Lifestyle - The Korea Times

Cyber University Meets Future Demands

By Kang Shin-who Staff Reporter Head of the biggest online university in the U.S. underlined on Wednesday Korea needs to avoid negative stereotyping on cyber education and forecasted it will be the way of the future. ``You might think online schools are less personal than traditional schools, but it’s not. I believe our students and others in other cyber universities get better attention in the online environment,’’ said Jones International University (JIU) President David E. Leasure who visited Seoul to build ties with Seoul Cyber University. The reasons, the president pointed to the change of communication tools in our daily life and the fact that people today spend more time online than offline. ``In a traditional class, you might ask one question a week, but in online you can ask a lot of questions through e-mail. Students can learn more independently and instructors can discipline the students well in online,’’ Leasure said in an interview with The Korea Times. ``Also they can interact with other students through bulletin board and chatting rooms. As they convey

Jun 7, 2007

Football Player Kim Nam-il Engaged to TV Announcer

By Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter Another star couple is born. Star football player Kim Nam-il and TV presenter Kim Bo-min announced their plans to tie the knot this December. The couple announced their engagement in a ceremony Tuesday at the Grand Hyatt Seoul Hotel. Kim Nam-il and Kim Bo-min admitted they met in 2004 and have been dating ever since. There have been rumors about their relationship, but neither has officially confirmed it before. Kim Nam-il became a superstar in 2002 because of his outstanding performance during the 2002 World Cup co-hosted by South Korea and Japan. Riding high on his World Cup success, he had a short stint playing on loan for a Dutch football club, Excelsior Rotterdam. However, he failed to impress and returned to play for the Chunnam Dragons. The 30-year old football player was traded to the Suwon Samsung Blue Wings in 2005. Kim Nam-il also played for the Korean national team during the 2006 World Cup. Kim Bo-min is a popular TV presenter, who hosted the KBS quiz show ``Golden Bell’’ and the live music show ``Music Bank.’’ S

Jun 6, 2007

Modern Necktie Originated from Croatia

By Yoon Won-sup Staff Reporter Croatian Foreign Minister Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, who visited South Korea last week, announced that her government has appointed Yang In-mo, the senior executive adviser to Samsung Group, as the Croatian honorary consul general to Seoul. Yang, 67, served as a member of the restructuring committee of Samsung; is a chairman of the Korea Plant Engineering Association, the chairman of the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies Alumni Association; and the vice chairman of the Korean-German Association. ``I'd like to promote bilateral relations between Korea and Croatia through various activities,'' Yang told The Korea Times. ``As this year marks the 15th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, we will see an event in November in Seoul.'' Yang said that he had opportunities to learn about Croatia while working as chief of the Samsung office in Germany and that there are many things in Croatia that could be attractive to Koreans. ``Some 12 million people visit Croatia for tourism purposes, and 80 perc

Jun 6, 2007

`Korean Students Lack Creativity

By Kang Shin-who Staff Reporter Keith Eckerling, college advisor at Korea International School (KIS), said Korean students need to be honest when they write essays or resumes for U.S. college admission. ``Too many people lie and try to create things and exaggerate what they did. However, those things don't usually work,'' Eckerling said. ``You need to be yourself. Don't try to play games. People working for colleges are smart,'' he added. Eckerling was also a college advisor at an international school in Taiwan for five years and moved to Korea last year. The advisor is proud that he worked hard to establish an ethical approach to college admissions at schools in Taiwan and Korea. He hopes to see some of this year's class at KIS obtain gain entry into some top colleges in the U.S. such as Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, University of California Irvine and University of California Los Angeles. Especially, he said that he is happy to have so far endured supervising SAT tests with no significant problems. SAT test results of some Korean students were

Jun 5, 2007

Bache Helps People Find Inner Self

By Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter The Global positioning system (GPS), a navigation tool that helps direct people to where they want to go, is probably the last thing people would think about when talking about finding one’s self or looking for inner peace. Davida Bache, an internationally renowned motivational speaker, believes there is a similar GPS in everyone, even if they are not aware of it. ``The GPS is knowing what you want, when you want it and how to get it, where to go and why,'' she told The Korea Times. Her concept of the human GPS sounds similar to gut feeling or instinct. She points to the middle of her chest, as the location of this GPS, which serves as an internal radar. Bache has done extensive research on the subject throughout her 20-year career. ``Carl Jung said that as children, before we get encumbered with societal norms, we know, we act and we are. Know. Do. Act. Are. We are fully self-expressed. Jung said that what we did as children is our passion,'' she said. As a child, Bache said she would explore the canyons in Pacific Palisades, C

Jun 4, 2007

Henry to Appear on Entertainment Show

By Park Chung-a Staff Reporter Star French forward Thierry Henry is to appear in one of the nation’s most popular entertainment shows on Saturday. He shot MBC’s popular entertainment show ``Endless Challenge’’ on Sunday under tight security with six comedians including Yoo Jae-seok, Noh Hong-cheol , Jeong Hyung-don and Park Myong-soo at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. The world football star showed his friendly and humorous side while playing a one-on-one football game with each of the comedians and demonstrated heading a ball filled with water while shooting the show. Henry impressed the program makers and comedians with his good manners and friendliness during four hours of shooting despite hot weather surpassing 30 degrees Celcius, according to the program producers. During time between takes, he would willingly give autographs and take photographs with the program’s staff at the stadium. ``We found him a world hero with great manners. He was just so friendly to all the staff of the program and would keep smiling while shooting the show. He in

Jun 4, 2007

Chinese Vice Premier Huang Ju Dies at 68

Chinese Vice Premier Huang Ju, a key ally of former Chinese President Jiang Zemin who climbed the ranks of Shanghai politics to join the Communist Party's inner sanctum of power, died early Saturday., the International Herald Tribune reported in Beijing, quoting Xinhua News Agency. He was 68. Xinhua did not disclose the cause of death, though Huang had reportedly been ill with pancreatic cancer for much of the past two years. Xinhua said the Chinese leadership in its official obituary of Huang called him "a long-tested and faithful communist fighter" ? a traditional description for a leader who dies in good standing. Huang ranked No. 6 in the party hierarchy. His death creates a vacancy in the Politburo and gives President Hu Jintao an opportunity to increase his hold on power by filling it with a supporter, the IHT said. Because of his illness, Huang had been expected to retire later this year at an important party congress, a once-every-five-years event that normally occasions sharp infighting for senior posts. It's unclear whether Hu, unrivaled for power after five yea

Jun 2, 2007

Miss Korea Returns Home From Mexico

By Seo Dong-shin Staff Reporter Miss Korea Lee Honey said she was happy with the crown she reaped at the 2007 Miss Universe beauty pageant _ the third runner-up. ``I couldn't bring the honor of Miss Universe to my country, but I think I took the first step. I believe there will be better results for those who come after me,'' the 24-year-old said during a press conference at Incheon International Airport upon returning from the 2007 Miss Universe beauty pageant held in Mexico. Asked what she thinks of anti-beauty pageant voices, she said the answer is ``simple and clear.'' ``Miss Korea is necessary to promote the beauty of Korea around the world,'' she said. ``I realized at the Miss Universe event that it was a truly global festival. It was not just about gathering mere beauties together, but an occasion for everyone to show each country's traditional clothes and culture. Rather than criticize the pageant for `commercializing women,' I think there should be some acknowledgement of the beauty of the times.'' Asked what she wanted to most after having been away from her

Jun 1, 2007

Sim to Lead People First Party

By Kang Hyun-kyung Staff Reporter Rep. Sim Dae-pyung of the People First Party (PFP) was chosen as its leader at a meeting of the party's top decision-making committee in Seoul Wednesday. A former governor of South Chungcheong Province, Sim, 66, led the party as co-leader along with Rep. Shin Kook-hwan until late April. Shin left the party on April 30 to join the move to create an alliance with lawmakers who deserted the pro-government Uri Party and are seeking to create a new party ahead of the December presidential election. As party leader, Sim is scheduled to name key party post holders, including chief policymaker and secretary-general, on June 1. During the committee meeting, PFP leaders made it clear that their party will field a candidate to run in the presidential race. Sim joined the National Assembly after he won a by-election in April. The election returns showed the PFP still enjoys considerable popularity among residents of South Chungcheong Province. At a press conference held after the election, Sim said he could win more than 80 p

May 30, 2007

Samsung Life CEO Eyes Chinese Market

By Yoon Ja-young Staff Reporter Lee Soo-chang, CEO of Samsung Life Insurance, started taking care of overseas businesses as part of efforts to make the company one of the world's 15 largest insurance firms. According to the insurer, Lee visited Samsung-Air China Life Insurance Company, a joint venture set up in China, for a two-day visit until Wednesday. It was his first visit to China since he took office in June last year. Lee had a meeting with staff and asked them to adopt an aggressive marketing strategy. Samsung Life Insurance advanced into the Chinese market in July 2005, as the first Korean life insurer in China, although it hasn't made much progress to date. Earlier this month, Samsung's Lee announced a long-term vision to make the company into one of the world's 15 largest insurance firms by 2015, at its 50th anniversary ceremony. ``It costs a lot for an insurance company when it seeks to advance into an overseas market as it has to set up a system investing in education and employment. It is usual to record deficit for a decade,'' a company spokesman s