Most Popular
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Medical profs at top hospitals suspend surgeries, clinics
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Exports to US reach all-time high, widen gap with China
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Trump rekindles criticism: US forces defending 'wealthy' S. Korea 'free of charge'
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Samsung chip business back on track, logs W1.9tr operating profit in Q1
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Shinsegae faces showdown with investors over SSG.com's delayed IPO
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[Music in drama] Rekindle a love that slipped through your fingers
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Hopes rise for possible Gaza truce deal
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Ex-pro baseball player who killed debtor appeals sentence
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S. Korea discussed possible participation in AUKUS Pillar 2 with Australia: defense minister
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[New faces of Assembly] Architect behind ‘audacious initiative’ believes in denuclearized North Korea
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Q&A with ‘The Fifth Assassin’ author Brad Meltzer
Brad Meltzer’s thrillers gravitate to best sellers’ lists. His contemporary novels, which include “The Inner Circle” and “The Book of Lies,” are steeped in historical facts.But wait, there’s more. Meltzer has written five comic books, including the Eisner Award-winning “Justice League of America,” has two nonfiction books to his credit and is the host of “Brad Meltzer’s Decoded” on the History Channel. His newest thriller is “The Fifth Assassin.”Q: In “The Fifth Assassin,” a killer re-creates th
Jan. 24, 2013
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A mixed bag of short stories
Kinsey and MeBy Sue Grafton(Marian Wood/Putnam)Sue Grafton’s new collection of short stories, “Kinsey and Me,” is a mixed bag of material.There are gems inside that fans of Grafton’s “alphabet series” of Kinsey Millhone detective capers are sure to enjoy.Her best selling novels, dating back to 1982’s “A is for Alibi” and progressing all the way to 2011’s “V is for Vengeance,” are all readily available in bookstores.But did you know that Grafton also wrote eight mystery shorts featuring her pluck
Jan. 24, 2013
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Swagger takes on JFK assassination
The Third BulletBy Stephen Hunter(Simon & Schuster)Someone should have asked a sniper.That’s what Stephen Hunter ― a best-selling novelist who created Bob Lee Swagger, the best shooter there ever was, the Gun Whisperer ― believes.The gaping hole in the middle of most Kennedy assassination theories, Hunter says, is that the theorists, even those attached to the original Warren Commission, don’t know the first thing about shooting, ballistics or angles.“Looking at the body of assassination materia
Jan. 24, 2013
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Fashion as therapy
Just like the way we talk and act, how we dress tells a lot about us. It reflects our personal history, status, taste and desire. “We must put up with our clothes as they are ― they have their reason for existing,” Mark Twain once said. “They are on us to expose us ― to advertise what we wear them to conceal. They are a sign; a sign of insincerity; a sign of suppressed vanity; we put them on to propagate that lie and back it up.”American psychologist Jennifer Baumgartner’s book “You Are What You
Jan. 24, 2013
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Arabic edition of Korean culture book published
A state think tank in South Korea said Thursday it has recently published an Arabic language edition of its English book on Korean culture to help enhance the Arabic world’s understanding of Korea.The 2010 English book “Cultural Landscapes of Korea,” written and published by The Academy of Korean Studies, gives foreign readers clear information, including photos, on Korea’s culture, rituals, industrialization, urbanization and its different regional culture. The academy is a research institute i
Jan. 24, 2013
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Mansbach rekindles golden age of graffiti
Adam Mansbach is a novelist best known for a parody. But don’t think that he bears any ill will toward “Go the F**k to Sleep,” his hilarious, bestselling ode to toddler-whipped parents.“It’s a funny thing; I think people expect that I’m somehow embittered by being known for that book, and I’m definitely not,” says Mansbach. “It’s opened some doors for me. I’m grateful for all of the attention. People who know me are tickled by what happened because it was an honest manifestation of my humor, and
Jan. 17, 2013
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Lawmaker pens graphic novel on N.K.’s ‘Great Successor’
With the abduction of an American tour operator in November, a provocative missile launch in December, and a high-profile visit by Google’s Eric Schmidt this month, North Korea’s scion Kim Jong-un has garnered extra international attention of late.This succession of provocations makes the timing of the English-language translation of a 2011 graphic novel about the North’s irascible junior Kim all the more pointed.In the novel, Ha Tae-keung, a National Assembly representative for the Saenuri Part
Jan. 17, 2013
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A celebrated career in muckraking
Scoop: The Evolution of a Southern ReporterBy Jack Nelson, edited posthumously by Barbara Matusow(University Press of Mississippi)Born into humble circumstances in Talladega, Alabama, in 1929 and later reared in Biloxi, Mississippi, Jack Nelson became a journalist by accident. He showed enough talent as a rookie reporter on small-town newspapers that in 1953 he received a job offer from The Atlanta Constitution. It would was a big step up, and Nelson was elated.During the rest of the decade, Nel
Jan. 17, 2013
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Ben Schrank’s self-help satire
Love Is a CanoeBy Ben Schrank(Sarah Crichton Books/Farrar, Straus and Giroux)Good love is a quilt ― light as feathers and strong as iron.A good marriage is a canoe ― it needs care and isn’t meant to hold too much ― no more than two adults and a few kids.These pearls of wisdom come from a fictional self-help book titled “Marriage Is a Canoe,” written 40 years ago by Peter Herman, a one-hit wonder now stumbling through his golden years in upstate New York, widowed, drinking, dating a woman he does
Jan. 17, 2013
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‘Rise to Greatness’ examines key year of Lincoln presidency
Abraham Lincoln is history’s most scrutinized American. Nearly every facet of his life ― his political accomplishments, ethics, religion, marriage, even his sexual orientation ― has been explored in the 148 years since his assassination. What could a new Lincoln biography offer?For author David Von Drehle of “Rise to Greatness,” the answer lies in tracing Lincoln’s transformation from inexperienced new president of a crumbling country to steady-willed leader who saved the Union in its most vulne
Jan. 17, 2013
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In search of inner peace
CHUNGJU, North Chungcheong Province ― Located in Chungju, North Chungcheong Province, Godowon Healing Center is a serene place, a rarity these days. Surrounded by mountains and trees, it is where people meditate, eat what’s healthful, and go for slow walks in the hope of clearing out what is cluttering their mind. It may be hard to believe, but the center’s famous director, Go Do-won, used to be a very busy man. He enjoyed a prolific career as a journalist and as a speech writer for late Preside
Jan. 11, 2013
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A place for fun and healing
Godowon Healing Center offers something to enjoy for all ages. The center opened in 2010 with funds donated by Go Do-won’s readers. The property, located in Chungju, North Chungcheong Province, gives visitors an opportunity to have a quiet time to learn more about themselves, away from their daily lives.The center’s program is very diverse. There is a program for soon-to-be mothers, newly married couples, young adults, and those who suffer from painful disorders. There is also a walking program,
Jan. 11, 2013
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‘Gangster Squad’: L.A. lawless
“Gangster Squad” may be loosely based on truth ― the takedown of notorious Los Angeles crime lord Mickey Cohen 60 years ago ― but it feels about as real as a mob-themed costume party. At least there’s a certain sport in counting how many neo-noir cliches director Ruben Fleischer (“Zombieland,” “30 Minutes or Less”) can get his all-star cast to engage in over the course of nearly two hours.Sean Penn, trapped underneath a layer of unconvincing makeup that makes him look more like a Batman or Dick
Jan. 11, 2013
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‘1356’: When things were rotten
1356By Bernard Cornwell(HarperCollins, NY)All in all, the Middle Ages in Europe was lousy living for most people.How can you tell? Just pick up “1356” by prolific author Bernard Cornwall and you’ll see. Like the period it is written about, it needs a strong stomach to finish.The pragmatic hero, Thomas of Hookton, is ordered to find the fictional lost sword of Saint Peter, “la Malice,” which is reputed to bring victory to the armies that wield it. Of course, others are also hunting the weapon.The
Jan. 10, 2013
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Smart heroine casts a spell
Curse of the Thirteenth Fey: The True Tale of Sleeping BeautyBy Jane Yolen(Philomel)We love fairy tales. Every culture offers them up: Scandinavians, Nigerians, Indonesians. Their commonality ― and the constant on-passing from parent to child ― attests to their endurance. It’s as though they are somehow encoded in our DNA.Theories abound about their importance in our social evolution: Tales of abandonment, death and monstrous behavior allow children to deal with their fears in an age-appropriate
Jan. 10, 2013
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Book reviews vie for dreaded Hatchet Job award
LONDON (AP) ― A mauling of Martin Amis and a savaging of Salman Rushdie are in the running for the best bad book review of 2012.Eight finalists were announced Tuesday for the Hatchet Job of the Year Award, a prize set up to reward scathing works of literary journalism.The nominees include Ron Charles’ Washington Post review of Amis’ satirical saga “Lionel Asbo’’ ― a “ham fisted novel’’ full of “blanched stereotypes’’ ― and Zoe Heller’s assessment of Rushdie’s memoir “Joseph Anton’’ for the New Y
Jan. 10, 2013
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U.S. influence on S. Korean politics examined
The Constitution of the U.S. and the Presidential GovernmentBy Lee Sang-donSojin Publishing Co.America’s constitutionalism and the principle of checks and balances have offered crucial guidance for many nascent democracies around the world, including South Korea decades ago.In his new book, “The Constitution of the U.S. and the Presidential Government,” Lee Sang-don, law professor at Chung-Ang University, delineates how the U.S. legal and political systems have taken root and evolved, and affect
Jan. 10, 2013
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‘Les Miserables’ sweeps Korea
It’s been a few weeks since Tom Hooper’s “Les Miserables” was released in local theaters. The star-studded musical film, whose cast includes Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway, has been doing well at the box office, attracting over 4 million viewers as of Thursday. And it’s not just the film’s importers that are making money. Thanks to the movie’s popularity, publishing houses are also seeing sales rise of the French novel published in 1862 ― a book considered one of the greatest pieces of literatur
Jan. 10, 2013
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Man Asian literary prize unveils 2012 shortlist
HONG KONG (AFP) ― A debut novel and a work by a Nobel laureate were among five books shortlisted for Asia’s most prestigious literary prize on Wednesday, with entries across the region from Turkey to Japan.The shortlist for the $30,000 Man Asian Literary Prize was drawn from a longlist of 15 published works, after 108 entries were submitted to a panel of judges led by literary critic and journalist Maya Jaggi.Professor David Parker, executive director of the Asian Literary Prize, the organising
Jan. 10, 2013
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Potential dangers don’t bother world traveler Pam Houston
Pam Houston has always stirred a healthy dose of reality into her fiction, and so when you read her latest novel and note that there are several near plane crashes in it, you have to ask: How many of those actually ― gulp ― happened?World traveler that she is, Houston replies: all of them.“I’ve been in all those circumstances and more that were too repetitive to include,” she says of the most unsettling chapters in “Contents May Have Shifted.” “I’ve been in the crash position on commercial airli
Jan. 3, 2013