[Herald Interview] Making sense of Confucian printing woodblocks

ANDONG, North Gyeongsang Province ― Despite their historical and cultural value, Confucian printing woodblocks are barely studied. Most people don’t even know they exist. That’s why Lee Yong-doo and his researchers at the Advanced Center for Korean Studies can’t slow down after the 10-plus-year campaign to salvage the relics from the threat of theft and damage. Deciphering the wisdom of Joseon scholars carved onto the slabs and making them readily available for today’s guidance-seeking Koreans i

CultureDec. 14, 2014

[Herald Interview] Doctor offers advice on IBS and indigestion

For many people with irritable bowel syndrome, their symptoms don’t give a clear indication of their condition. While IBS is a common gut disorder which causes abdominal pain, bloating, and sometimes bouts of diarrhea and or constipation, those who suffer indigestion ― also known as functional dyspepsia ― may experience the same, often accompanied with nausea or heartburn.But Dr. Jeong Seong-ae at the Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital says that what worries the patients most is that such s

TechnologyDec. 11, 2014

[Herald Interview] Sharing Korean development know-how via online archive

Armed with expertise and a multiethnic culture, KDI School is ready to step up its contributions to sharing Korea’s know-how on economic development through an online database, policy advisory projects, and lectures and seminars, its chief said. The Seoul-based school in 2012 launched an online archive called K-Developedia, providing free access to resources accrued over the last six decades on the country’s economic ascent. As of Dec. 10, it boasts more than 28,700 theses, academic journals, re

Foreign AffairsDec. 10, 2014

[Herald Interview] Finding big spenders with data forecasting

Mobile technology has brought profound changes to the way people consume digital goods, with life cycles of products and services getting shorter.As people are constantly exposed to a slew of new information, their tastes change every minute, making it harder to predict their future spending patterns.This is why companies today need the assistance of artificial intelligence that can help them analyze a massive amount of data in real time and implement advertising and marketing strategies customi

TechnologyDec. 10, 2014

[Herald Interview] French native looks to pave the way for blues music

After moving to New York from Paris with wide-eyed dreams of moving to Harlem to pursue a life with jazz, David Naze instead found himself unexpectedly enthralled with Korean culture. Living in Big Apple for two years and being exposed to the city’s large Korean community, Naze said that he was so eager to discover Korean culture that he decided to pack his things and do away with his American dreams to move here despite having no concrete plans. Now in his third year in Korea, Naze has founded

PerformanceDec. 9, 2014

[Herald Interview] Bladder replacement surgery option for cancer patients

For many bladder cancer patients, a cystectomy ― the surgical removal of all or part of the bladder ― can be a traumatic experience.In many cases, the surgery inevitably requires a urostomy, the creation of an artificial opening that allows one’s urine to be collected in a bag attached to the outside of one’s body.After this procedure, one has to empty the flat, watertight bag regularly. And according to surgeon and professor Lee Dong-hyun, who specializes in urology at Ewha Womans University Mo

Social AffairsDec. 3, 2014

[Herald Interview] Singaporean start-up Subnero takes Internet underwater

Imagine people exploring the deep sea, taking pictures of the underwater landscape and exotic sea creatures and using Wi-Fi networks to share them on the spot through social media sites such as Facebook.Slowly but steadily, the underwater wireless communications technology environment is becoming a reality thanks to Singapore-based start-up Subnero’s pioneering researchers.Subnero’s wireless nodes. (Subnero)The 2-year-old start-up is dreaming of a new Internet revolution deep down in the ocean. 

TechnologyDec. 3, 2014

[Herald Interview] Song Sae-byeok’s career enjoys late dawn

Actor Song Sae-byeok is not the most well-known actor in Korea, but he has infused his characters with an intensity and unique likability that makes people remember him. Following a brief appearance in Bong Joon-ho’s “Mother” (2009), his supporting role as the perverted, corrupt official Byeon Hak-do in the period film “The Servant” (2010) drew laughter on account of his nonchalant, comic poise and earned him a best new actor award. Recently, he played the part of a violent stepfather in “A Girl

FilmDec. 2, 2014

[Herald Interview] Adoptee launches search service for birth parents, adoptees

Korean transnational adoptee Sarah Bowling was adopted to the U.S. in 1974 at age 3 from an orphanage in Busan.Despite two DNA tests with potential parents in the 1990s ― both came out negative ― Bowling has not found her birth family.However, her experience living in South Korea since 2009 as well as her own birth family search have inspired her to start a project with a very personal connection. She recently launched Korea Reconnect, an online database that helps birth parents and adoptees loo

Social AffairsDec. 1, 2014

[Herald Interview] Audrey Hepburn’s son talks about her charity work

“My mother thought she had a big nose and big feet, was too skinny with skimpy breasts. She would look in the mirror and say, ‘I don’t understand why people think I’m beautiful,’” Audrey Hepburn’s son said about his late mother, deemed the 20th century’s most beautiful woman by fans around the world. Luca Dotti, 44, the second son of Hepburn, who stewarded Hollywood’s golden age, came to Korea last week to promote a fund-raising exhibition, “Beauty beyond Beauty,” held at Seoul’s Dongdaemun Desi

Social AffairsNov. 30, 2014

[Herald Interview] A life devoted to public service

In 1948, high-flying metallurgy professor Choe Ke-soon decided to start a new chapter in his life by going to the U.S. Moving there without any relatives or friends, he started as a visiting scholar at Princeton and Columbia universities in New York, before being recruited by The Boeing Co. in 1967 and passing away in 2003 as a top engineer, self-taught calligrapher and watercolor painter, and a Korean-American leader in Seattle. Just like her father, Martha Choe has been leading a tireless yet

Foreign AffairsNov. 30, 2014

[Herald Interview] Lee Jung-jae returns as invincible fighter

Model-turned-actor Lee Jung-jae has worked in TV and film for many years. Lee instantly became a household name when he starred in the 1994 campus TV drama “Feelings.” In 1995, his impressive supporting role as a silent, devoted bodyguard in the sensational TV drama “Sandglass” turned him into a national heartthrob. Boosted by his success on the small screen, his 1999 film “City of the Rising Sun,” with costar Jung Woo-sung ― who has become one of Lee’s best friends ― earned him a best actor awa

FilmNov. 26, 2014

[Herald Interview] OECD calls for regional nuclear safety approach

Despite persistent territorial and historical tension, Northeast Asia needs to formulate a joint scheme to promote nuclear safety which will help preclude future disasters and boost practical cooperation, chief of the OECD’s atomic energy agency said Tuesday. William Magwood, director-general of the Nuclear Energy Agency of the OECD, stressed the growing need to jointly address safety issues in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima debacle in Japan, such as by cultivating a safety culture.  William Mag

Foreign AffairsNov. 25, 2014

[Herald Interview] Actor committed to helping refugees

Albeit powerless and hapless far away from his homeland Bhutan, the young boy could not give up his dream of becoming an actor like Jung Woo-sung since watching his 2004 film “A Moment to Remember.”As the boy re-enacted a perilous cross-border journey on a makeshift stage alongside his peers at the Beldangi refugee camp in Nepal, the 41-year-old South Korean actor Jung was shaken by the young refugees’ purity and unity even while lacking basic needs. The encounter took place during Jung’s first

Foreign AffairsNov. 23, 2014

[Herald Interview] Finnish P.M. uncovers Finland-Korea connection

Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb visited Korea last week to invigorate bilateral ties in a broad range of areas, from winter sports to green technology. The Finnish delegation attended a summit, forum and exhibition from Nov. 19-22, facilitating trade and investment in arctic development, energy infrastructure, shipbuilding, security and education.A welcome reception for select diplomats, businessmen and journalists was held at the Finnish Embassy in Seoul, last Wednesday.The 46-year-old w

Foreign AffairsNov. 23, 2014

[Herald Interview] Korean rich should pay more tax: ADB

An economist from the Asia Development Bank urged Korea to consider levying more taxes on the rich to create a more balanced wealth distribution. “Korea, which was considered a success story in generating growth with equity in the 1970s and 1980s, has seen rising income inequality in recent years,” said Juzhong Zhuang, a deputy chief economist at the Asian Development Bank, in an interview with The Korea Herald. The latest OECD data showed Korea’s Gini coefficient ― a scale with zero being perfe

Nov. 23, 2014

[Herald Interview] Finnair to halve carbon emissions by 2050

Finnair, the flagship carrier of Finland, on Thursday said it will go carbon neutral by 2020 and halve its carbon emissions by 2050.In an aggressive attempt to make its operations greener, the company is set to use more planes that are fuel-efficient or run on bio-fuels, said Kati Ihamaki, vice president of the sustainable development unit at the Helsinki-based airliner, during a recent interview with The Korea Herald. “Because we are a flight company, every drop of fuel we save is directly link

IndustryNov. 23, 2014

[Herald Interview] Kia Motors pins hopes on luxury sedan sales

LOS ANGELES ― Kia Motors’ U.S. sales chief Wednesday expressed confidence in selling the carmaker’s first luxury sedan, the K900, despite its lukewarm sales over the past year since its debut. “There is a market for the $60,000 Kia car in the U.S.,” said Michael Sprague, executive vice president of sales and marketing of Kia Motors America, at the carmaker’s exhibition booth at the LA Auto Show. “There is a niche market for people who don’t want traditional German and American luxury cars and ar

MobilityNov. 23, 2014

[Herald Interview] Dressing up a tradition in new clothes

When Kim Sung-nyo began her three-year term as artistic director of the state-run National Changgeuk Company of Korea in March 2012, she had two things in mind. First was to lure younger and livelier audiences to changgeuk, Korean traditional opera based on pansori, a type of folk narrative. The second was to introduce diverse new forms and styles in changgeuk shows in an effort to transform it from an overlooked genre to the heart of the performing arts scene in Korea. “I was shocked when repor

CultureNov. 23, 2014

[Herald Interview] Blueside aims to take games mobile

BUSAN ― Blueside, a South Korean game company, said that its next strategic move would be developing games for mobile devices next year after the anticipated release of “Kingdom Under Fire 2” for Sony PlayStation 4 and PCs.Lee Sang-youn, CEO and producer of Blueside, said that the company ultimately seeks to make games that can be played on multiple platforms such as consoles, PCs and mobiles.Given its strength in developing games for consoles and PCs, the company has the capability to create “u

TechnologyNov. 21, 2014