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Students trust strangers over politicians and companies

College students gather at Seoul City Hall for an orientation of a winter part-time job program, on Jan. 9.  / YonhapCollege students said they rarely trust politicians and companies, a recent survey showed Monday.Only 2.6 percent of 2,300 college students surveyed said they trusted politicians, according to Hyundai Research Institute, which conducted the poll last November.Notably, some 8.4 percent of participants responded that they trust strangers, a higher percentage that those who trusted politicians.Meanwhile, only 7.7 percent of participants said they trust companies.The institute said that recent scandals such as Korean Air’s “nut rage” incident have deteriorated the public’s trust in the corporate sector.Controversy has swirled around Korean Air since last month, when former vice president Heather Cho threw a tantrum at John F. Kennedy International Airport over the way she was served macadamia nuts.Participants said they trusted family members the most, at 95.8 percent, followed by friends at 88.1 percent, according to the survey.“Given th

Jan 19, 2015

Ryu Hyun-jin 'dates hard' in offseason

Ryu Hyun-jin / Korea Times fileLos Angeles Dodgers pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin discussed some details of his offseason love life, Sunday, saying he has to date “hard” because of the limited time he has in Korea.Ryu, 27, made the remark on KBS variety show “Superman Returns” during a segment with actor Song Il-gook, 45, who is the father of celebrity triplets Dae-han, Min-guk and Man-seh.Sharing a meal with Song and the triplets, Ryu was asked about how he and his girlfriend date while in Korea.“I come to Korea for two-and-a-half months in the winter. We spend time together, dating ‘hard,’ as in condensed manner,” Ryu said.Showing interest in the lefty pitcher’s plans for marriage, Song advised Ryu to have as many children as possible. “Having many children is not easy but more joyous,” Song told Ryu.

Jan 19, 2015By Ko Dong-hwan
Ryu Hyun-jin 'dates hard' in offseason

Celebrity fathers cry as reality show ends

Kim Sung-joo is watching his son Min-yul's video message on the last episode of “Dad! Where Are We Going?” on Sunday. / Yonhap Fans of MBC’s popular father-and-son reality program “Dad! Where Are We Going?” were likely sad to see the last episode on Sunday, but apparently not as sad as the stars of the show.The finale was a tear-jerking affair, with the celebrity fathers and children shedding tears as the show wrapped up with an outdoor trip to Jeongseon-gun, Gangwon Province.During the show, the adults watched video messages from their children, in which the youngsters expressed their appreciation for their parents. This set off waterworks for the adult stars, including popular television personality Kim Sung-joo, who sobbed while watching this 7-year-old son Min-yul’s message.Kim confessed that he thought about his hospitalized father while watching the clip.Singer Yoon Min-soo and former football player Ahn Jung-hwan got teary as well watching their sons’ messages.“Dad! Where Are We Going?” premiered in 2013, starring

Jan 19, 2015By Ko Dong-hwan
Celebrity fathers cry as reality show ends

Firefighters' bravery

Firefighters use a hose to put out fires at butane gas canister making plant in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, Sunday. The fire, which started at 6:38 a.m., was brought under control in two-and-a-half hours after it burned down eight buildings out of a total 28 at the plant, causing 1.9 billion won ($1.7 million) in damages. Some 250 firefighters, 40 fire trucks and three helicopters were deployed to the scene. No one was injured or killed because the plant was not operating when the fire occurred. A series of recent fires across the country during the current dry spell has emergency services on high alert. / Yonhap

Jan 18, 2015

Muslim girls in trouble over Korean band

B1A4 / YonhapOne of B1A4 members is hugging a fan during the fan meeting event held in Kuala Lumpur on Jan. 10. Several Malaysian women have become the center of a national controversy after they allowed Korean band B1A4 to be “too friendly” with them during a fan meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Jan. 10.The women, wearing hijabs, re-enacted scenes from the Korean TV drama series “The Heirs” with members of the band. The impromptu act ended with the singers hugging or kissing the shy fans on their foreheads. Online videos show the crowd screaming during the act.Islamic authorities in Kuala Lumpur said they would “investigate the incident for possible violations of Sharia law” and talk to the girls involved, the BBC reported.The Department of Islamic Development Malaysia asked the event’s hosts to “take responsibility for what happened,” said online K-pop news outlet Soompi.Local event organizers and the band’s agency had agreed about what was going to happen during the show, a source added. They told the women ― selected

Jan 18, 2015By Ko Dong-hwan
Muslim girls in trouble over Korean band

Actor's triplets prove popular with calendar sales

Calendar with actor Song Il-gook's triplets / YonhapThe price of a limited edition calendar ― featuring selected photographs of actor Song Il-gook’s triplets ― has increased tenfold on online second-hand markets.The calendar is priced between 35,000 won ($ 32) and 55,000 won ($ 51) on online trading site Auction. Its price has jumped six to ten times higher from the original 5,500 won, because of its uniqueness.Pictures of the three-year-old boys ― named Dae-han, Min-guk and Man-seh ― added to the popularity of this calendar. The triplets gained popularity after appearing on the KBS show “Superman is Back.”About 206,000 copies of the calendar were sold between Dec. 23 and 31, making some 1.1 billion won in sales, Auction reported Sunday.Other examples show how popular limited edition products are in Korea.The limited “lucky bags” from Starbucks Korea were out of stock after only three hours Thursday. Its cost price was 49,000 won.But lucky bags are sold at around 70,000 to 80,000 won on online second-hand markets. The price jumped 40 to 60 percent b

Jan 18, 2015
Actor's triplets prove popular with calendar sales

Comfort women TV drama to screen on Independence Day

Kim Sae-ron / Korea Times fileKBS is making a two-part TV program about Korean sex slavery victims ― also known as “comfort women” ― during World War II, to commemorate Independence Day on Mar. 1.Written by Yoo Bo-rah and starring Kim Sae-ron, 16, the program, entitled “Girl’s Winter,” will be shown on Feb. 28 and the national holiday.The two episodes will keep “sensitive scenes that may provoke anti-Japanese feelings” to a minimum, program director Ham Young-hoon said as quoted on an online news outlet on Saturday. The program would instead have a “poetic style,” he added.Ham said Yoo had been following the comfort women issue closely, attending weekly campaigns calling for truth about the wartime atrocity committed by the Japanese Imperial Army.Korean and Japanese governments have been at odds over the issue, with Japan claiming it never happened. 

Jan 18, 2015By Ko Dong-hwan
Comfort women TV drama to screen on Independence Day

Defector admits inaccuracies in best-selling book

Defector Shin Dong-hyuk / YonhapNorth Korean defector Shin Dong-hyuk has admitted there is wrong information in his best-selling book “Escape from Camp 14.”The defector, 32, told Blaine Harden, a former Washington Post journalist and publisher of the book, on Friday that he was 20 when he was tortured for escaping. In his original account, he said it happened when he was 13, the Washington Post reported Saturday.Shin also admitted to the publisher that he was transferred to Camp 18 from Camp 14. In the book, he said all the events happened in Camp 14. He said in the book that he escaped from Camp 14 where he was born, and where he was seriously tortured until he escaped in 2005.Harden published the book ― based on Shin’s life as a prison camp survivor ― in 2012 in an attempt to raise awareness of the reclusive regime’s human rights violations.“We tell ourselves that it’s okay to not reveal every little detail, and that it might not matter if certain parts aren’t clarified,” Shin said on his Facebook page, “Nevertheless t

Jan 18, 2015
Defector admits inaccuracies in best-selling book
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