Top U.S. Lawmaker Backs Proper Korean Name for Dokdo

The chairman of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee on Saturday said Dokdo is "the proper name" for Korea's easternmost islets.

Ed Royce

Ed Royce told Korean journalists last Saturday that the Dokdo issue should be viewed from a historical standpoint, saying, "The proper name is Dokdo island."

Japan maintains a flimsy colonial claim to the islets, which has led to some confusion on international maps, whose makers have tied themselves up in knots in search of a "neutral" position.

The U.S. Board on Geographic Names changed the name of Dokdo to the old French name "Liancourt Rocks" in 2008 following lobbying efforts by Japan.

Royce says he was briefed on the history of Japan's colonization of Korea by Young Kim, a former assistant who is now a member of the California State Assembly. "It's another one of those issues where we have to understand history and what abuses occurred because it is relevant to our understanding today," he said.

"We should all just admit history as it occurred. The part of getting the future right is acknowledging what went wrong in the past," he added.

He also singled out Japanese attempts to whitewash World War II atrocities. "And this issue with respect to the comfort women" -- Asian women pressed into sexual slavery for the Japanese army in World War II -- "the treatment of the comfort women and the acknowledgement of the human rights abuses that occurred there is one of those issues."?

He added that the historical record is unambiguous and Japan's excuses are unworthy of a moment's consideration, he added.

Royce also recalled that his father was taken to a German concentration camp during World War II and said Japan's denial of sex slavery is as bad as Holocaust denial.

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Korean Shipbuilders Steam Ahead of Chinese Rivals

Korean shipbuilders have taken the top spot in terms of new orders for the second month running, fending off a formidable challenge from Chinese rivals.

According to Clarkson Research Services on Thursday, Korean shipbuilders won 586,809 compensated gross tons of shipbuilding orders last month, compared to China’s 267,663 CGT.

In October, Korean shipbuilders won 907,477 CGT in orders, around three times more than their Chinese rivals.

Industry sources said the resurgence of Korean shipbuilders reflects the frustration of clients following the failure of Chinese firms to deliver vessels on time. Lacking ample resources, Chinese shipyards have often failed to meet crucial deadlines, according to industry watchers.

When it comes to cumulative shipbuilding orders so far this year, Chinese shipyards have won 14.57 million CGT in orders compared to 10.2 million CGT by Korean shipyards, or four percent more in money terms.

But there is no room for complacency. The Chinese government has given radical support to the shipbuilding industry for several years, while a decline of US$500,000 to $1 million in large oil tanker and cargo vessel prices has weighed on the bottom lines of Korean shipbuilders.

Yoo Byung-se at the Korea Offshore and Shipbuilding Association said, "From now on, the competition will be over ultra-large, fuel-efficient special vessels and Korean shipbuilders will have to gain a solid foothold in this segment ahead of Chinese rivals in order to survive."

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Chinese Students in Korea Make Money from Korean Wave

Chinese students in Korea are less likely than their counterparts from other countries to work in low-grade jobs in convenience stores or waiting tables to pay their tuition. Instead they provide shopping services, work as tour guides or advertise Korean goods among Chinese buyers.

The easiest way for Chinese students to make money here is to shop for buyers back in China. They buy Korean cosmetics 60-70 percent cheaper in wholesale markets and send them to acquaintances in China.

Foreigners can register as business operators if they buy more than W500,000 (US$1=W1,112) worth of goods in their first transaction. Once registered, they can still buy smaller quantities at wholesale prices.

They can make profit margins of up to 60 percent if they buy goods here and sell them in China at list prices.

Bilingual speakers of Chinese and Korean can also make decent money as tour guides due to a surge in demand from growing numbers of Chinese tourists. "Chinese students are highly trusted by Chinese tourists," a tour operator said.

Some make money from online advertising for Korean culture and products as the Chinese market grows. Companies and regional governments are hiring Chinese students as their marketers to promote their products or local goods on Chinese social media like Weibo.

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1 Dead, 52 Missing as Korean Trawler Sinks Off Russia

One sailor died and 52 went missing as a Korean trawler sank in the western Bering Sea off Russia at 2:20 p.m. on Monday.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said one Russian and six crewmembers of other nationalities had been rescued as of 6 p.m. Monday, but the fate of 52 others remains unknown as rescue efforts have been hampered by bad weather.

The Korean crewmember succumbed to hypothermia.

Of the total 60 people on board, 11 were Koreans, one Russian, 13 Filipinos, and 35 Indonesians.

/Newsis

The 1,753-ton trawler was built in Spain in 1978 and Korean fisheries firm Sajo Industries bought it in 2010 and operated jointly with Russia until February this year, when the ship was registered as Korean.

It left Busan on July 10 to fish for pollack in the Bering Sea.

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Korean Medics to Leave for Ebola-Hit Africa Next Month

Thirty Korean military and civilian medical workers are flying to Ebola-hit Sierra Leone next month. The first group of four doctors and six nurses will leave on Dec. 13, according to government officials.

The medics will first fly to the U.K. for training and then work with British and American medical personnel at a British clinic near the Sierra Leonean capital of Freetown starting Dec. 29.

The 30 volunteers will leave in three groups.

According to the World Health Organization, some 15,000 people have been infected with the deadly virus since March, and about 5,400 of them have died. Sierra Leone is the second hardest-hit country after Liberia, where 6,190 people have been infected and 1,267 died.

Korea and the U.K. are to evacuate any Korean medics who contract Ebola to a hospital in Europe.

Oh Young-ju from the Foreign Ministry said this is not for fear of spreading the infection to Korea but because infected medical personnel would be in danger on the long flight to Seoul.

Only nine countries are sending medics to Ebola-hit countries, and Korea and China are the only Asian countries so far, according to the ministry.

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Korean Farmers' Music Added to UNESCO Heritage List

Nongak or traditional farmers' music has been added to UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage list.

Nongak is the 17th tradition in Korea to be listed. Others include royal ancestral rites, traditional narrative songs called pansori, a 5,000-year-old dance known as ganggangsullae, and "Arirang," a traditional folk song.

UNESCO said the music is characterized by "independence, openness and creativity and has served to provide a cultural identity to both performers and audiences."

Six North Korean versions of "Arirang" were also listed, the first time North Korean intangible cultural assets have been included.

The South Korean versions of the folk song were listed in 2012.

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Korean Farmers' Music Added to UNESCO Heritage List

Nongak or traditional farmers' music has been added to UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage list.

Nongak is the 17th tradition in Korea to be listed. Others include royal ancestral rites, traditional narrative songs called pansori, a 5,000-year-old dance known as ganggangsullae, and "Arirang," a traditional folk song.

UNESCO said the music is characterized by "independence, openness and creativity and has served to provide a cultural identity to both performers and audiences."

Six North Korean versions of "Arirang" were also listed, the first time North Korean intangible cultural assets have been included.

The South Korean versions of the folk song were listed in 2012.

View the original article here

Korean Medics to Leave for Ebola-Hit Africa Next Month

Thirty Korean military and civilian medical workers are flying to Ebola-hit Sierra Leone next month. The first group of four doctors and six nurses will leave on Dec. 13, according to government officials.

The medics will first fly to the U.K. for training and then work with British and American medical personnel at a British clinic near the Sierra Leonean capital of Freetown starting Dec. 29.

The 30 volunteers will leave in three groups.

According to the World Health Organization, some 15,000 people have been infected with the deadly virus since March, and about 5,400 of them have died. Sierra Leone is the second hardest-hit country after Liberia, where 6,190 people have been infected and 1,267 died.

Korea and the U.K. are to evacuate any Korean medics who contract Ebola to a hospital in Europe.

Oh Young-ju from the Foreign Ministry said this is not for fear of spreading the infection to Korea but because infected medical personnel would be in danger on the long flight to Seoul.

Only nine countries are sending medics to Ebola-hit countries, and Korea and China are the only Asian countries so far, according to the ministry.

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BoA Makes Korean Film Debut in Action Flick

BoA

Singer BoA will make her?big screen debut in Korea?in an action comedy. She previously appeared in the Hollywood movie "Make Your Move."

"Big Match" revolves around a martial arts star who tries to save his brother kidnapped by a villain named Ace.

In preparation for the film, BoA went to an action school and practiced boxing with male lead Lee Jung-jae, as she had to perform wild driving scenes.

At a press event for the movie in early November, BoA said she chose the film because she was attracted to her role. "I liked the strong character and wanted to perform stunts. It wasn't an easy decision, but I decided to give it a try."

"Although BoA is known for her flamboyance and girlishness as a famous young singer across Asia, I wanted to show her ordinariness and toughness in the film," the movie's director Choi Ho said.

"Big Match" is scheduled to hit theaters in December. Among the star-studded cast are Shin Ha-kyun, Lee Seong-min, Ra Mi-ran, Son Ho-joon and Choi Woo-sik.

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Laneige Cosmetics Most Recognizable Korean Brand in China

Laneige, a Korean cosmetic brand by Amore Pacific, beat out competitors for brand awareness about Korean products among Chinese consumers, according to the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency.

Some 12.2 percent of 2,194 respondents in a survey in 10 major Chinese cities picked Laneige.

Six out of the 10 most recognized Korean brands were popular cosmetics, with Mamonde and Sulwhasoo, two more Amore Pacific brands, in fourth and fifth place, The Faceshop in sixth place, Etude in eighth place and Charmzone in ninth place.

Korean products were mostly praised for their quality.

Just behind Laneige was Hyundai Motor in second place. Samsung Electronics mobile phones came in third.

Lock & Lock containers came in seventh place, and Nongshim, Korea's largest processed food manufacturer, ranked 10th.

Cosmetics are also the most popular item among Chinese tourists visiting Korea, according to the survey, followed by clothes, fashion accessories, processed food and health food.

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Korean Youngsters Have Unhappy Relationship with Parents

Korean adolescents are often unhappy in the relationship with their parents, dampening their general happiness, a survey suggests.

The annual youth happiness index released by the Institute for Social Development Studies at Yonsei University stands at 74, at the bottom of the OECD table for six years in a row. The median is set at 100.

The index was calculated based on a survey on 6,946 school students across the country based on the UNICEF model.

Only 67.6 percent of Korean youth said they are satisfied with their life, much less than the OECD average of 85.8 percent.

Some 13 percent said they do not feel they belong to anything, including their family, compared to the OECD average of 6.7 percent. Eighteen percent said they feel lonely, when the OECD average was just 7.4 percent.

Children wait for vans to take them to crammers in front of an elementary school in Daejeon on Wednesday.

Experts point out that a major reason for unhappiness is negative relationships with family members, given that many cited a harmonious family as a chief condition for happiness.

Just 60 percent of the young respondents said they have dinner with their parents at least three times a week, compared to the OECD average of 77.9 percent.

Some 44.2 percent said they have conversations with their parents at least three or four times a week, again much lower than the OECD average of 60.8 percent. And even then they mostly talk about school or other education-related topics with 29.6 percent, while 17.9 percent said the chief topic of conversation is studies and grades.

And youngsters are most unhappy when they feel pressure on school grades and performance cited by some 44 percent.

That suggests that parents are failing to provide children with a supportive environment and instead add to the pressures of school.

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First Korean Caddy to Earn W100 Million in a Season

Suh Jeong-woo has become the nation's first caddy to earn W100 million in one year as he helped the 19-year-old rookie Kim Hyo-joo win over W1 billion in prize money in a single season for the first time in the Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association.

Caddies are generally paid on a weekly basis during tournaments, and if their player wins the title or makes the top 10, they receive 5-10 percent of the prize money as an incentive.

Suh, 29, said he couldn't imagine that he would earn that much money as a caddy. He is glad but he can't believe it's actually happening, he added.

Suh Jeong-woo

Kim earned a total of W1.14 billion in prize money this season with five wins including three major titles on the KLPGA. Whenever she claimed a title, Kim took a photo with Suh as they held up the trophy together in recognition of his contribution.

Communicating frankly with the player is the key, Suh said. When he makes a mistake, he does not hesitate to apologize to the player. If the player makes a mistake, he encourages them to forget about it as soon as possible.

Suh was a weightlifter in high school before he took up golf. He then found it more rewarding to advise other players, putting down his own golf clubs to become a caddy.
"I want to continue this gratifying job as I share the joy and challenges of the player," he said.

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Korean Youngsters Have Unhappy Relationship with Parents

Korean adolescents are often unhappy in the relationship with their parents, dampening their general happiness, a survey suggests.

The annual youth happiness index released by the Institute for Social Development Studies at Yonsei University stands at 74, at the bottom of the OECD table for six years in a row. The median is set at 100.

The index was calculated based on a survey on 6,946 school students across the country based on the UNICEF model.

Only 67.6 percent of Korean youth said they are satisfied with their life, much less than the OECD average of 85.8 percent.

Some 13 percent said they do not feel they belong to anything, including their family, compared to the OECD average of 6.7 percent. Eighteen percent said they feel lonely, when the OECD average was just 7.4 percent.

Children wait for vans to take them to crammers in front of an elementary school in Daejeon on Wednesday.

Experts point out that a major reason for unhappiness is negative relationships with family members, given that many cited a harmonious family as a chief condition for happiness.

Just 60 percent of the young respondents said they have dinner with their parents at least three times a week, compared to the OECD average of 77.9 percent.

Some 44.2 percent said they have conversations with their parents at least three or four times a week, again much lower than the OECD average of 60.8 percent. And even then they mostly talk about school or other education-related topics with 29.6 percent, while 17.9 percent said the chief topic of conversation is studies and grades.

And youngsters are most unhappy when they feel pressure on school grades and performance cited by some 44 percent.

That suggests that parents are failing to provide children with a supportive environment and instead add to the pressures of school.

View the original article here