The Korea Herald

Korean comic artist makes Hollywood breakthrough

PeopleMay 31, 2011

“How would you feel if your work was being made into a movie?” cartoonist Hyung Min-woo asked at a press conference in Seoul on May 23. A movie based on a comic by Hyung, 37, was released on May 13 in Hollywood and has made $24.4 million within 10 days of its release. With foreign sales combined, the total has already reached $62 million, exceeding the production costs of $60 million. The movie, “
Cardiologist listed in Marquis Who’s Who

PeopleMay 31, 2011

A Korean cardiologist has been listed once again in the 2011-12 edition of a renowned international biographical publication for his work in cardiovascular disease treatment and research.Chosun University Medical School professor Koh Young-youp, 47, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who in the World since its 2009-2010 edition, as well as by Medicine and Healthcare and in the 2011-2012 edition
‘Star Audition’ winner to donate prize money

PeopleMay 31, 2011

“I’m going to do as I promised,” Paik Chung-kang, winner of popular survival singing competition “Star Audition” said in an interview with a local newspaper. Paik Chung-kang, 22, promised to donate half of his prize money to those in difficulties after he was selected as the final winner of the competition. After the grand final stage, Paik said “I will donate half of my prize money to the orphana
[Editorial] Fate of a lawmaker

EditorialMay 31, 2011

The fate of Rep. Kang Yong-suk is hanging in balance as the National Assembly Ethics Committee has almost unanimously agreed to expel him for a series of remarks insulting specific female professionals and other acts inappropriate for a lawmaker. The committee decision made by a vote of 12 in favor and one void will be referred to the plenary session where a two-thirds approval will finally remove
[Editorial] Tuition wars

EditorialMay 31, 2011

Three hundred representatives of student unions staged demonstrations at Seoul’s Gwanghwamun intersection Sunday. “Cut tuition by half, provide jobs for us,” the students chanted, as they were taken to police stations. On Monday, the national association of universities and colleges held an executive council meeting to demand that the government drastically expand financial support for their schoo
Provide food aid to N.K. with conditions attached

ViewpointsMay 31, 2011

North Korea has fallen victim again to floods, severe cold and failed harvests ― and the case for food assistance to stave off famine is again being dictated by strategic considerations. Serves the North right, critics of Pyongyang’s duplicitous ways would say.South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has shocked his people’s kin sensibilities by withholding any form of cooperation (not just food shipm
More work needs to be done for Medicare reform

ViewpointsMay 31, 2011

It’s risky to read too much into Kathy Hochul’s upset victory in a special congressional election in western New York on Tuesday ― it was, after all, just one race. Still, Hochul’s fellow Democrats are touting the outcome as a voter rebellion against the House Republican plan to transform Medicare into a subsidy program for private health coverage. If the election prompts Republicans to rethink th
[Trudy Rubin] After bin Laden, will Taliban talk?

ViewpointsMay 31, 2011

KABUL, Afghanistan ― The talk of talks with the Taliban has taken on new momentum in the wake of the death of Osama bin Laden.Even as the Taliban was mounting its spring offensive, Afghan officials told me of recent meetings in Qatar and Germany between U.S. officials and a Taliban official named Tayyeb Agha, who may ― or may not ― be an emissary of Mullah Omar.And there lies the rub.Secretary of
[Lee Jae-min] Pirates, private security firms, consuls

ViewpointsMay 31, 2011

No. 1: One way to sail through the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden with peace of mind is purchasing security services. Protection Vessels International, Ltd. is one of such security corporations founded by former British special forces personnel. It provides escort and protection services to merchant ships. PVI is a maritime version of Blackwater Inc., which provides security services to officials an
[Dick Polman] GOP’s wake-up call on Medicare

ViewpointsMay 31, 2011

The conservative ideologues in Washington discovered last week that their fond dream of privatizing Medicare is political suicide.This should not have come as a surprise. Back in early April, when the tea-partying House Republicans were preparing to vote yes on a plan to eradicate guaranteed health care for seniors ― one of the most popular government programs of the last half-century ― their own
[Meghan Daum] Obama’s fast brain versus slow mouth

ViewpointsMay 31, 2011

Apparently, a lot of people consider President Obama to be bumblingly inarticulate. “The guy can’t talk his way out of a paper bag!” a reader wrote to me recently. “Sarah Palin is a brilliant speaker. It’s the president whose sentences are undiagrammable,” said another in response to a column I wrote about Palin.It’s not just my readers, nor is it exclusively conservatives, who hold this view. A G
[Kim Seong-kon] Diplomats and cultural interactions

ViewpointsMay 31, 2011

A few days ago, U.S. Ambassador Kathleen Stephens hosted a farewell dinner party for Patrick J. Linehan, minister-counselor for public affairs, who has been newly assigned to Osaka as consulate general. Since Linehan is my good friend, I decided to attend the dinner to bid farewell to him. When I met Linehan at the U.S. ambassador’s residence, he seemed to be genuinely sad to leave Korea, where he
COEX hosts cultural heritage meeting

TheaterMay 31, 2011

The 7th annual Meeting of the Networking of East Asian Cultural Heritage is opening Wednesday at the COEX ASEM Hall in southern Seoul. About 30 government figures of 13 countries ― Korea, China, Japan, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam ― and an official from UNESCO are attending the event. Representatives of intangible cultural heritage centers
Korea Foundation to move cultural center

TheaterMay 31, 2011

The Korea Foundation Cultural Center, located on the first floor of the JoongAng Ilbo building in Sunhwa-dong-dong, will reopen at a new location in Suha-dong, Seoul, in early July. In June, only the seminar room of the center will be open at a temporary location on the eighth floor of the JoongAng Ilbo building for about four weeks.The organization has been offering a variety of cultural programs
How much longer can photographic film hold on?

TheaterMay 31, 2011

Rochester, New York (AP) ― At Image City Photography Gallery, Gary Thompson delights in pointing out qualities of light, contrast and clarity in one of his best-selling prints ― a winter-sunset view of Yosemite National Park’s El Capitan peak shot with a hefty Pentax film camera he bought in 1999 for $1,700.His wife, Phyllis, a latecomer to fine-art photography after they retired from teaching in