13-Year-Old Boy Returns from NK
Photo Credit: AP
Jonathan Lee, 13-year-old American-born boy, recently paid a sanctioned visit to one of the most closed countries in the world: North Korea.
He spent eight days there, and proposed a plan for a “children’s peace forest” in the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. Although he had hoped to meet with Kim Jong Il, a meeting never happened, but Lee left feeling positive about future Korean relations.
“On this trip, I discovered that both sides want reunification and that Korea is one, so I see hope on the Korean peninsula,” Lee told the Associated Press.
Lee also said that officials said that in order for his forest idea to bear fruit, the North Korea and the U.S. would have to first sign a peace treaty officially ending the war.
Related Articles
Robert Park, who crossed into North Korea last Christmas carrying a message for Kim Jong-il, has not yet spoken publicly about his experience while in the North’s custody. His brother Paul says, when Robert is ready, “he’s going to share his story with the world.”
By Julie Ha and Ellis Song
Photograph by Elizabeth Kim
Robert Park, the American missionary who walked into North Korea last Christmas to call attention to human rights abuses there, returned to the United States last month after 43 days in the North’s custody.
The 28-year-old and his family reunited in China, and then quietly arrived at the Los Angeles International Airport the night of Feb. 6—far from the media spectacle that followed the North’s release of journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling, who were accompanied by President Bill Clinton, no less.
In Robert Park’s case, the missionary, did not address the media that evening. Reporters were only able to catch a glimpse of him in his family’s car. He kept his head down most of the time.
His brother told reporters that his family was excited to have Robert home and had his favorite meal growing up—spaghetti—waiting for him. “I was completely speechless. It was great seeing him walk off that plane,” said Paul, referring to the aircraft that brought his brother from North Korea to China. “He’s been crying. He’s very excited. There’s nothing more touching than to see a mother and son embrace.”
…
South Korea hails return of books looted by France
The Korea Herald
Korea celebrated the return of nearly 300 copies of its ancient royal documents that were looted by French troops 145 years ago with welcome ceremonies and performances in Seoul and Ganghwa Island on Saturday.
The ceremonies came after the final batch of 297 volumes of Uigwe arrived in Seoul from Paris late last month. The books have been shipped back to Seoul in four separate installments since April 14.
Korean pop groups hold first concert in Paris
The Korea Herald
K-pop fans throughout Europe descended upon Paris last Friday and Saturday to attend the first-ever Korean pop music concert in Europe.
Popular acts TVXQ, Girls‘ Generation, Super Junior, SHINee and f(x) put on a three-hour performance at Le Zenith de Paris concert hall, singing a total of 44 songs for the fans, who had come from all parts of Europe, including France, Spain, Italy and Poland.
About 100 teenage fans spent the night outside the concert hall on Thursday, while more than 1,000 people crowded outside the hall five hours prior to the start of the show. Even rain was not enough to drive away fans who stood waiting for the concert to start as they sang Korean pop songs and danced to their music.
The Korea Herald reported that only two percent of the audience was Korean, according to promoters.
The Wall Street Journal explored the business side of a potential European expansion for Korean music.
“Thanks to the Cannes Film Festival, many Korean directors, actors, and actresses have found French acclaim can lead to international fame,” said Bernie Cho, chief executive at DFSB Kollective. “Hopefully, Korean bands, singers, and musicians can now follow in their footsteps.”
South Korean University President Dead in Apparent Suicide
The Associated Press
A South Korean university president and former agricultural minister reportedly under a corruption investigation was found dead Monday in an apparent suicide, police said.
Police found the body of Sunchon National University President Lim Sang-gyu along with burned charcoal and a suicide note in a parked car in the southern city of Suncheon, officer Yang Byung-wu said.
Lim apparently killed himself with carbon monoxide gas from the charcoal sometime between Sunday night and Monday morning, Yang said.
Actress Diane Farr writes amazing book on interracial romance, Kissing Outside the Lines (with video!)
tampabay.com
…
Photos via MTV K
by Linda Son
Last April, when a car pulled up to the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, it became hard for those waiting in the crowd to breathe, let alone move, as throngs of young people flocked to the automobile.
The group of diehard fans of Korean pop music, or K-pop, whispered among themselves as they craned their necks and stood on tiptoes to get a clearer look into the car. “Who is it? Is it someone I know?” Their hopes were usually dashed as an average hotel guest would emerge from the car. But sometimes, the person in the car was actually the pop music celebrity they were waiting for to arrive and pandemonium would ensue.
The evenly dispersed group would transform into one enormous mass of people and many would find themselves being pushed into nearby strangers. Cameras would begin flashing and the air became filled with shouts of different Korean phrases: from simply calling out the artists’ name to declarations of love and adoration. Decked out in big sunglasses or hats to hide their makeup-less faces, the stars would try to make their way through the fans, sometimes stopping for a few autographs, never a picture, until their staff members or managers would usher them inside. When the star successfully made their way to the elevators, the crowd would simmer down until another car pulled up to the Sheraton, then the madness would start all over again and continue until the wee hours of the morning.
The hotel, famous for housing K-pop stars this time of year, sees this scene almost every April and this year was no exception to the fangirl madness as scores of people waited outside the Sheraton to catch a glimpse of their favorite singers. The reason? L.A.’s annual Korean Music Festival.
Nine years in the making, KMF, as it’s known to many of its patrons, has featured top K-pop acts such as TVXQ, Girls Generation, Big Bang, Wonder Girls and Super Junior. This year, the Korea Times and other sponsors brought out Jay Park, 4Minute, G.NA, U-Kiss, Secret, Sistar, Baek Ji Young, K.Will and DJ DOC among other singers of trot music and traditional Korean music.
“There is much more excitement in seeing the band you love live than through a computer screen,” said Ann Yang, a first-time attendee of KMF. For much of the show, Yang was up on her feet, dancing and singing to the songs she knew, along with the thousands of other fans in attendance.
G.NA and DJ DOC’s own Kim Chan Ryul played hosts for the star-studded event, which was seen by thousands of people who traveled from all over North America and beyond.
K-pop garnered more attention in 2011 than ever before. YouTube announced its official categorization of K-pop as a genre on its music page, providing easy access to videos. This year also showed K-pop’s popularity in the United States where a number of concerts were held and dozens of Korean artists not only delighted their overseas fans but also performed to sold out crowds or at venues that were near capacity.
The Korean Music Festival used to be the only concert where North Americans could travel a reasonable distance to see K-pop artists perform live. These artists, however, are more frequently stopping by the U.S. to perform for their international fans.
…
One Response
GET A YEAR OF 
FOR ONLY $28!
FOR ONLY $28!
Featured Event
One of the the biggest Asian cinema events to hit Southern California opens on May 10. The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, presented by Visual Communications, features the latest works by established and emerging filmmakers, along with seminars, panel discussions and symposiums on topics relevant to Asian Pacific cinema.
Opening Night features “Shanghai Calling,” directed by Daniel Hsia and starring Korean American Daniel Henney, who plays a Chinese American expat lawyer navigating his way through the mean streets of Shanghai (the picture above also indicates he is a raisin smuggler). But does he take off his shirt? Go watch the movie to find out! read more
LINKS
Featuring Recent Posts Wordpress Widget development by YD
ElaineHope의 알림…
‘한국전쟁을 끝내자면 북한과 미국이 전쟁 종결 동의문에 서명을 해야’하고… 어쩌고. 깨지는 것은 우리고, 찢어진 것도 우리인데, 한국 전쟁 주인이 우리가 아니고 종결도 우리가 하는게 아니란 말이지. 이 치밀고 올라오는 분노….