SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) ― Google said Tuesday that the YouTube page showcasing the “Gangnam Style” video by South Korean rapper Psy has reaped more than $8 million in ad revenue.Google Chief Business Officer Nikesh Arora revealed the figure while discussing the money-making potential of YouTube during a quarterly earnings call with financial analysts.Ad revenue from popular YouTube videos is shared with creators of the content. In December, “Gangnam Style” became the first video to break a billion v

YEOL, the Korean Heritage Preservation Society, appointed Kim Young M’Young as its second chairwoman Tuesday, the society said Wednesday.The 56-year-old has worked to preserve Korean cultural heritage as a board member of YEOL for 10 years since 2002. Kim also has served the National Trust for Cultural Heritage and Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra as a board member.Founded as a nonprofit foundation under the control of the Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea in 2002, YEOL runs various projects

A trail will be named after U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in his hometown in North Chungcheong Province. The Eumseong county office said Wednesday that it is putting the final touches on construction of the 8.5-kilometer Ban Ki-moon Bichaigil. “Bichaigil” means a road where walkers clear the mind and then fill it with clean things. Ban Ki-moon Bichaigil was approved by the Ministry of Public Administration and Security last year as an 800 million won ($740,000) project. The trail is linked

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― The U.S. Marine Corps beat a hasty retreat Tuesday from a furor over whether Beyonce lip-synched “The Star-Spangled Banner” at President Barack Obama’s public inauguration ceremony.First, the New York Times quoted a U.S. Marine Band spokeswoman as saying that, just before Beyonce took the stage Monday, the musicians learned a version of the national anthem it had pre-recorded with her would be used.“We don’t know why,” said the spokeswoman, Master Sergeant Kristin duBois. But

Couples who sleep well are likely to appreciate their spouse, a study suggested.The study conducted by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley asked 60 couples aged 18 to 56 to keep track of how many hours they slept each night and how much they appreciated their spouse. Research results showed couples who slept well had better problem-solving skills when asked to work together and showed gratitude to their spouses. Although health benefits of a good night’s sleep are well known, l

Vitamin D may be involved in a possible new breast cancer therapy, U.S. and Spanish researchers say.Susana Gonzalo, an assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Saint Louis University, and her team identified one pathway activated in breast cancers with the poorest prognosis, such as those classified as triple-negative. These cancers often strike younger women and are harder to treat than any other type of breast cancer.  Women who are born with BRCA1 gene mutations are at inc

Hugging family members or loved ones can bring several positive effects such as lowered blood pressure and higher memory retention, according to the research from University of Vienna. The researchers claimed that when people hug or hold a person they like, the horomone oxytocin is released into the blood stream. Oxytocin plays a role in lowering blood pressure, reducing stress and anxiety, and even improving one’s memory. It is also found that hugging improves one’s ability to empathize and lea

Expat and Korean musicians will perform Saturday in Hongdae to raise money for a North Korean human rights organization.The CLASH event at Club Freebird will raise funds for Justice For North Korea, a volunteer organization that works to improve human rights North of the Demilitarized Zone.JFNK was founded and is led by a South Korean pastor who has made it his mission to help the North Korean people. They campaign for improved rights in the North and to improve the situation for refugees fleein

Probationary Theater’s next production touches on two areas that will be familiar to most expats here ― moving on from one’s hometown, and the suspicion brought by success being as prevalent in Korea as anywhere.Such is the case with David Lindsay-Abaire’s Tony Award-winning “Good People,” a character-driven comedy set in the town where the playwright was raised, which follows a woman from a poor neighborhood as she tracks down a former neighbor who moved on to success. The play particularly loo

Photographer Kim Jung-man is holding a smartphone photo exhibition to help young and elderly people with visual impairments. Titled “Eyes of Vega,” the exhibition features photos Kim took with Pantech’s latest mobile phone Vega R3, equipped with a 13 million-pixel camera.Kim captured beautiful scenes during his travels to Seoul’s old palaces, Jusanji Lake in North Gyeongsang Province, Jeju Island, Tokyo, and China’s Yunnan Province. “These are photos I took with two sets of Vega smartphones. I s

Five Korean fashion designers will stage a dynamic fashion show featuring traditional Korean music during New York Fashion Week next month. The 7th Concept Korea, to be held alongside the New York Fashion Week 2013 F/W collection, will feature five promising and established Korean designers including Kathleen Hanhee Kye, Kim Hongbum, Son Jung Wan, Lie Sang Bong and Choi Bo Ko who will showcase their collections at the Lincoln Center on Feb. 7. The designers, selected by fashion experts to repres

Bonte Museum focuses on the colorful lives of late Joseon people

ROME (AFP) ― The verdict in former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi’s trial for underage sex will not come before the February general elections, a court in northern Italy said Monday.The decision marks a partial victory for the media magnate, who will be a candidate in the polls, after his defense team asked for a total suspension until after the Feb. 24-25 polls.Hearings will continue, including testimony on Jan. 28 from the mother of the Moroccan-born exotic dancer at the center of th