister Han Seung-soo. They discussed climate change and other matters. Han is a former climate change ambassador to the United Nations. Kerim later delivered a lecture at Korea University and met members of the U.N. Associations of Korea. The former Macedonian foreign minister assumed his position last year, and this visit is his first to South Korea. Kerim's visit is the first by a U.N. General Assembly chief since Jean Ping in 2004. Kerim will hold talks Wednesday with President Lee Myung-bak and Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan on Millennium Development Goals and U.N. reform. skim@koreatimes.co.kr

Aug 25, 2008

Sookmyung President Retires After 15 Years

By Kim Rahn Staff Reporter Sookmyung Women's University President Lee Kyung-sook will retire at the end of the month after 15 years leading the school. Lee is viewed as a leader who has made huge contributions to the development of the school, earning many nicknames due to her long-term presidency and aggressive management style. Dubbed a ``CEO-type president,'' Lee in 1995 pledged to raise 100 billion won when the school had 200 million won in funds and suffered from financial difficulty. She accomplished her goal in 11 years. During her presidency, the size of the school's land doubled and 20 buildings were built, earning her another nickname, ``construction president.'' Students also called her ``dancing president'' after she got down in sunglasses to pop music at a school event. They also cheered her for breaking the usual solemn image of university presidents. ``Longest-term female president'' and ``first president reappointed four times'' are some of her other monikers. Lee entered the university in 1961 and began teaching there in 1976. She became preside

Aug 25, 2008

Chinese The Host Set in Sauna

By Han Sang-hee Staff Reporter Chinese director Ning Hao has decided to set his remake of ``The Host'' (2006) in a sauna. Ning, 31, announced his upcoming film at the discussion ``CinDi Talk,'' in tune with the Cinema Digital Seoul Film Festival 2008 Aug. 22. Bong Joon-ho, the director of ``The Host,'' also joined Ning at the session. ``The monster in the Chinese version of ``The Host'' will appear in a very unusual place. There are not many people at tourists resorts during the regular seasons, unlike the peak vacation season, so I thought it would be a good idea for the monster to jump out of a large sauna in one these resorts,'' Ning said. He added that because people don't wear any clothes in saunas, there are no status or class issues. Bong said he felt different when he heard about the Chinese version. ``I wondered how China, having a more similar sentiment to Korea, would interpret the movie. I was also pleased to know that Ning was producing the movie. After watching his movie `Crazy Stone,' I thought he had a unique sense of wit and energy,'' sand Bong.

Aug 24, 2008

National Baseball Icon Leads Korea to Victory

By Park Hyong-ki Staff Reporter In the years ahead, if anyone is asked what they remembered most about the Beijing Olympics in the summer of 2008, a possible answer would be the baseball final between Korea and Cuba. And not to be forgotten is the star of that game, Lee Seung-yeop. It was bottom of the ninth inning. The bases were loaded by Cuba with one out. The score was three to two with Korea leading. Team Korea had just switched their pitcher and catcher. If Cuba hit a run, Korea had little chance of winning the gold nobody had initially expected. To everyone watching the game and hoping for a miracle, Korea triumphantly ended the event with a double-play, beating the defending champion Cuba. Those reminiscing such nerve-wrecking play would also credit Lee for taking the team where no other Korean baseball teams had gone before in the Olympics. It wasn't a sweet and rosy ride for Lee before joining the national team. The 32-year-old slugger went through ups but mostly downs in his career while playing for the Yomiuri Giants in Japan this year, and was a

Aug 24, 2008

Coach Provides Players With Forever the Moment

By Kim Rahn Staff Reporter Lim Young-chul, the Korean women's handball coach, called a timeout roughly one minute before the end of the match with Hungary at the Beijing Olympic Games, Saturday. Korea was leading the game 33-27, almost in sight of the bronze medal. However, he called the timeout and replaced nearly all members with senior players. Lim called their names one by one, and told them to finish the game, also telling the juniors to understand him. It was careful consideration for the older players, for whom the match was to be their last at the Olympic Games. It was the last thing the coach could do for his players whose dreams of the gold medal were shattered following a controversial goal by Norway during Thursday's semifinal. ``I know that calling a timeout in the last minute of a game is against fair play, and I have never done it before. However, I had a reason today. Those of my players who are old, had gone through hard training, and cannot play at the next Olympic Games. So I wanted to give them a last chance,'' Lim said after the game. Korea cl

Aug 24, 2008

Actor Dies in Motorbike Accident

By Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter Lee Eon, a model-turned-actor who starred in the popular MBC drama ``Coffee Prince,'' died in a motorcycle accident at dawn Thursday, Yonhap News reported. Lee, whose real name is Park Sang-min, was on his way home after attending a party celebrating the end of his KBS drama ``Choi Kang Chil-woo'' (Mighty Chil-woo). He was riding his motorcycle when he hit a railing of the elevated roadway in Hannam-dong, Yongsan at around 2 a.m. The 27-year old actor died on the spot and was taken to Soonchunhyang University Hospital in Hannam-dong, Seoul. The police have not yet determined if Lee was drunk when he got into the motorcycle accident. Lee gained fame last year for his role as a dim-witted but loveable Min-yeop in ``Coffee Prince.'' When he was in elementary school, Lee started participating in ssireum or traditional Korean wrestling. He proved to be an excellent athlete and won gold medals at Korean national ssireum competitions in 1997 and 1998. However, as a freshman in university, Lee saw model Cha Seung-won on TV an

Aug 21, 2008

Korean Hockey Squads Dream Shattered

By Park Si-soo Staff Reporter Cho Sung-jun, head coach of South Korea's men's hockey team, craved an Olympic medal, regardless of color, thinking it could ignite public interest in a game that is not too popular here. However, his squad failed to make it to the quarterfinals, losing 2-1 against Spain Tuesday. The 48-year-old former hockey player has suffered from nightmares vividly after several avoidable mistakes his team made during the match. The shattered dream, at least for now, is frustrating for Cho as he is well aware of the fact that failure to grab a medal will leave Korean hockey players abandoned at least until the next Olympic Games. Prior to the crucial march, Cho and his squad vowed to put all of their energy toward making the ``best moment of their life'' by defeating their foe in the final preliminary match. ``If the national team had won a medal, we could have expected the establishment of new hockey teams at universities or support from private companies. We could also expect the establishment of a hockey-only stadium. But all of these are gone n

Aug 21, 2008

New Group Envisions 21st Century Silk Road

By Michael Ha Staff Reporter A new non-profit group is aiming to reconnect Korea and the Central Asian region with a new, 21st century version of the ancient Silk Road. ``The old Silk Road connected the East and West and it helped facilitate commerce and exchange of cultures and new ideas. We want to help create a new Silk Road, one that will connect people from different countries, organize exchange programs and conferences and networking events,'' said Kim Won-ho, chairman of the group, named the Silk Road Foundation. In an interview with The Korea Times Wednesday, Kim offered his organization's vision that will help bring people from Korea and Central Asia closer together. The foundation is being underwritten by a Seoul-based financial company, Golden Bridge Financial Group. He said the foundation is scheduled to open a branch office in Uzbekistan this year. The group will also underwrite and organize various academic, cultural and athletic exchange programs with countries in the region including Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, as well as Turkey a

Aug 20, 2008

Ryu, Epik High to Perform in Japan

By Min Hee-young Korea Times Intern Singer-actor Ryu Si-won and hip-hop group Epik High will visit the Japanese market through separate performances. Ryu, 36, will hold a solo concert at the Tokyo Dome on Christmas Eve. ``The Tokyo Dome is a difficult place for even Japanese artists to perform. Considering the size, budget and the season, Ryu's concert holds great meaning,'' Ryu's agency R's Company announced Tuesday. Ryu is the second Korean singer to perform solo at the Tokyo Dome, following Rain last year. The singer in June began an 18-city tour of Japan. Performing in 30 concerts over the past two months, he will finish his long journey at Tokyo's Budokan with a three-day concert ending Friday. The first hallyu star to perform for three consecutive days in the city, Ryu will also release his eighth album in Japan in October and hold a birthday party and fan meeting in Seoul Oct. 5. Korean hip-hop group Epik High will also perform at the Yokohama BLITZ!, Saturday and Sunday. Comprised of Tablo, Mithra Jin and DJ Tukutz, the group will hold a joint show w

Aug 20, 2008

Doing Best Glitters More Than Gold

By Kim Rahn Staff Reporter Gold certainly glitters in the Olympic Games. However, winning a gold medal is not what sports are for. South Korean diver Son Sung-chul and canoeist Lee Soon-ja, even at the lowest scores and failures to advance to next rounds, are among the Korean athletes who outshine other medallists. Son, 21, was Korea's only diver. In a preliminary of the 3-meter springboard men's event Monday, he made a lot of splashes whiling diving into the water, coming 29th among 29 contestants. He failed to advance to the semifinal. His scored 353.35 ― far lower than China's He Chong, who ranked first with the score of 515.5. For the last six months, he did not have a single chance to participate in domestic or international competitions. There was no diving board in the pool at the National Training Center in Taeneung, so he had to practice at a pool in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. He arrived in Beijing Saturday, only two days before his competition, because the Korean diving team, comprised of Son and his coach Lee Jong-hee, could not get accreditation ca

Aug 20, 2008
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