Lifestyle - The Korea Times

Veterans ministry to name bicycle path after key Korean War battle

This image, provided by the veterans ministry, shows the poster of a cycling event designed to mark the 70th anniversary of the armistice that halted the 1950-53 Korean War. YonhapThe veterans ministry will name a bike path just east of Seoul after a key Korean War battle this week, as part of a program to mark the 70th anniversary of the armistice that halted the 1950-53 conflict, the ministry said Wednesday.The ministry plans to designate the 11-kilometer path in Gapyeong, 60 kilometers east of the capital, as the Road of the Battle of Gapyeong during an event in the county Thursday.The event was organized to commemorate the sacrifices of the fallen troops from 22 nations that fought under a U.N. mandate during the war.The event will be attended by some 100 participants, including Vice Veterans Minister Yoon Jong-jin and diplomats from Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.The Gapyeong battle took place from April 23-27, 1951. The 27th British Commonwealth Brigade, comprising soldiers from the four countries, successfully fought against Chinese forces and gave Korean and U.N.

May 10, 2023

Veterans ministry to name bicycle path after key Korean War battle

Classes to teach parents-to-be traditional Korean lullabies, mobile making

By Ko Dong-hwanFor soon-to-be moms and dads, prenatal care can become over-complicated by barrages of information on nutrition, books, places to go and exercises for the care of unborn babies. It can all become very costly in terms of both time and money. For millennia in Korea, as for people all over the world throughout history, new parents simply relied on the simple wisdom preserved and handed down from generation to generation.A Korean traditional hand-sewn baby mobile is seen in a poster for “Sewing with Our Own Folk Sound” class at Seoul Museum of Korean Folk Music / Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan GovernmentThe Seoul Metropolitan Government will open a special class at a local museum in Seoul, later this week for those bracing for the big day and mulling over the bigger responsibilities they will have to handle in the days, weeks, months and years ahead.Lessons teaching the craft of sewing a baby mobile and folkloric Korean lullabies, open on Friday at the Seoul Museum of Korean Folk Music in central Seoul. The once-a-day lesson will open every Friday from this wee

May 9, 2023By Ko Dong-hwan

Classes to teach parents-to-be traditional Korean lullabies, mobile making

Hangang Moonlight Market returns Sunday

Food truck staff busily prepare and serve shrimp skewers at the Hangang Moonlight Market in 2022. Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan GovernmentBy Ko Dong-hwanA nighttime riverside street market, a seasonal bazaar held by the Seoul Metropolitan Government each year, is opening at Banpo Hangang Riverside Park on Sunday. This year's Hangang Moonlight Market comes after its huge success last year, when it attracted over 520,000 visitors after being shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic over public health concerns.This year, six market events will be held May 7 until June 11 ― every Sunday ― at Banpo Hangang Park. Over 40 food trucks and 50 vendors under pitched tents will be ready to cater to visitors, according to the market organizer from the Labor and Fairness Policy Bureau under the Seoul Metropolitan Government. Not to mention culinary delicacies and a range of nifty items ― such as accessories, home deco and pet care items ― will be available.The city government is making an environmental initiative through the market as well. The food trucks will use biodegradable single-use plates.

May 7, 2023By Ko Dong-hwan

Animal rights lawyer becomes voice for the voiceless

Animal rights lawyer Park Joo-yeon files a bill of complaint on animal cruelty to stray cats from Seoul's Dongmyo Market at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office, Nov. 23, 2020. Courtesy of Park Joo-yeonBy Lee Hae-rinAnimals are much loved and hated at the same time in Korea ― one in every four Koreans lives with companion animals, while over two million dogs are slaughtered every year for dog meat and animals are stipulated as objects under the current legal system.Park Joo-yeon, an attorney at Law Firm DIRECTION, is one of the first lawyers here who has been defending the rights of animals under such harsh circumstances. Based on her decade-long experience in efforts to elevate the legal status of animals, Park takes an in-depth look at the evolution of the Animal Protection Act (APA) and maps out its future in her latest book, “They Are Not Things,” published last Monday.Park decided to speak up for animals after coming across a horrific video of animal cruelty in 2012, when she became a lawyer, because “no living and sentient being deserves to be treated

May 4, 2023By Lee Hae-rin

Animal rights lawyer becomes voice for the voiceless

Julian Opie's latest project on dancing people comes to Busan

British pop artist Julian Opie's painting of dancing people, "Dance 2 step 1" is seen in this photo provided by Kukje Gallery. YonhapJulian Opie, a celebrated British pop artist known for his iconic "Walking People" series, has brought his latest project on dancing people, the virtual reality (VR) world and life during the pandemic to Korea's southeastern port city of Busan.The exhibition, titled "OP.VR@Kukje/F1963.BUSAN," features a wide range of works including paintings, sculptures, LED installations, mosaic tiles and a VR experience. It opened Wednesday at Kukje Gallery's Busan branch and F1963 and will run through July 2.The 65-year-old said he began working on depicting dancing people after he came across videos of shuffle dancing, a type of upbeat, repetitive subgenre popular among youngsters, on social networking platforms amid the COVID-19 pandemic. "I wanted something which is very fast, very lively to kind of pull away from this very quiet, lonely time that was in England for a year and a half ... I came across shuffle dancing on YouTube and TikTok. I saw something in ther

May 3, 2023

Julian Opie's latest project on dancing people comes to Busan

Korea Times-GoGo Mongolia MOU

The Korea Times President-Publisher Oh Young-jin, top, and GoGo Mongolia President-Publisher Chinzorig Enkhtsetseg show their copies of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed to promote cooperation between the two news outlets, during an online signing ceremony, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Kwak Won-hee

May 3, 2023

Imprisoned Hong Kong activist wins Gwangju Prize for Human Rights

Chow Hang-tung, an activist barrister, speaks to reporters outside a court in Hong Kong, in this May 6, 2021, file photo. Chow has been selected as the winner of this year's Gwangju Prize for Human Rights. AP-YonhapBy Jung Min-hoChow Hang-tung, a prominent pro-democracy activist in Hong Kong, was chosen as the winner of this year's Gwangju Prize for Human Rights.Chow, 38, who is in prison now after being convicted of inciting and taking part in arranging an unlawful assembly ― a commemoration of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre ― has become a symbolic figure for everyone who is longing for democracy, a judging committee said at the May 18 Memorial Foundation office in Gwangju, Tuesday.On behalf of Chow, her representative is expected to receive the award at the ceremony on May 18, Korea's anniversary of the 1980 pro-democracy uprising in the southwestern city.“Chow Hang-tung's struggle against the Hong Kong government's undemocratic, inhumane treatment has become the source of courage and hope for human rights advocates and those longing for democracy around the world, even w

May 3, 2023By Jung Min-ho

Imprisoned Hong Kong activist wins Gwangju Prize for Human Rights

Gucci to hold fashion show at Seoul royal palace next month

A photo of the royal Gyeongbok Palace of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) in central Seoul provided by Gucci on April 28, 2023 / YonhapItalian luxury brand Gucci will hold a fashion show at a royal palace in Seoul next month, about six months after the event was canceled due to the Itaewon crowd crush, the company said Friday. Gucci plans to showcase its 2024 cruise collection in front of Geunjeongjeon, the main hall of Gyeongbok Palace, in central Seoul on May 16.Geunjeongjeon was used to host major royal ceremonies and receive foreign envoys during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910).Gucci's CEO Marco Bizzarri said in a statement the house decided to host a fashion show at Gyeongbok Palace as it is a place that remembers the past and gives inspiration for the future.The event was originally scheduled for Nov. 1 but was canceled after a total of 159 people were killed in the crowd crush during Halloween celebrations in Seoul's Itaewon neighborhood on Oct. 29.The global fashion house also plans to sponsor Seoul's cultural heritage authority for three years to help preserve the royal palace.

Apr 28, 2023

Gucci to hold fashion show at Seoul royal palace next month

World Journalists Conference 2023

Jung Min-ho, right, staff reporter at The Korea Times and head of the international relations department of the Journalists Association of Korea, speaks during a discussion session of the World Journalists Conference 2023 in Seoul, Tuesday. More than 50 journalists from 47 countries have gathered in Korea to discuss various challenges regarding the future of journalism and promote friendship. During the six-day event that runs until April 29, the participants will visit Busan, Incheon and Suwon as well as the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) to learn about Korea. Courtesy of Journalists Association of Korea

Apr 26, 2023

Former insurance agent turns into star NFL analyst

James Koh, Korean-American NFL analyst / Courtesy of James KohJames Koh, first Asian-American host on NFL Network, boasts broad knowledge of game By Steve HanJames Koh was an insurance agent in the San Francisco Bay area in 2003 after earning his bachelor's degree in legal studies from the University of California, Berkeley. In Koh's own words, he was making “great money in a great city.”But all of that changed after he came home from work one evening and turned on the TV to watch “Sports Center” on ESPN.“I want to do that,” he told himself.Over the next 10 years, Koh succeeded in transforming himself from an insurance salesman to a celebrated sportscaster.By 2013, Koh became a Fox 11 sportscaster in Los Angeles and won the Emmy Award four times. He worked his way up the ladder in the media industry, starting from a country music DJ as well as a play-by-play high school basketball commentator for KPQX, a radio station in Havre, Montana, where he gave himself the nickname “Korean Cowboy.”He made quite a few more stops along the way befor

Apr 23, 2023

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