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Monday, December 3, 2012
Monday, November 19, 2012
Painting on Park causes stir
Painting on Park causes stir
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| Left-wing painter Hong Sung-dam caused controversy with his oil painting that features the Saenuri Party’s presidential candidate Park Geun-hye having just given birth to a child who is the image of her father, the late President Park Chung-hee. / Yonhap |
By Jun Ji-hye
A left-wing painter caused a stir with his piece of art featuring Park Geun-hye having given birth to a child wearing sunglasses who is just like her father, the late president Park Chung-hee.
The oil painting by Hong Sung-dam was showcased at the Peace Museum in Seoul on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Yushin Constitution, an amendment in 1972 that paved the way for President Park to remain in power.
With the title of “Golden Time doctor Choi In-hyuk Salutes a New-born Mr. President,” the artist made fun of the broadcaster MBC, as well as Rep. Park with the painting.
“Golden Time” was a popular medical drama having aired 23 episodes through MBC from July to September this year.
In the drama, Choi was the lead actor who was described as an ethical and professional medical doctor.
In the painting, Park, the ruling Saenuri Party’s presidential candidate, is wearing a patient gown, sitting in the operating table, smiling while looking at her new-born child who wears sunglasses like her father.
Also, there is a notebook on the floor in ridicule of Park’s nickname, “the Notebook Princess,” dubbed by her political opponents degrading her practice of relying on memos when talking about sensitive issues.
Through the satirical painting, Hong alleged that broadcaster MBC tried to curry favor with the ruling Saenuri Party’s presidential candidate.
Hong became embroiled in controversy immediately after media reports detailed his work.
“Even doctors like Choi pays his respect to a new-born baby because he looks like Mr. President Park, the man who had long been in power in the past. I tried to depict the trauma of our age by using Yushin as a motif,” Hong said in explaining his painting.
Some stood by him, saying the artist has the right to express his ideas freely because he lives in a democratic country. But some criticized him, arguing he went too far.
The painting ignited controversy regarding to what extent the freedom of expression can be protected.
The ruling Saenuri Party condemned Hong for the controversial painting.
“Art has to be art itself. If it is used for political motivation, it is not art anymore,” said Kwon Young-se, an aide to Park, on Monday.
“Although many people say Hong’s painting is degrading women’s childbirth, he is just talking about the freedom of expression. The Saenuri Party will take strong legal action on behalf of Park and all women,” he said.
Regarding Saenuri’s response, the painter, who was imprisoned and tortured in 1988 for sending his work of art to Pyongyang, claimed “Even if they sue me, I will fight to the end for the freedom of expression and ask if it is a right thing to take away somebody’s freedom for the election.”
Sunday, November 18, 2012
S. Korean Choi Na-yeon wins final LPGA event of year
South Korean Choi Na-yeon overcame an early double bogey and held off compatriot Ryu So-yeon to win the final LPGA Tour event of the season in Florida on Sunday.
Choi captured the CME Group Titleholders at the TwinEagles Golf Club in Naples, Florida. She shot a final round of two-under 70 on the 7,634-yard layout for a four-round total of 14-under 274. The 25-year-old took home US$500,000 for her second win this year.
Ryu, the 2012 LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year, also shot a 70 in the final round but ended two shots back of Choi in sole possession of second.
Choi clung to a one-stroke lead over Ai Miyazato of Japan to start the final round. As Miyazato stumbled with four bogeys on her first 10 holes en route to a 74, it became a two-horse race between the South Koreans playing in the same group.
Choi herself had a shaky start with a double bogey on the par-4 third, but erased that with an eagle on the par-5 fifth. She traded a birdie and a bogey on seventh and eighth to go out at 12-under.
Choi reached 13-under with a birdie on the par-3 12th, and Ryu pulled even with a birdie of her own on the par-5 13th.
Ryu dropped a shot on the very next hole, the par-5 14th, and Choi took a two-shot lead with a birdie on the 16th, a short par-4 playing at 275 yards in the final round.
Both players closed out with two straight pars as Choi claimed her seventh career LPGA win.
It capped off another strong year for Choi. She won her first career major at the U.S. Women's Open in July and set a single-season career high with $1.98 million in earnings.
"I enjoyed playing on this course, and I had fun playing with Ryu So-yeon and Ai Miyazato in the final group," Choi said. "I won my first major this season, and I closed it with a victory. I am looking forward to enjoying some downtime during the offseason."
Choi and Ryu were the only Koreans in the top 10.
Fellow Korean Park In-bee finished in a three-way tie for 11th at six-under, but that was good enough to secure the LPGA Tour's money title and the Vare Trophy for the tour's lowest scoring average.
Park is the third South Korean to win the LPGA money title and fourth to win the Vare Trophy. (Yonhap News)
Choi captured the CME Group Titleholders at the TwinEagles Golf Club in Naples, Florida. She shot a final round of two-under 70 on the 7,634-yard layout for a four-round total of 14-under 274. The 25-year-old took home US$500,000 for her second win this year.
Ryu, the 2012 LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year, also shot a 70 in the final round but ended two shots back of Choi in sole possession of second.
Choi clung to a one-stroke lead over Ai Miyazato of Japan to start the final round. As Miyazato stumbled with four bogeys on her first 10 holes en route to a 74, it became a two-horse race between the South Koreans playing in the same group.
Choi herself had a shaky start with a double bogey on the par-4 third, but erased that with an eagle on the par-5 fifth. She traded a birdie and a bogey on seventh and eighth to go out at 12-under.
Choi reached 13-under with a birdie on the par-3 12th, and Ryu pulled even with a birdie of her own on the par-5 13th.
Ryu dropped a shot on the very next hole, the par-5 14th, and Choi took a two-shot lead with a birdie on the 16th, a short par-4 playing at 275 yards in the final round.
Both players closed out with two straight pars as Choi claimed her seventh career LPGA win.
It capped off another strong year for Choi. She won her first career major at the U.S. Women's Open in July and set a single-season career high with $1.98 million in earnings.
"I enjoyed playing on this course, and I had fun playing with Ryu So-yeon and Ai Miyazato in the final group," Choi said. "I won my first major this season, and I closed it with a victory. I am looking forward to enjoying some downtime during the offseason."
Choi and Ryu were the only Koreans in the top 10.
Fellow Korean Park In-bee finished in a three-way tie for 11th at six-under, but that was good enough to secure the LPGA Tour's money title and the Vare Trophy for the tour's lowest scoring average.
Park is the third South Korean to win the LPGA money title and fourth to win the Vare Trophy. (Yonhap News)
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Envoy urges China to play ‘active role’ in Syria crisis
BEIJING (AFP) ― U.N.-Arab League peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said Wednesday he hoped China would play an active role in helping end the violence in Syria as he met Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi for talks in Beijing.
Greeting Yang at the foreign ministry in front of reporters, Brahimi said he hoped “China can play an active role in solving the events in Syria” without elaborating further.
China is generally suspicious of intervention in the internal affairs of other nations, with state media last month accusing Western powers of hampering efforts to end the conflict.
Both China and Russia have exercised their veto in the U.N. Security Council to block resolutions aimed at putting more pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Meeting Brahimi on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York last month, Yang reaffirmed this stance, saying that “political dialogue is the only correct way to tackle this issue.”
Any political transition must be led by the people of Syria and not imposed by outside forces, he said.
Brahimi, who succeeded former United Nations chief Kofi Annan after he quit over what he called a lack of international support, is due to present new proposals for resolving the conflict to the U.N. Security Council next month.
His two-day visit to China, which ends Wednesday, came after he met Russia’s foreign minister in Moscow and described the conflict, now in its 19th month after a failed four-day truce last week, as going from bad to worse.
Greeting Yang at the foreign ministry in front of reporters, Brahimi said he hoped “China can play an active role in solving the events in Syria” without elaborating further.
China is generally suspicious of intervention in the internal affairs of other nations, with state media last month accusing Western powers of hampering efforts to end the conflict.
Both China and Russia have exercised their veto in the U.N. Security Council to block resolutions aimed at putting more pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Meeting Brahimi on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York last month, Yang reaffirmed this stance, saying that “political dialogue is the only correct way to tackle this issue.”
Any political transition must be led by the people of Syria and not imposed by outside forces, he said.
Brahimi, who succeeded former United Nations chief Kofi Annan after he quit over what he called a lack of international support, is due to present new proposals for resolving the conflict to the U.N. Security Council next month.
His two-day visit to China, which ends Wednesday, came after he met Russia’s foreign minister in Moscow and described the conflict, now in its 19th month after a failed four-day truce last week, as going from bad to worse.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Romney, Obama clash on Middle East in last debate
Republican Mitt Romney warned Monday that Islamic extremism was not on the run, faulting President Barack Obama's leadership on the Middle East in their final White House debate.
Two weeks before Obama asks voters for a second term in the November 6 election, the rivals clashed on foreign policy in a final showdown with the capacity to reshape their neck-and-neck race.
"We certainly can't kill our way out of the mess," Romney said, bemoaning Obama's leadership in the Middle East amid the "disturbing" evolution of the Arab Spring, and warning Islamic extremism was rampant in the region.
The Republican called for a strategy to deflect Muslim nations from Islamic radicalism, which he warned "is certainly not on the run.
"It is certainly not in hiding," he added, in a clear swipe at the president's claim to have decimated al-Qaida.
Obama came out strong and hard against Romney, warning that his national security policy was "all over the map," accusing his foe of shifting positions and saying he had learned as commander-in-chief that clarity was paramount.
The president also seized on Romney's past comment that Russia was Washington's top geopolitical foe.
"The 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back because the Cold War's been over for 20 years," a mocking Obama said.
"Governor, when it comes to our foreign policy, you seem to want to import the foreign policies of the 1980s, just like the social policies of the 1950s, and the economic policies of the 1920s."
Republican Romney was seeking to erode the Democratic president's advantage on national security and to emerge as a plausible commander-in-chief as they also were expected to spar on Iran and China.
The rivals are neck-and-neck in national polls after Romney surged following his first debate win in early October and started chipping away at Obama's foundation in the swing states that will decide the election.
Foreign policy is unlikely to decide who wins on November 6, with the sluggish economy driving the election, but Romney is under pressure to show basic competence following a string of blunders.
It is unclear whether Romney's differences with Obama are more a matter of tone or substance, and whether the Republican, if elected, would follow up on tough campaign talk on China's economic "cheating" and Russia for example.
Obama's camp is making the case that Romney, who has little overseas experience, cannot be trusted to steer the United States through a treacherous world of belligerent emerging powers and national security threats.
"On foreign policy, Mitt Romney has nothing to offer except bluster, chest-thumping, and a commitment to endless war," Senator John Kerry, a possible secretary of state in Obama's second term said, ahead of the presidential clash.
"As tonight's debate will demonstrate, blunder and bluster are no substitute for strong leadership," said Kerry, who has been acting as Romney for Obama's debate preparations.
New polls released Monday had the race a cliffhanger with two weeks to go.
CBS News and ABC News had Obama up by two and one points in the national race, but a Politico/GWU/Battleground poll showed Romney leading by two points.
While national polls offer a snapshot of momentum in the race, the nine or so states that could swing to either side will define the outcome.
Obama retains several pathways to the 270 electoral votes needed to win on November 6, but Romney has chiseled away at his advantage with signs that Florida and North Carolina are slipping towards the Republican.
The president, currently polling around 70 percent among Hispanic voters, seems to be doing well in early voting in Nevada, with the result possibly hanging on a combination of close races in Ohio, Iowa, Wisconsin and Virginia.
Romney won the first debate after a lethargic performance from Obama, but the president's feisty showing on Long Island, New York last week made the third debate as a tie-breaker of sorts.
The Republican was likely make a new attempt to trip Obama over his administration's shifting stories on the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya on September 11 that killed four Americans.
The Republican has squandered several chances to jump Obama on the issue, after a hasty statement early in the crisis and a stumble in the last debate over the president's characterization of events in Benghazi.
Republicans claim Obama was reluctant to admit the attack was an act of terrorism, fearing an Al-Qaeda comeback would knock him off his pedestal as the commander-in-chief who had put the militants on the run.
Top Obama aides at first said the attack was a spontaneous act that arose out of anger at an anti-Muslim video.
Later assessments blamed heavily armed militants, but officials say the incident still seems more opportunistic than pre-planned.
The Republican will seek to pressure Obama over Iran's nuclear program, arguing that presidential weakness has emboldened Tehran.
Complicating one of the main topics on the eve of the debate, The New York Times said US officials believed Iran was ready for one-on-one talks with Washington, though the White House denied the report. (AFP)
Two weeks before Obama asks voters for a second term in the November 6 election, the rivals clashed on foreign policy in a final showdown with the capacity to reshape their neck-and-neck race.
"We certainly can't kill our way out of the mess," Romney said, bemoaning Obama's leadership in the Middle East amid the "disturbing" evolution of the Arab Spring, and warning Islamic extremism was rampant in the region.
 |
Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, left is greeted by President Barack Obama before the start of the third presidential debate at Lynn University, Monday, Oct. 22, 2012, in Boca Raton, Fla. (AP-Yonhap News)
|
The Republican called for a strategy to deflect Muslim nations from Islamic radicalism, which he warned "is certainly not on the run.
"It is certainly not in hiding," he added, in a clear swipe at the president's claim to have decimated al-Qaida.
Obama came out strong and hard against Romney, warning that his national security policy was "all over the map," accusing his foe of shifting positions and saying he had learned as commander-in-chief that clarity was paramount.
The president also seized on Romney's past comment that Russia was Washington's top geopolitical foe.
"The 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back because the Cold War's been over for 20 years," a mocking Obama said.
"Governor, when it comes to our foreign policy, you seem to want to import the foreign policies of the 1980s, just like the social policies of the 1950s, and the economic policies of the 1920s."
Republican Romney was seeking to erode the Democratic president's advantage on national security and to emerge as a plausible commander-in-chief as they also were expected to spar on Iran and China.
The rivals are neck-and-neck in national polls after Romney surged following his first debate win in early October and started chipping away at Obama's foundation in the swing states that will decide the election.
Foreign policy is unlikely to decide who wins on November 6, with the sluggish economy driving the election, but Romney is under pressure to show basic competence following a string of blunders.
It is unclear whether Romney's differences with Obama are more a matter of tone or substance, and whether the Republican, if elected, would follow up on tough campaign talk on China's economic "cheating" and Russia for example.
Obama's camp is making the case that Romney, who has little overseas experience, cannot be trusted to steer the United States through a treacherous world of belligerent emerging powers and national security threats.
"On foreign policy, Mitt Romney has nothing to offer except bluster, chest-thumping, and a commitment to endless war," Senator John Kerry, a possible secretary of state in Obama's second term said, ahead of the presidential clash.
"As tonight's debate will demonstrate, blunder and bluster are no substitute for strong leadership," said Kerry, who has been acting as Romney for Obama's debate preparations.
New polls released Monday had the race a cliffhanger with two weeks to go.
CBS News and ABC News had Obama up by two and one points in the national race, but a Politico/GWU/Battleground poll showed Romney leading by two points.
While national polls offer a snapshot of momentum in the race, the nine or so states that could swing to either side will define the outcome.
Obama retains several pathways to the 270 electoral votes needed to win on November 6, but Romney has chiseled away at his advantage with signs that Florida and North Carolina are slipping towards the Republican.
The president, currently polling around 70 percent among Hispanic voters, seems to be doing well in early voting in Nevada, with the result possibly hanging on a combination of close races in Ohio, Iowa, Wisconsin and Virginia.
Romney won the first debate after a lethargic performance from Obama, but the president's feisty showing on Long Island, New York last week made the third debate as a tie-breaker of sorts.
The Republican was likely make a new attempt to trip Obama over his administration's shifting stories on the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya on September 11 that killed four Americans.
The Republican has squandered several chances to jump Obama on the issue, after a hasty statement early in the crisis and a stumble in the last debate over the president's characterization of events in Benghazi.
Republicans claim Obama was reluctant to admit the attack was an act of terrorism, fearing an Al-Qaeda comeback would knock him off his pedestal as the commander-in-chief who had put the militants on the run.
Top Obama aides at first said the attack was a spontaneous act that arose out of anger at an anti-Muslim video.
Later assessments blamed heavily armed militants, but officials say the incident still seems more opportunistic than pre-planned.
The Republican will seek to pressure Obama over Iran's nuclear program, arguing that presidential weakness has emboldened Tehran.
Complicating one of the main topics on the eve of the debate, The New York Times said US officials believed Iran was ready for one-on-one talks with Washington, though the White House denied the report. (AFP)
Thursday, October 18, 2012
US lawmaker reintroduces Korean Immigration Commemorative Coin Act
WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- A U.S. lawmaker has renewed a push to issue coins
to mark the 100th anniversary of the start of Korean immigration here, Congress
said Tuesday.
Rep. Rob Andrews, a Democrat from New Jersey, re-submitted a bill last week requiring the Treasury Department to mint coins in commemoration of the occasion.
Since the first voyage in 1903, approximately 1 million Koreans have immigrated to the United States, the first group arriving in Honolulu, Hawaii. Many worked at sugarcane or pineapple plants.
The size of the Korean community has grown to around 2 million, with a growing number of Korean Americans playing a major role in American society.
"This commemorative coin will serve as a symbol of our appreciation for the significant contributions made by Korean Americans to our great nation," he said.
Andrews first submitted a bill on such coins in 2003 and re-introduced it in 2005. Congressional sessions in both years ended without the passage of the bill.
If his bill is passed this time as is, the Treasury Department will issue up to 20,000 "gold coins," each worth $5, and the maximum of 10,000 "silver coins," each worth $1.
Rep. Rob Andrews, a Democrat from New Jersey, re-submitted a bill last week requiring the Treasury Department to mint coins in commemoration of the occasion.
Since the first voyage in 1903, approximately 1 million Koreans have immigrated to the United States, the first group arriving in Honolulu, Hawaii. Many worked at sugarcane or pineapple plants.
The size of the Korean community has grown to around 2 million, with a growing number of Korean Americans playing a major role in American society.
"This commemorative coin will serve as a symbol of our appreciation for the significant contributions made by Korean Americans to our great nation," he said.
Andrews first submitted a bill on such coins in 2003 and re-introduced it in 2005. Congressional sessions in both years ended without the passage of the bill.
If his bill is passed this time as is, the Treasury Department will issue up to 20,000 "gold coins," each worth $5, and the maximum of 10,000 "silver coins," each worth $1.
Auto-interpretation app to invigorate tourism industry
 Minister of Knowledge Economy Hong Suk-woo, center, poses with Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) President Kim Heung-nam, left, and Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) President Lee Charm after signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the promotion of an auto-interpretation application at the Tourism Information Center in Seoul, Wednesday. / Yonhap |
By Yun Suh-young
Foreign travelers to Korea will be able to communicate easily with Koreans from now on even if they don’t speak the language, due to help from a new application.
The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) said Wednesday that an automatic interpretation application for smart phones, GenieTalk, which operates in English and Korean, is now available at app stores.
The interpretation technology was developed as part of a fundamental technology development project of the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.
The application has been on a trial service until now in limited regions but has now expanded its service to the entire country.
The application which was developed late last Month has been servicing Jeju Island since January and was also on trial service at the Yeosu Expo from May to August.
The name GenieTalk comes from the word “genie”, associated with the mythical magic lamp, combined with “talk.” It means that the application is a smart machine that makes people’s wish to communicate come true, acting much like the “genie” from the magic lamp.
The application offers 270,000 Korean words and 65,000 English words. It is claimed that the application’s interpretation accuracy rate is 80 percent, much higher than that of Google Translate’s 65 percent.
The application is available for both Android and iOS users and can be downloaded at the Android market or on Apple’s app store after searching “GenieTalk.”
The ETRI plans to develop services in eight other languages, including Chinese, Japanese and Spanish. It plans to make them available by 2018 when the PyeongChang Winter Olympics will be held.
The ETRI and the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) signed a memorandum of understanding Wednesday to cooperate in promoting the application and invigorate the tourism industry.
“The application is a success example of IT technology infused into tourism. We hope the application will improve the quality of tour in Korea through its high-quality interpretation service,” said Lee Charm, CEO of KTO.
The tourism organization plans to actively promote the application to attract more foreign tourists into Korea.
Minister of Knowledge Economy Hong Suk-woo and ETRI President Kim Heung-nam were present at the signing ceremony.
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