The Korea Herald

First Korean astronaut to marry in U.S. on Aug. 2

Yi So-yeonYi So-yeon, the first South Korean in space, is to marry in the United States this month. The 35-year-old scientist’s bridegroom-to-be is an American eye doctor of Korean ancestry. Their wedding ceremony will be held in Long Beach, California, on Aug. 2, according to Korea Aerospace Research Institute in Daejeon.Yi currently resides in the States. She graduated from Gwangju Science High School in 1997 and earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering at the Korea Adv

PeopleAug. 1, 2013

First Korean astronaut to marry in U.S. on Aug. 2

Ex-DUP spokeswoman files paternity suit against son of Full Gospel Church founder

Cha Young, 51, former spokeswoman of the then-Democratic United Party, has filed a paternity suit against Cho Hee-jun, 48, former chairman of the daily newspaper Kookmin Ilbo, claiming that she gave birth to his son.Cho is the eldest son of David Cho Yong-gi, 77, founder and pastor emeritus of the Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul. According to local news media on Thursday, Cha filed the suit with the Seoul Family Court against Cho on Wednesday. In the suit, Cha asked the court to confirm that

PeopleAug. 1, 2013

Ex-DUP spokeswoman files paternity suit against son of Full Gospel Church founder

SKEC honors elite English learners

The award ceremony for the second Seoul National University of Education-Korea Herald English Contest (SKEC) took place at the British ambassador’s residence in Seoul on Wednesday.A total of 15 students won the top prizes, in categories divided by age and the amount of time entrants spent living overseas. Among the winners are Park Ye-rin for the high-school level, Park Jae-young for the middle-school level and Park Hye-hyoun for the elementary-school level.Other awards including the second-high

PeopleAug. 1, 2013

Unpredictable seniors entertain ’Flower H4’ viewers

In cable channel tvN’s latest variety show “Flower H4,” four Korean veteran actors with the average age of 76 backpack across Europe, visiting famous landmarks. The program has reaped high viewership from all generations since its first episode aired on July 5. The show depicts four grandpas -- Lee Soon-jae, Park Geon-hyeong, Shin Gu, Baek Il-seop, all with extensive acting experience in film and TV -- as they travel with Lee Seo-jin, the youngest man on the show. The junior helps with guiding,

TelevisionAug. 1, 2013

Unpredictable seniors entertain ’Flower H4’ viewers

Korean Americans reach out to White House, Congress

A group of Korean-American community leaders said Wednesday it will meet with White House officials and congressional leaders this week to get their voice heard on key policy issues.The Council of Korean Americans (CKA) is hosting an inaugural "Community+Congressional Leaders Event" in Washington, D.C., later in the day.It will feature panel discussions on South Korea-U.S. relations, immigration reform, the Affordable Care Act, and North Korea, CKA said.Among the participants are Reps. Ed Royce

PeopleAug. 1, 2013

Socially conscious shoppers shedding fast fashion

MINNEAPOLIS ― Kristine Huson can spot a designer label at Goodwill in seconds. She can zip through the racks of her favorite vintage store even faster.The 42-year-old South St. Paul, Minnesota, woman has joined an ethical fashion movement of consumers striving to be more mindful of their buying habits. These socially conscious style mavens want to know where their clothes came from, who made them and how they got here. For some, that means buying American-made; others sew their own. Shoppers lik

Arts & DesignJuly 31, 2013

Socially conscious shoppers shedding fast fashion

Boos for Kalashnikovs, crocodiles in Bayreuth’s ‘Siegfried’

BAYREUTH, Germany (AFP) ― Frank Castorf’s new production of “Siegfried,” the third part of Richard Wagner’s monumental “Ring” cycle, drew deafening boos at its premiere late Monday for featuring copulating crocodiles and Kalashnikov rifles.One audience member had to be carried out after collapsing when the opera’s eponymous hero shoots down his opponent Fafner with a machine gun in gang warfare.The program had carried a warning about the use of gunfire in the production, but insisted that specta

PerformanceJuly 31, 2013

Culture Communication Forum aims to raise national image

The Corea Image Communication Institute will host its fourth annual Culture Communication Forum next month, inviting a wide range of cultural icons from 16 countries to Korea in the hope of increasing understanding and knowledge of the nation as a brand. “I think through this forum people will have a better opportunity to communicate by exchanging cultures,” said CICI president Choi Jung-wha. “Here people can not only come to experience Korean culture, but talk and exchange ideas with others and

CultureJuly 31, 2013

Culture Communication Forum aims to raise national image

Major artifacts of Silla banned from leaving country for upcoming N.Y. show

Important ancient Korean artifacts that were to be the highlight of an upcoming exhibition on the art of the ancient kingdom of Silla at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York will not be displayed as the Cultural Heritage Administration ordered they remain in Korea due to risks of potential damage. One of the artifacts, the gilt-bronze Buddhist statue “Pensive Bodhisattva” from the Silla Kingdom (B.C. 57-A.D. 935), was to have been the highlight of the new exhibition “Silla: Korea’s Golden

CultureJuly 31, 2013

Major artifacts of Silla banned from leaving country for upcoming N.Y. show

‘Written on Skin’: Opera’s new masterpiece

LONDON (AP) ― If opera is a dead art form, somebody forgot to tell George Benjamin.The English composer’s new opera, “Written on Skin,’’ has taken the music world by storm, hailed by critics, embraced by audiences and sprouting up in performance seemingly everywhere.Since its premiere last summer in Aix-en-Provence, France, it’s been staged in London; Amsterdam; Toulouse, France; Vienna, and, most recently Munich, where a sell-out crowd cheered wildly after the last of three performances at the

PerformanceJuly 31, 2013

Lee Joon-gi back in summer thriller

Actor Lee Joon-gi is returning to the small screen this summer with a season-appropriate thriller. After a year-long television hiatus, the hallyu star is back as a hero out to save his daughter. Lee also released an album this January before jumping on board the upcoming drama, further cementing his pan-Asian star power as an acting-singing double threat. “I am back after a long time,” said Lee, 31, at the drama’s press conference in Seoul on Wednesday. “I am touched that so many have showed up

TelevisionJuly 31, 2013

China owes Hollywood millions after halting payment for films

LOS ANGELES (AFP) ― China has stopped paying Hollywood studios for its films in a dispute over a Chinese tax on movie profits, Hollywood trade papers reported Tuesday.Tens of millions of dollars in box office revenues are owed in arrears to the likes of Disney, Warner, Universal, Paramount, Fox and Sony, according to The Hollywood Reporter.The magazine said China’s state-owned movie distributor, China Film Group, owes more than $31 million to Warner for “Man of Steel,” $23 million to Sony for “S

FilmJuly 31, 2013

New York’s latest luxury: a night under the stars

NEW YORK (AFP) ― In the concrete jungle of New York City, where open sky can be hard to find, the latest luxury offering is a night under the stars ― or, under twinkling city lights, at least.From terraces and high-rise balconies atop Art Deco buildings or glass-walled modern structures, this new breed of hotel offers straight-up views, with nary a window pane or curtain to impede the breeze. And in a city where air pollution, bright lights and the dizzyingly tall skyscrapers of the Manhattan sk

TravelJuly 31, 2013

New York’s latest luxury: a night under the stars

U.S. designers take joint shows to China

NEW YORK (AP) ― Rag & Bone, Marchesa and Proenza Schouler, among the top in their class of cool, youngish New York-based fashion houses, took a field trip to China recently to start a dialogue with consumers there as they all have their eye on expansion.What they learned: Customers want something unique.“Some of the comments we heard were that the Chinese were getting a little sick of a Louis Vuitton store on every corner,” said David Neville, co-founder with Marcus Wainwright of Rag & Bone. “So

Arts & DesignJuly 31, 2013

Asia A-listers take their seat on fashion front row

PARIS (AFP) ― Arriving at a Christian Dior fashion show in Paris surrounded by a gaggle of photographers and minders, Korean star Gianna Jun quickly eclipsed the already seated Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence.One of the best known faces in Asia following a string of box office smashes, the actress is one of an elite group of bankable names attracting the attention of the fashion world.Designers have long looked to Hollywood stars to help sell their collections ― but as the spending power of consu

Arts & DesignJuly 31, 2013

Korean-born violinist’s stolen Stradivarius found in Britain

LONDON (AFP) ― British police said Tuesday they have recovered a rare Stradivarius violin worth 1.2 million pounds ($1.8 million) that was stolen from its owner in a London railway cafe in 2010.Thieves took the antique instrument, which was made in 1696, and two valuable bows from Korean-born violinist Kym Min-jin as she ate at London’s Euston station.It was recovered from a property in central England last week, police said, without giving further details. Three people were jailed in connection

PeopleJuly 31, 2013

Korean-born violinist’s stolen Stradivarius found in Britain

Comfort woman attends monument unveiling in U.S.

Kim Bok-dong, a 88-year-old Korean woman who was held as a sex slave by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II, attended a ceremony to unveil a monument to the so-called comfort women in Glendale, California, Tuesday. According to the Los Angeles Times and Yonhap News on Tuesday, Glendale dropped unveiled a metal statue that is to become a lasting testament to the pain and suffering endured by an estimated 200,000 sex slaves from Korea, China, Indonesia and other occupied countries durin

PeopleJuly 31, 2013

Comfort woman attends monument unveiling in U.S.

Bong Joon-ho’s ‘Snowpiercer’ hits screens in Korea

Bong Joon-ho’s much-anticipated sci-fi thriller “Snowpiercer” hit local theaters on Wednesday amid growing expectations from moviegoers. Adding another dramatic element is the release of “The Terror Live,” also a promising flick starring top-performing actor Ha Jung-woo.Attention was placed on which Korean movie would be the box-office winner in the coming weeks -- a period during which many Koreans flock to air-conditioned multiplex cinemas to beat the heat.The initial winner is Bong’s “Snowpi

FilmJuly 31, 2013

Bong Joon-ho’s ‘Snowpiercer’ hits screens in Korea

Blogger gives a hagwon boss’ perspective

Running a school is physically, mentally and even emotionally a harrowing business.With constant pressure from policymakers, teachers and pundits amid cutthroat competition and stifling costs, private English academies are hard enough to run as it is. One foreign hagwon owner in Korea, who goes by “TheBoss,” says it is compounded by the fact that few outsiders attempt to understand Korea’s English education system before they condemn it.His blog, Wangjangnim’s perspective ― a play on the Korean

Expat LivingJuly 30, 2013

Tibetan Buddhist leader to lecture in Seoul

Tibetan Buddhist master Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche is holding lectures in Seoul this weekend. The lectures will be on “Freedom of Mind” on Friday, “Everyday Meditation” on Saturday and “Buddhist Wisdom for the Modern World” on Sunday.Bhutan-born Rinpoche has lectured and published books across the world. He also directed the films “The Cup” and “Travelers and Magicians.” Rinpoche supervises Dzongsar Monastery and its retreat centers in eastern Tibet, as well as his new colleges in India

Expat LivingJuly 30, 2013