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INTERVIEW Meet the creator of traditional jewelry for 'Mr. Queen'

Actress Shin Hye-sun, left, is seen wearing a phoenix “binyeo,” or hairpin, while Seol In-ah is seen wearing a lovebird “binyeo” in “Mr. Queen.” Courtesy of tvNBy Kwak Yeon-sooPopular movies and TV dramas influence and even set new trends. Recent period dramas such as Netflix's Joseon Kingdom zombie series “Kingdom” to tvN's fantasy historical drama “Mr. Queen” have sparked viewers' interest in costumes and jewelry that are both historically authentic and imbibed with new creative twists.Following the success of “Mr. Queen” that ended with its highest viewership rating of 17.4 percent in February, KBS2's “River Where the Moon Rises” set in the ancient Goguryeo Kingdom (37 B.C.-A.D. 668) is on a roll despite changing its lead actor from Jisoo to Na In-woo. Jisoo, who played the role of Ondal in the series, was forced out of the cast following recent accusations that he was a school bully.Kim Soung-eun, a jewelry designer and owner of NASCHENKA, whose items appeared in more than 70 period dramas and mov

Mar 11, 2021By Kwak Yeon-soo
[INTERVIEW] Meet the creator of traditional jewelry for 'Mr. Queen'

KOCCA to invest 10 bil. won in content startups

gettyimagesbankBy Park Han-solThe government will invest a total of 10 billion won ($8.7 million) this year to support content startups, the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) announced Wednesday.Divided into six tracks, KOCCA's program aims to provide financial and production support to startups at different stages ― pre-stage, early stage (less than three years since its founding), mid-stage (three to seven years since its founding) and companies that are restarting ― through professional consulting, business matching and marketing services.One of the main focuses of this year's program is the role that content startups can play in the Digital New Deal, the government's initiative for the digital economy. Accordingly, the agency has specified some program categories to support social ventures, startups specializing in digitization and innovative technology in response to the contactless boom.KOCCA will also continue seeking cooperation with major firms of the private sector to find content startups and foster their growth. This year's program is joined by CJ ENM, Lotte World and

Mar 10, 2021By Park Han-sol
KOCCA to invest 10 bil. won in content startups

2021 F/W Seoul Fashion Week goes online from March 22

Poster for Seoul Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2021 / Courtesy of Seoul Fashion WeekBy Park Ji-wonSeoul Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2021 will be held online from March 22 to 27. According to the Seoul Metropolitan government, the largest fashion event in Seoul will be held in various places around the city and streamed online through various channels such as YouTube and Naver TV, presenting fashion collections of 43 designers and holding online trade shows for buyers and live commerce events.A group of fashion shows titled “Seoul Collection” by 26 veteran fashion designers will be held in three different cultural places in Seoul: the National Museum of Korea (12 brands), the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (five brands) and Oil Tank Culture Park (nine brands). National treasures such as Gilt-bronze Pensive Bodhisattva (National Treasure no. 83) and artworks in the collection of the state-run art museum will also be seen at the fashion shows.A group of fashion shows titled “Generation Next” by 17 rookie designers will be held in five different places nea

Mar 9, 2021By Park Ji-won
2021 F/W Seoul Fashion Week goes online from March 22

Ex-president's son hopes to become pastor

Former president Chun Doo-hwan's second son Jae-guk / Korea Times fileBy Kang Hyun-kyungChun Jae-guk, 57, the second son of former President Chun Doo-hwan, said last week that he has been attending divinity school to become a pastor. On a radio show of the international Christian radio network Far Eastern Broadcasting Company (FEBC) on Friday, Chun Jr. said he was inspired to go to divinity school while he was in prison.He was released from prison after serving two years and eight months. The Supreme Court sentenced him in August 2015 to three years behind bars, which was suspended for four years, along with a 4 billion won fine. He was on trial for tax evasion. Of the 4-billion won fine, he paid only 140 million won (3.5 percent of the total) and performed 32 months of penal labor in prison to pay the rest of the evaded tax.The latest update about the former president's second son was made public when the radio show host Rev. Kim Jang-hwan, also known by his English name Billy Kim, informed his audience that the former president's son is now a divinity school student.Kim said he was

Mar 7, 2021By Kang Hyun-kyung
Ex-president's son hopes to become pastor

Animal rights activists dump coconuts in front of Thai embassy, criticizing forced monkey labor

Local animal rights activists in collaboration with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) hold a coconut-dumping protest in front of Royal Thai Embassy in Seoul, Friday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulBy Park Han-solA performer, dressed in a monkey costume with a chain around his neck, pushes a cart piled high with coconuts in front of the Royal Thai Embassy in Yongsan District, Seoul, Friday afternoon. After taking several steps forward, he suddenly empties the cart, leaving dozens of coconuts precariously tumbling down the road, before picking up a sign. It reads, “THAILAND: Stop Coconut Industry Monkey Abuse.”The protest, performed by Korean animal rights activists in collaboration with the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), is part of the international animal rights organization's campaign to denounce the abuse of monkeys committed by the coconut industry in Thailand. Similar protests have already been held in countries including the Philippines and Indonesia, as well as across the U.S.A series of PETA investigations revealed that in

Mar 5, 2021By Park Han-sol
Animal rights activists dump coconuts in front of Thai embassy, criticizing forced monkey labor

Outspoken pastor says military brothels are necessary

Rev. Jun Kwang-hoon, pastor of the Sarang Jeil Church, walks into the Seoul Central District Court for a trial hearing, in this Feb. 24, file photo. Korea Times file By Park Ji-wonOutspoken pastor Jun Kwang-hoon of the Sarang Jeil Church, a harsh critic of the Moon Jae-in government, came under fire again, this time for his “defamatory” remarks about “comfort women.”During a sermon at his church, Feb. 21, Jun said, “Mary is a single mother and all women in the genealogy of Jesus are prostitutes. Military brothels are necessary to satisfy male soldiers' sexual desires.” He added, “You congregants are also whores because you had a one night stand with Satan even though you have lived sincerely.”Jun is no stranger to controversy. At a March 1 public rally, he called President Moon Jae-in a “spoiled brat” and a “useless man,” saying the nation should take action to oust him from leadership.The women's committee of the National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK), a libe

Mar 2, 2021By Park Ji-won
Outspoken pastor says military brothels are necessary

Portion of male births of newborns hits record low

GettyimagesbankThe portion of male births of the total newborns in South Korea declined to a record low last year, data showed Monday, in the latest sign that traditional preference for male children has waned.The ratio of baby boys to every 100 newborn girls came to 104.9 last year, down from 105.5 the previous year, according to preliminary data by Statistics Korea.The tally marked the lowest number since the statistics agency began compiling related data in 1990.When natural births are calculated with no preference for baby boys, the birth sex ratio reaches between 103 and 107, according to the agency.In South Korea, men have outnumbered women due to its traditional preference for male children. Since hitting 116.5 in 1990, the birth sex ratio has been on a steady decline.The agency earlier forecast the number of women in South Korea will begin to outpace that of men in 2029. South Korea is grappling with demographic challenges from its chronic low birthrate and rapid aging.The country reported the first natural decline in population last year as the number of deaths outpaced that

Mar 1, 2021
Portion of male births of newborns hits record low

More customers demand 'eco-friendliness' in cosmetics

Natural organic cosmetic bottles with a wooden branch on a green background / gettyimagesbank By Park Ji-wonKim Ye-seul, a 30-year-old woman, visited a refillable cosmetic store recently in western Seoul's Mangwon-dong to get a skincare product. Instead of buying another bottle of the product, she only bought refills there and collected them in recyclable containers she brought from home. She decided to buy refills rather than a new bottle of the product to reduce plastic consumption after learning that most bottles for cosmetic products are not recyclable.“I read news articles saying most plastic bottles used for cosmetic products cannot be reused. I heard that the Earth is suffering due to plastic products as it takes them more than 100 years to decompose. I am not a full-time activist or anything, but I could try what I can do for the environment. It is not as cheap and convenient as buying an ordinary cosmetic product, and there are fewer options, but I think it

Mar 1, 2021By Park Ji-won
More customers demand 'eco-friendliness' in cosmetics

New culture minister vows 'kimchi diplomacy'

Culture Minister Hwang Hee speaks during a press conference at the Central Government Complex, Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of Ministry of Culture, Sports and TourismMinister Hwang Hee met athletes over bullying scandals to search for solutions By Kwak Yeon-sooNew Culture Minister Hwang Hee said Thursday that he would step up efforts to promote Korea's cultural heritage and traditional cuisine ― such as hanbok, pansori and kimchi ― overseas as part of cultural diplomacy, amid the ongoing cultural feud between Korea and China. Hwang said, that some Chinese netizens' claims to kimchi and other Korean cultural assets, as part of Chinese culture reflect a growing international interest in Korean culture, noting the ministry will use the dispute as an opportunity to kick off an international campaign promoting Korea's staple dish and cultural heritage to prevent the recurrence of similar cases in the future.“I think such disputes arise because of the increasing global interest in Korean culture. Chinese people have varied thoughts about kimchi and our world-class heritage, but they don

Feb 25, 2021By Kwak Yeon-soo
New culture minister vows 'kimchi diplomacy'

The way bullies recall their past

Experts say bullies are forgetful, partly because they have a lack of, or a lower level of empathy with others. gettyimagesbank Some bullies unable to fathom victims' suffering By Kang Hyun-kyungThe recent bullying scandals that have rocked the Korean entertainment and sports scenes show a deep gap in narratives about the same shared experiences of the alleged victims and the people accused of having bullied them. Victims say their lives were ruined as the traumatic experiences continue to haunt them. Some alleged bullies, meanwhile, insist that they don't even remember such horrific incidents and that if such a thing really happened, they were “teasing” and what they had done wasn't meaning that they tried to harass their counterparts. The clash of the two accounts raises a key question: Why do people have different, if not contrasting, memories about the same shared experience? Various interpretations are possible. Either side could have lied about what happened.

Feb 25, 2021By Kang Hyun-kyung
The way bullies recall their past
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