SANTA CRUZ, California ― When Soquel, California, resident Nick Mucha was serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in 2004, he took a handful of surf trips, visiting friends who owned a surf camp in the small fishing village of Gigante, Nicaragua. Unbeknownst to him at the time, Mucha would effect change in that community in a significant way. Mucha, an avid surfer, saw a community on the southwestern P

K-pop icon cites mistake, bad publicity, private blunder and ‘more’Many reasons have been suggested as to why he bolted from 2PM in his heyday, including “bad online publicity” and a “private blunder.” Now the K-pop singer and b-boy, Park Jae-beom, has finally spoken up. In an exclusive interview with The Korea Herald, he said his abrupt departure was not caused by one reason alone. “There is more

Jung makes debut highlighting social problems through the ‘difficult’ genreFilm director Jung Woo-cheol does not take the romantic comedy genre lightly.In fact he believes the genre is the most difficult to succeed in.“Anything epoch-marking would make the genre rather cumbersome, but at the same time, unconventional items would make the film lose its focus too. Romantic comedy is probably the tou

Constitutional Court Justice Lee Kong-hyun retired on Friday, completing his six-year term.His retirement ceremony took place at an auditorium of the court in Jongno-gu, Seoul on Friday. Lee Kong-hyun“Democracy cannot be achieved without constitutional court trials,” the 62-year-old Lee said in his retirement address. “Were it not for the court as it is, there would be no guarantee that we could n

Dozens of Japanese are to erect a memorial monument for Ahn Jung-geun, a Korean independence fighter who advocated peace in Asia.The Ahn Jung-geun Peace Foundation Youth Academy said on Friday that Japanese living in Fukuoka and Saga Prefectures would erect the Ahn Jung-geun memorial at the entrance of a temple in Saga, Japan, on March 25 to mark the 101st anniversary of his death.About 10 members

Korea’s first accredited vegetable sommelier pushes the profession to the foreWhen Ludwig Andereas Feuerbach proclaimed “man is what he eats” in his 1863 essay on spiritualism and materialism, he did not mean it to be taken literally.He meant that the food one eats has a bearing on one’s state of mind and health. Kim Eun-kyung, Korea’s first accredited vegetable sommelier, takes it literally. “I c

Chung Sang-kook, executive vice president of LG Corp., was reelected president of the Korea Public Relations Association on Wednesday.The association reelected Chung at its annual general meeting at the Press Center in Seoul.Chung has led the association since 2009 as the 20th president. Chung Sang-kookHe said that he would seek to establish a PR training center, certify PR experts and publish PR

English instructor uses sports to motivate and encourage learningAthletic performance and academic motivation for Korean student athletes are often thought to be in inverse proportion to one another. But Hwang Sung-ah, an English instructor at a middle school attached to Dongguk University, has proven that perception wrong by getting the school soccer team eager to learn the language. In Korean sc

MANILA (AFP) ― Philippine blogger Bryan Yambao went from reading his mother’s magazines to the front rows of the world’s top catwalks at warp speed, as the Internet demolishes the exclusive barriers of high fashion.Supermodel-thin and fond of wearing colorful hats, fur-collared cardigans and handbags, the 24-year-old is now an industry heavyweight who hangs out with the likes of supermodel Naomi Campbell and designer Marc Jacobs.“If you ask me, all of my dreams have already come true. What else

Korean-Americans in Howard County, Maryland, have elected the youngest leader of a Korean-American community in the 108-year history of Korean immigration to the U.S.Charley C. Sung, a 36-year-old born in Korea to first generation immigrants, took office March 1 as the sixth president of the Korean-American Community Association of Howard County, Yonhap news agency reported. Charley C. SungIn Janu

Poet Ko Un has been selected as the recipient of the 2011 America Award to be given by the U.S. Contemporary Arts Educational Project, the renowned poet said Monday.The 78-year-old poet said he was notified last month that he had been picked as the award winner. The America Award has been presented annually since 1994 to those who devote their lives to world literature. Ko UnThe previous 17 recipi

Kim Ki-woong, chief executive officer of Korea Business News, a business news cable TV channel, was named president of the Korea Economic Daily at meetings of the daily’s shareholders and board on Tuesday. Kim Ki-woongThe 59-year-old new president graduated from Hanyang University with a journalism major, and joined the Korea Economic Daily in 1980, where he held various positions including managi

Lim Duck-ho, a professor of Hanyang University’s College of Economics and Finance, was selected as the university president on Monday.The board of the school foundation said Monday that it picked Lim from two candidates who had passed the first round of screening.He will start his four-year term on March 18. Lim Duck-hoThe new president graduated from the same university’s economics department in

Pianist Joyce Yang has won Julliard’s 30th annual William Petschek Piano Recital award.The Juilliard School in New York said on its website that Yang would be presented with the award in her Alice Tully Hall debut in New York on May 5.Yang came to international attention as silver medalist at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2005. She was the youngest contestant at age 19. Last y

Booyoung Group Chairman Lee Joong-keun has pledged to make a donation for the construction of a social contribution center on Seoul National University campus, the university said Wednesday.The 10 billion won in construction costs will be fully covered by the donation, and the university has decided to name the building the Woojung Global Social Contribution Center after Lee’s pen name, Woojung.Th

Kim Hae-sung, president of Global Sarang, a support group for foreign migrant workers, has founded an elementary school for children from multicultural families. The school in Oryu-dong, Guro-gu, Seoul held its initial entrance ceremony Wednesday, with about 60 students, children and teachers attending.It has a six-story 2,400-square-meter building with 17 rooms which consist of general classrooms

N.K. defector says protecting ‘Dear Leader’ meant imprisonment in a gilded jailSAGOKRI, South Korea ― Lee Young-guk is a struggling duck breeder in muddy work clothes, shepherding 10,000 feathered wards at his rural family-owned spread near the North Korean border.For the taciturn 50-year-old, his omnipresent baseball cap worn low over watchful eyes, common farm life is a distant second act to the

Yoo Byung-chang took office as the new chief executive officer and publisher of Herald Media in a ceremony at the company’s headquarters in Seoul on Wednesday.Yoo, 61, former president of POSCO ICT, succeeded Park Haeng-hwan, who retired after three years in the post.The new CEO vowed to strengthen growth businesses of the future, including digital media and broadcasting. Herald Media CEO and Publ

The International Military Sports Council (CISM) evaluation team arrived in Mungyeong on Wednesday for their inspection of the Korean city’s bid to host the CISM Military World Games 2015.Chief inspector Mesut Cerit of Turkey, who is CISM president for Europe, first arrived at Incheon International Airport on Feb. 28, and was greeted by Mungyeong Mayor Shin Hyun-kook, defense ministry officials an

Herald Media has appointed Yoo Byung-chang, former president of POSCO ICT, as its chief executive officer and publisher. Yoo, 61, succeeds Park Haeng-hwan, who is retiring after three years in the post. Yoo will take office on March 2 as CEO and publisher of Herald Media, which publishes The Korea Herald, The Herald Business, The Junior Herald and The Campus Herald.  Yoo Byung-changThe new CEO has