Lifestyle - The Korea Times

Haute couture designer Kay Kim speaks about SM's girl band debut costume, her brand

Haute Couture Designer Kay Kim, center, poses with models after holding a fashion show at the Baccarat Museum in Paris in this May 19, 2019 photo. Courtesy of Kay KimBy Park Ji-won Haute couture designer Kay Kim Courtesy of Kay KimLast year, haute couture designer Kay Kim got an unexpected visit from Lee Soo-man, founder and chief director of SM Entertainment. SM Entertainment, one of the big four entertainment agencies in Korea, along with JYP, YG and Big Hit, was on the verge of unveiling its new girl band Aespa. Consisting of four Asian members ― two Koreans, a Japanese and a Chinese ― the “international K-pop act” had drawn keen attention from the media even its their official debut in November, partly because each member had their own avatars. The fact that SM was launching a new girl band for the first time in six years after Red Velvet was another talking point that created a media frenzy over Aespa. Lee was asking if Kim was willing to join the “Aespa project” as a designer.Kim, who was hesitant at first, ended up accepting Lee's offer because she knew

Feb 25, 2021By Park Ji-won

KOCCA to invest 22.4 bil. won this year in developing game content

Government will invest 22.4 billion won to support local game producers. gettyimagesbankBy Park Han-solThe government will invest a total of 22.4 billion won ($20 million) this year to support the game industry, the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) announced Wednesday.To strengthen the global competitiveness of the domestic gaming industry, including startups, KOCCA will beef up its budget and raise the number of projects that qualify for aid from 46 to 66. The program will be divided into four categories ― General, Emerging Technology, New Market and Functionality. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will also offer support.Some 11.1 billion won of the budget was earmarked for the first General category. KOCCA said it will specify the fields of its support according to different gaming platforms, which include mobile, PC and cutting-edge technology such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR). Each project can receive up to 400 million won.Two categories ― Emerging Technology and New Market ― have been newly included this year, receiving b

Feb 24, 2021By Park Han-sol

KOCCA to invest 22.4 bil. won this year in developing game content

Korea reports 1st population decline in 2020; total fertility rate hits new record of 0.84

GettyimagesbankSouth Korea reported the first natural decline in population last year as the number of deaths outpaced that of newborns amid the country's rapid aging and chronic low birth rate, data showed Wednesday.The number of newborns came to a record low of 272,400 last year, down 10 percent, or 30,300, from a year earlier, according to preliminary data provided by the Statistics Korea.Last year, an all-time high of 305,100 people died, up 3.4 percent, or 10,000, from the previous year. This resulted in a decline of 33,000 in the country's population.The number of deaths topped that of newborns here in what's called a "dead cross" phenomenon for the first time since 1970, when the statistics agency began compiling related data. This means the country's population will naturally decline.South Korea is struggling with a decline in childbirths as many young people delay marriage or give up on getting married or having babies amid a prolonged economic slowdown."A natural fall in the population could accelerate as the number of marriages sharply declined last year amid the COVID-19

Feb 24, 2021

Korea reports 1st population decline in 2020; total fertility rate hits new record of 0.84

More fathers opt for parental leave amid changing culture and strong policy drive

GettyimagesbankChoi Sang-min, the father of a nine-month-old baby living in the southwestern city of Gwangju, was surprised when his boss recently just signed off without ado on papers he had submitted requesting parental leave. "It was not what I'd expected. Because I heard that when a male colleague applied for parental leave a few years back, he was called in to the boss' office 'to have a word' with him," the 37-year-old college employee said. "All I did was go and tell him, do the paperwork. That was it," he said.It was not much different for Yoon Hyo-suk, a father of two who decided to take a year off from work at an advertising agency in Seoul in July 2019 to "take the baton" from his wife and look after the kids, who were aged five and two at the time. "Some people, of course, tried to talk me out of it, but there was no more gossiping about why a man was taking leave to take care of his kids," Yoon said. "I realized there were so many other men like me taking leave and coming back the next year. It has become almost like a routine," he said.Fathers choosing to be away from w

Feb 24, 2021

More fathers opt for parental leave amid changing culture and strong policy drive

Victims still reeling from traumatic past, yet bullies forgetful

K-pop has been increasingly caught in bullying scandals as fresh allegations have been made almost every day since last week. GettyimagesbankK-pop caught in bullying scandals with a series of revelations By Kang Hyun-kyungSinger-actor Kwon Min-a, 27, a former member of the eight-member girl band, AOA, stole the show, Tuesday. Unveiling several dazzling portrait photos of herself on Instagram, she let her fans know that she's still on the entertainment scene, although she had disappeared from the public eye since last year, following her bombshell announcement that she had been bullied by her then bandmate Jimin. In the newly uploaded photos, she's provocative and flawlessly gorgeous. Such stunning images, however, betray her true self. In a recent Instagram post, she admitted that she was still reeling from the consequences of her traumatic past. “I've seen psychiatrists since I was 20 or 21. It was five or six years ago when I realized I couldn't stand that person (who traumatized her) any more… I changed my psychiatrist in March 2018… Now, medication no longer

Feb 24, 2021By Kang Hyun-kyung

Victims still reeling from traumatic past, yet bullies forgetful

Eco-friendly boom reaches entertainment industry

Reusable bags made from recycled theater projection screens / Courtesy of CGVBy Park Han-solSustainability has already emerged as a trendy theme in today's corporate practices. But its significance has been made especially apparent amid the global coronavirus pandemic. The standstill in tourism and drop in carbon emissions due to lockdowns and travel bans have resulted in reduced air pollution and wildlife filling the vacuum of human presence in some regions, albeit temporarily.The phenomenon seen as devastating for people has, at the same time, made us rethink the human impact on the environment. But can the eco-friendly boom manifest itself in the entertainment industry characterized by intangible, nonconcrete products such as films and music?Multiplex chain operator CGV found the answer in disused projection screens. In the last two years, more than 70 screens have been discarded by the company's theaters as they went through renovations or closures.Previously, such screens no longer in use were considered as waste and subsequently discarded. But in January this year, the material

Feb 23, 2021By Park Han-sol

Eco-friendly boom reaches entertainment industry

Kimchi feud: Korea rallies support from foreign envoys

Korea's staple side dish kimchi / gettyimagesbankSome Seoul-based foreign envoys share kimchi-making vlogs amid dispute between South Korea, ChinaBy Park Han-solWith regard to cultural diplomacy to strengthen their claim on the fermented dish kimchi, China is overt, whereas South Korea is discreet. On Jan. 3, Chinese Ambassador to the United Nations Zhang Jun raised the eyebrow of Koreans with his “odd” social media post. He uploaded photos featuring himself making kimchi.“Winter life can also be colorful and enjoyable. One option is to try some homemade kimchi by yourself. Not too difficult. My colleagues said it's super tasty,” he wrote. In one photo, he holds up his homemade kimchi, and in another, raises his thumb up with the dish placed in a plastic container.Such a post featuring a Chinese envoy promoting Korea's staple side-dish came weeks after Chinese state-run media the Global Times' dubious report about kimchi. Its claim was interpreted among Koreans as their neighbor's move to lay claim to Korean culture, causing them to speculate on Zhang's motive

Feb 21, 2021By Park Han-sol

Kimchi feud: Korea rallies support from foreign envoys

As pandemic drags on, movie ticket sales fall to historic low

An empty cinema foyer in Seoul is seen Jan. 14. / Korea Times file By Kwak Yeon-sooThe COVID-19 pandemic upended the local box office in 2020. Ticket sales were at their lowest levels since the early 2000s, according to a report from the Korean Film Council (KOFIC). Last year, 59.52 million people visited movie theaters, down 73.7 percent from 2019 and the lowest number since 2004 when KOFIC started to compile local box office data. The industry's total revenue also hit its lowest since 2005, plunging 73.3 percent to 510.4 billion won ($460 million) from 1.9 trillion won the previous year. Contrary to the previous years when at least a few films passed 10 million or more in attendance, not a single film passed this milestone in 2020.In 2019, five films ― “Extreme Job,” “Avengers: Endgame,” “Aladdin,” “Parasite” and “Frozen 2” ― exceeded 10 million in ticket sales, setting a new record for Korean box office history. Last year was the first year since 2012 without a s

Feb 21, 2021By Kwak Yeon-soo

As pandemic drags on, movie ticket sales fall to historic low

K-pop stars to walk on digital runway for Korean designers at New York Fashion Week

A preview of the digital runway show Concept Korea at the New York Fashion Week F/W 2021 / Courtesy of KOCCABy Park Han-solBoy bands TXT's Yeonjun and WayV's YangYang will walk in the digital runway show Concept Korea F/W 2021, part of the official program for New York Fashion Week (NYFW), showing creations by Korean designers hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.Amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has made it difficult for Korean fashion designers to break into the international market, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) announced Tuesday that they will offer them support this year through a digital runway and showroom.Concept Korea at NYFW, a government-sponsored fashion show aimed at promoting Korea's promising designers globally since 2010, will launch the digital runway, Feb. 17.Three brands ― Shin Hye-young's WNDERKAMMER, Lee Seong-dong's UL:KIN and Lee Ji-yeon's JARRET ― which successfully made their debuts at NYFW last season, will participate in the show.For UL:KIN, K-pop star TXT's Yeonjun and musician BIBI will walk the

Feb 16, 2021By Park Han-sol

K-pop stars to walk on digital runway for Korean designers at New York Fashion Week

1 in 4 workers taking parental leave are men

More men are choosing to take paternity leave, reflecting cultural and policy changes. GettyimagesbankBy Bahk Eun-jiAhn Chang-yeong, a 35-year-old office worker and father of an eight-month-old boy in Seoul, said he will begin his paternity leave early next month when his wife is scheduled to return to work after her nine months of maternity leave. “I realized the social atmosphere and workplace culture have been changing drastically after my colleagues encouraged me to take parental leave, even though I was the first male employee on my team to do it,” Ahn said.“It took a long time for me to make my decision, but I thought I should share the child-rearing responsibilities and prevent my wife from having to take a long-term career break,” he said. Like Ahn, a growing number of male employees are taking time off to raise their children, mostly due to a cultural shift in which couples are now expected to raise their children together, unlike in the past when stricter gender roles put the responsibility of raising children solely on women.The government's increas

Feb 16, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji

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