Former idol to wed medical doctor

Go Ji-yong, former member of the idol music group Sechs Kies, is getting married on Friday.Go and his bride-to-be, Heo Yang-im, will hold their private wedding at Grand Hyatt Seoul Hotel, and about 50 bodyguards have reportedly been hired to protect their privacy. Heo is a doctor at the department of family medicine at the Seoul Paik Hospital who guest-starred on several TV shows, including “Vitamin” and “Escaping Crisis No.1.” Go Ji-yong is said to have been running his own business since the b

TelevisionDec. 13, 2013

Choo reveals how he joined ‘Superman is Back’ with his daughter

Korean-Japanese fighter Choo Sung-hoon said his wife Shiho Yano had encouraged him to appear on “Superman is Back,” a segment of a South Korean variety TV show that has become wildly popular.Yano’s agency was originally opposed to the idea of featuring the Choo family on a Korean program. Yano is one of the top models in Japan, and it is assumed that the Japanese agency did not want something to happen to undermine her image because of the show. But Yano asked Choo to consider the proposal posit

TelevisionDec. 13, 2013

Art auction of Chun family collection draws huge interest

The long-sluggish Korean art market got a boost on Wednesday after dynamic sales of the seized art collection of the family of former President Chun Doo-hwan, setting the stage for the next round of auctions of the Chun collection next week. All items being auctioned were sold off, raking in some 2.5 billion won ($2.4 million), about nine times K Auction’s original estimate.The Korean government commissioned K Auction and Seoul Auction, two major auction houses in Korea, to sell all 235 confisca

PerformanceDec. 12, 2013

Jeon Do-yeon speaks about her latest movie, motherhood

Even after winning the Best Actress Award in Cannes in 2007, celebrated actress Jeon Do-yeon says she still struggles with self-doubt. “I think that is why I work hard,” the 40-year-old actress said in an interview with reporters in Seoul, Wednesday. “I don’t think I ever started something with confidence. My close friends tell me, whenever I tell them I feel insecure, ‘You’ll be fine, you know you’ll do fine. You are just saying this.’ “And I usually end up doing fine, I usually pull it off. Bu

FilmDec. 12, 2013

Sohee no longer a Wonder Girl

The popular K-pop starlet Sohee of Wonder Girls has decided not to renew her contract with the group in order to focus on her acting career, according to a press release issued Wednesday by her agency JYP Entertainment.“The contract with Sohee ends on Dec. 21 and we have decided to respect her decision to focus on her acting career after much discussion,” the statement said. Although Sohee has opted to discontinue her activities as part of Wonder Girls, members Yeeun, Yubin and Sunye ― whose con

PerformanceDec. 12, 2013

Book recounts Depression-era mystery

The Maid’s VersionBy Daniel Woodrell(Little, Brown and Company)In his first novel in seven years, Daniel Woodrell, author of the acclaimed “Winter’s Bone” (2006) and “The Outlaw Album (2011),” returns to his beloved Ozarks with a ghostly tale about a mysterious explosion at a rural Missouri dance hall in 1929 that left more than 40 people dead.It’s a departure for Woodrell, whose previous nine books have mostly focused on the hard-bitten lives of the rural poor. “The Maid’s Version,” based on a

BooksDec. 12, 2013

An improbable woman of mystery

Stella BainBy Anita Shreve (Little, Brown)There’s no doubt that public education has neglected World War I, with history teachers squeezing in a few lectures before launching into succeeding conflicts. Literature has been kinder to the Great War, offering many opportunities to remedy that oversight. Shell shock alone has been the subject of scores of novels (most notably Pat Barker’s “Regeneration” trilogy) that remind us how WWI inextricably altered the trajectory ― and the mythology ― of the h

BooksDec. 12, 2013

Suggestions for the readers on your gift list

Look for a present for the hard-to-buy for-reader? Here is an exotic assortment of worthy books for the holiday season and beyond.For readers who like photography and nature, introduce them to “North America: A World in One Continent” (Running Press) by Huw Cordey. A coffee-table book, it’s the companion to the Discovery Channel series “North America.” The photographs were shot over three years as that the television crew filmed the continent. It’s riddled with personal stories and factual nugge

BooksDec. 12, 2013

The Lincoln Lawyer rides again

“The gods of guilt” is more than a phrase that attorney Mickey Haller ― best known as the Lincoln Lawyer ― likes to use when referring to a jury’s verdict. It refers to the judgments that people make about others on a daily basis, questioning their motives and dissecting their actions. But Mickey also grapples with his personal gods of guilt, knowing that sometimes being a good attorney has a price.Michael Connelly delivers a compelling, suspense-laden plot that accelerates at high speed from th

BooksDec. 12, 2013

Project launched to educate workers on breast cancer

Samsung Medical Center, the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea and Goldman Sachs launched a joint project on Thursday to educate company workers on breast cancer.The medical center developed a support program for breast cancer patients, called “Bravo Project,” with sponsorship from Goldman Sachs, in October 2012. This time, they will extend the program to company workers. Medical professionals at the center will provide special education sessions to a total of 2,000 workers from 20 companies

PeopleDec. 12, 2013

Former lawmaker awarded order of chivalry by British envoy

British Ambassador to South Korea Scott Wightman awarded former National Assembly representative Park Jin the Honorary Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire medal for his tireless work in promoting South Korean-British relations in Seoul on Wednesday.The former politician has been promoting two-way ties in his role as co-president of the Korea Britain Society (KBS). He received the award before an audience of VIPs including politicians, academics and diplomats during a gala

PeopleDec. 12, 2013

Pope: Time’s Person of the Year

NEW YORK (AP) ― Time magazine selected Pope Francis as its Person of the Year on Wednesday, saying the Catholic Church’s new leader has changed the perception of the 2,000-year-old institution in an extraordinary way in a short time. The pope beat out NSA leaker Edward Snowden for the distinction, which the newsmagazine has been giving each year since 1927. The former Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected in March as the first pope from Latin America and the first Jesuit. Since ta

PeopleDec. 12, 2013

Vivian Hsu to get married next year

Taiwanese singer-actress Vivian Hsu is getting married next year, Chinese media reported Thursday. The news came as the actress was spotted browsing an array of wedding dresses with her boyfriend, Lee Yunfeng, who is CEO of Singapore’s Marco Polo Marine. Her agency confirmed that the couple is now preparing for the wedding. Hsu debuted in 1995 as a member of a group called Girls’ Team. She began to gain popularity in Taiwan and Japan in the late 1990s, and has also a fan base in South Korea. By

TelevisionDec. 12, 2013

TV announcer Choi Hee off to a new start

Popular South Korean sports announcer Choi Hee has resigned from cable channel KBS N and is looking forward to signing a contract with a new agency.The local media reported Thursday that Choi might sign an exclusive contract with entertainment agency Chorokbaem Media to step into the entertainment field.Chorokbaem Media is a digital content production house. It has produced many shows such as audition program “K-pop Star” and TV drama “Ojakgyo Family.” Choi and Chorokbaem are now reportedly work

TelevisionDec. 12, 2013