Taken on Friday, 6 March 2009 (camera date/time stamp is set for USA) on Namsan ("South Mountain" - http://www.lifeinkorea.com/travel2/seoul/1). ◦
Showing posts with label culture south korea koreality. Show all posts
Showing posts with label culture south korea koreality. Show all posts
Friday, March 06, 2009
Do not throw your key away
Taken on Friday, 6 March 2009 (camera date/time stamp is set for USA) on Namsan ("South Mountain" - http://www.lifeinkorea.com/travel2/seoul/1). ◦
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
For a New Generation, Kimchi Goes With Tacos
AS the sun begins to sink behind the Santa Monica Mountains and the northbound traffic thickens on the 405 freeway, the hungry refresh their browsers.
After obsessively checking the Twitter postings of the Korean taco maker to see where the truck will park next, they begin lining up — throngs of college students, club habitués, couples on dates and guys having conversations about spec scripts.
And they wait, sometimes well beyond an hour, all for the pleasure of spicy bites of pork, chicken or tofu soaked in red chili flake vinaigrette, short ribs doused in sesame-chili salsa roja or perhaps a blood sausage sautéed with kimchi, all of it wrapped in a soft taco shell.
The food at Kogi Korean BBQ-To-Go, the taco vendor that has overtaken Los Angeles, does not fit into any known culinary category. One man overheard on his cellphone as he waited in line on a recent night said it best: “It’s like this Korean Mexican fusion thing of crazy deliciousness.”
The truck is a clear cult hit in Los Angeles, drawing more buzz than any new restaurant. A sister vehicle and a taco stand within a Culver City bar were recently added to quell the crowds, which Kogi’s owner put at about 400 customers a night.
Kogi, the brainchild of two chefs, has entered the city’s gastro-universe at just the right moment. Its tacos and burritos are recession-friendly at $2 a pop. The truck capitalizes on emerging technology by sending out Twitter alerts so fans know where to find it at any given time.
Yet Kogi’s popularity and the sophistication of its street food also demonstrate the emerging firepower of this city’s Korean food purveyors.
In the last few years, second-generation Korean Angelenos and more recent immigrants have played their own variations on their traditional cuisine and taken it far beyond the boundaries of Korean-dominated neighborhoods. These chefs and entrepreneurs are fueled in large part by tech-boom money here and in South Korea, culinary-school educations and in some cases, their parents’ shifting perspectives about the profession of cooking. In the last year, new Korean restaurants have popped up on the powerhouse restaurant strips of Washington Boulevard in Culver City and Beverly Boulevard in West Hollywood. In an area of West Los Angeles dominated by Japanese restaurants, bibimbop has joined the fray.
“We thought Korean food was under-represented here, and we were right,” said Robert Benson, the executive chef of Gyenari in Culver City, who has two Korean partners. “There is a certain mysticism to Korean food, and we have tried to make it more accessible.”
Korean food has blipped on the radar of culinary trend watchers before, but it never seems to gain momentum. In part, Mr. Benson said: “It is because there is a misconception about Korean food. Japanese food is high protein, low in fat and is this very clean cuisine, where Korean food has reputation as being not healthy. So it has not taken off like it should, but I think it is going to. I can feel the groundswell.David Chang in New York” — the Korean-American chef whose inventions include oysters on the half shell with kimchi consommé — “has helped that, too. I don’t think it will be long before we see a P. F. Chang’s-type chain of Korean food.”
At the same time, an increasing number of Korean chefs and restaurateurs here have aligned themselves with other nations’ cuisines, to great acclaim.
One of the city’s hottest hamburger spots, Father’s Office, is owned by Sang Yoon, 39, who immigrated to Los Angeles from Korea when he was a year old. He cooked at Michael’s in Santa Monica before taking over an old bar nearby, now packed with people willing enough to wait in line for an Office Burger, served with Mr. Yoon’s choice of accompaniments (caramelized onions, blue cheese, Gruyère, arugula), not theirs. A second Father’s Office recently opened in Los Angeles.
Scoops, an artisanal ice cream store in East Hollywood that whips up strawberry balsamic vinegar and brown bread treats, is run by Tai Kim, who came with his family to California from Korea as a teenager. Korean-Americans have made their mark in the frozen-yogurt trade, too. Pinkberry? Red Mango? Check, check.
“The first generation of Korean immigrants here mainly catered toward a Korean clientele, or made grocery markets catering to a minority clientele,” said Edward Chang, a professor of ethnic studies at the University of California, Riverside. “But more recent immigrants have ethnic and capital resources that enable them to branch out in the mainstream economy.”
Thus, “Korean-Americans have gained visibility since the unrest of 1992,” when riots targeted Korean-owned businesses, he said, “and over the last 10 to 15 years, they became much more visible. In terms of economic and political spheres, they are forces to be reckoned with.”
At the California School of Culinary Arts over the last two years, Korean students have been one of the fastest-growing immigrant groups, said Mario Novo, a spokesman for the school.
“One of our brand new students told me how excited he was to go to the school because in his culture the men do not cook and his mother was fighting against him,” Mr. Novo said. “Until they saw how serious he was. Now his mother is coming around.”
The Korean taco truck may be the ultimate outgrowth of the evolving Korean-American culture and inventiveness, inspired in part, like so many entrepreneurial adventures, by a bit of desperation.
This past September, the chef Roy Choi, 38, who began his career at Le Bernardin in New York and worked as the chef in several Los Angeles restaurants, including RockSugar, found himself out of a job and running out of cash. He had coffee with Mark Manguera, a former co-worker, who suggested that they operate a taco cart with a Korean twist.
At home that night, Mr. Choi said, the idea, which had sounded half crazy in the morning, began to make some sense. “I have always been searching for a way of trying to express myself,” he said. A business model with seven partners was quickly formed. The marketing plan included putting someone in charge of social networking, through which Kogi got its initial publicity when the truck first rolled out, two months after the fateful coffee date.
Then there is Mr. Choi, who called himself “the angry chef.” He works every night with about five employees who squeeze into the tiny, pristine space, clowns-in-a-car style, grilling meats and whipping up sauces for the crowds who wait, sometimes as long as two hours, for their tacos.
The idea, Mr. Choi said, was to bring his ethnic background together with the sensibility and geography of Los Angeles, where Koreatown abuts Latino-dominated neighborhoods in midcity and where food cultures have long merged. Former Mexican restaurants, now Korean, serve burritos, and Mexican workers populate the kitchens of Korean restaurants.
“We tried to marry two cultures,” Mr. Choi said, “with this crazy idea of putting Korean barbecue meat inside a tortilla. We have never tried to make it any more pretentious or different from that, and we wanted to be very simple but delicious.” To that end, Mr. Choi said, he buys from the meat purveyors used by some of the city’s high-end restaurants and scours the farmers’ markets for the best vegetables.
The whole operation is part culinary event — the delicious tang of pickled cabbage, the melt-on-the tongue caramel of seared meats, the bite of red chili flakes and jalapeños — and part party. Mr. Choi likes to park his truck at the U.C.L.A. campus and outside bars and clubs around town, to take advantage of the street theater.
This week, his team began leasing space in the Alibi Room, a lounge in Culver City, serving up kimchi sesame quesadillas ($7) and hot dogs with kimchi sauerkraut and Korean ketchup.
“It has evolved into a socio-cultural thing for me,” he said. “It is my vision of L.A. in one bite.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/25/dining/25taco.html?_r=1&th&emc=th
◦
After obsessively checking the Twitter postings of the Korean taco maker to see where the truck will park next, they begin lining up — throngs of college students, club habitués, couples on dates and guys having conversations about spec scripts.
And they wait, sometimes well beyond an hour, all for the pleasure of spicy bites of pork, chicken or tofu soaked in red chili flake vinaigrette, short ribs doused in sesame-chili salsa roja or perhaps a blood sausage sautéed with kimchi, all of it wrapped in a soft taco shell.
The food at Kogi Korean BBQ-To-Go, the taco vendor that has overtaken Los Angeles, does not fit into any known culinary category. One man overheard on his cellphone as he waited in line on a recent night said it best: “It’s like this Korean Mexican fusion thing of crazy deliciousness.”
The truck is a clear cult hit in Los Angeles, drawing more buzz than any new restaurant. A sister vehicle and a taco stand within a Culver City bar were recently added to quell the crowds, which Kogi’s owner put at about 400 customers a night.
Kogi, the brainchild of two chefs, has entered the city’s gastro-universe at just the right moment. Its tacos and burritos are recession-friendly at $2 a pop. The truck capitalizes on emerging technology by sending out Twitter alerts so fans know where to find it at any given time.
Yet Kogi’s popularity and the sophistication of its street food also demonstrate the emerging firepower of this city’s Korean food purveyors.
In the last few years, second-generation Korean Angelenos and more recent immigrants have played their own variations on their traditional cuisine and taken it far beyond the boundaries of Korean-dominated neighborhoods. These chefs and entrepreneurs are fueled in large part by tech-boom money here and in South Korea, culinary-school educations and in some cases, their parents’ shifting perspectives about the profession of cooking. In the last year, new Korean restaurants have popped up on the powerhouse restaurant strips of Washington Boulevard in Culver City and Beverly Boulevard in West Hollywood. In an area of West Los Angeles dominated by Japanese restaurants, bibimbop has joined the fray.
“We thought Korean food was under-represented here, and we were right,” said Robert Benson, the executive chef of Gyenari in Culver City, who has two Korean partners. “There is a certain mysticism to Korean food, and we have tried to make it more accessible.”
Korean food has blipped on the radar of culinary trend watchers before, but it never seems to gain momentum. In part, Mr. Benson said: “It is because there is a misconception about Korean food. Japanese food is high protein, low in fat and is this very clean cuisine, where Korean food has reputation as being not healthy. So it has not taken off like it should, but I think it is going to. I can feel the groundswell.David Chang in New York” — the Korean-American chef whose inventions include oysters on the half shell with kimchi consommé — “has helped that, too. I don’t think it will be long before we see a P. F. Chang’s-type chain of Korean food.”
At the same time, an increasing number of Korean chefs and restaurateurs here have aligned themselves with other nations’ cuisines, to great acclaim.
One of the city’s hottest hamburger spots, Father’s Office, is owned by Sang Yoon, 39, who immigrated to Los Angeles from Korea when he was a year old. He cooked at Michael’s in Santa Monica before taking over an old bar nearby, now packed with people willing enough to wait in line for an Office Burger, served with Mr. Yoon’s choice of accompaniments (caramelized onions, blue cheese, Gruyère, arugula), not theirs. A second Father’s Office recently opened in Los Angeles.
Scoops, an artisanal ice cream store in East Hollywood that whips up strawberry balsamic vinegar and brown bread treats, is run by Tai Kim, who came with his family to California from Korea as a teenager. Korean-Americans have made their mark in the frozen-yogurt trade, too. Pinkberry? Red Mango? Check, check.
“The first generation of Korean immigrants here mainly catered toward a Korean clientele, or made grocery markets catering to a minority clientele,” said Edward Chang, a professor of ethnic studies at the University of California, Riverside. “But more recent immigrants have ethnic and capital resources that enable them to branch out in the mainstream economy.”
Thus, “Korean-Americans have gained visibility since the unrest of 1992,” when riots targeted Korean-owned businesses, he said, “and over the last 10 to 15 years, they became much more visible. In terms of economic and political spheres, they are forces to be reckoned with.”
At the California School of Culinary Arts over the last two years, Korean students have been one of the fastest-growing immigrant groups, said Mario Novo, a spokesman for the school.
“One of our brand new students told me how excited he was to go to the school because in his culture the men do not cook and his mother was fighting against him,” Mr. Novo said. “Until they saw how serious he was. Now his mother is coming around.”
The Korean taco truck may be the ultimate outgrowth of the evolving Korean-American culture and inventiveness, inspired in part, like so many entrepreneurial adventures, by a bit of desperation.
This past September, the chef Roy Choi, 38, who began his career at Le Bernardin in New York and worked as the chef in several Los Angeles restaurants, including RockSugar, found himself out of a job and running out of cash. He had coffee with Mark Manguera, a former co-worker, who suggested that they operate a taco cart with a Korean twist.
At home that night, Mr. Choi said, the idea, which had sounded half crazy in the morning, began to make some sense. “I have always been searching for a way of trying to express myself,” he said. A business model with seven partners was quickly formed. The marketing plan included putting someone in charge of social networking, through which Kogi got its initial publicity when the truck first rolled out, two months after the fateful coffee date.
Then there is Mr. Choi, who called himself “the angry chef.” He works every night with about five employees who squeeze into the tiny, pristine space, clowns-in-a-car style, grilling meats and whipping up sauces for the crowds who wait, sometimes as long as two hours, for their tacos.
The idea, Mr. Choi said, was to bring his ethnic background together with the sensibility and geography of Los Angeles, where Koreatown abuts Latino-dominated neighborhoods in midcity and where food cultures have long merged. Former Mexican restaurants, now Korean, serve burritos, and Mexican workers populate the kitchens of Korean restaurants.
“We tried to marry two cultures,” Mr. Choi said, “with this crazy idea of putting Korean barbecue meat inside a tortilla. We have never tried to make it any more pretentious or different from that, and we wanted to be very simple but delicious.” To that end, Mr. Choi said, he buys from the meat purveyors used by some of the city’s high-end restaurants and scours the farmers’ markets for the best vegetables.
The whole operation is part culinary event — the delicious tang of pickled cabbage, the melt-on-the tongue caramel of seared meats, the bite of red chili flakes and jalapeños — and part party. Mr. Choi likes to park his truck at the U.C.L.A. campus and outside bars and clubs around town, to take advantage of the street theater.
This week, his team began leasing space in the Alibi Room, a lounge in Culver City, serving up kimchi sesame quesadillas ($7) and hot dogs with kimchi sauerkraut and Korean ketchup.
“It has evolved into a socio-cultural thing for me,” he said. “It is my vision of L.A. in one bite.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/25/dining/25taco.html?_r=1&th&emc=th
◦
Monday, February 02, 2009
South Korean killer reignites death row debate
Amid a serial murder scandal that is shaking the country, voices are calling for the revival of capital punishment, which has been unused for the past few years.
Amnesty International, a human rights group, classified Korea as "abolitionist in practice" in 2007 because the country has not executed anyone in the past 12 years, though capital punishment is still valid.
Capital punishment in Korea was last carried out under the Kim Young-sam government on Dec. 20, 1997 when 23 people were executed.
Presently, 58 are on death row, theoretically awaiting execution, and 19 are serving life sentences after receiving commutation, according to the Justice Ministry.
As the police yesterday rounded off the crime scene investigation regarding serial killer Kang Ho-soon who admitted to killing seven women in the past two years, many are demanding that Kang be sentenced to death.
During the two-day crime scene investigation, Kang calmly demonstrated his crimes without signs of regret or agitation, said witnesses at the scene. Family members of his victims are swearing fierce resistance should the judiciary fail to condemn the murderer to an appropriate sentence.
If accusations against Kang turn out to be true, present criminal law provides that he be handed down the maximum legal sentence. Murder, when combined with rape, is subject to the death penalty or life imprisonment, with corpse abandonment adding another seven years.
A well-known serial killer, Yoo Young-chul, was given a death sentence in 2005 for killing 20 people, tearing their bodies to pieces and burying them. Another murderer, Chung Nam-gyu, was also given the sentence in 2007 for killing 13 people and injuring 20.
The Justice Ministry is skeptical about carrying out the irrevocable criminal sentence, despite mounting public requests.
"In the past scandalous serial murder cases, public opinion also demanded the death of the killers, but it was just not enough to resist the worldwide legal trend of capital punishment abolishment," said a Justice Ministry official. "The very nature of the death sentence is controversial, and Kang's case alone will probably not reverse the present flow of criminal punishment."
Yoo and Chung have been imprisoned for several years as their death sentences have not been carried out.
As of December 2007, 102 countries have abolished the death sentence and 31, including Korea, are classified as "abolitionist in practice," according to figures from the AI. Only 64 countries actually execute the maximum criminal penalty.
Those who sympathize with the ministry's stance point out the global trend against capital punishment, the possibility of judicial misjudgment and the value of human life.
The majority of the public, however, claim that the rights of innocent people should be prioritized.
"Legal authorities will be criticized as populist, should they refuse to sentence Kang Ho-soon to death, citing human rights as reasons," said Gyeonggi Governor Kim Moon-soo in a radio interview yesterday.
Criminal statistics from the Justice Ministry also showed a 32 percent increase in murder rates in the 10 years since the government's de facto abolition of the death sentence.
Some say that the government should stop wasting taxes by indefinitely delaying the execution of those condemned to death.
According to government data presented to Rep. Joo Kwang-deok of the ruling Grand National Party during a parliamentary audit last year, the state spends an annual 1.59 million won ($1,100) to keep a condemned criminals in prison.
Amid rising disputes over capital punishment, one of the oldest punishments in history, the Constitutional Court is to hold an open discussion on the legitimacy of the death sentence in June.
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2009/02/03/200902030056.asp
◦
Amnesty International, a human rights group, classified Korea as "abolitionist in practice" in 2007 because the country has not executed anyone in the past 12 years, though capital punishment is still valid.
Capital punishment in Korea was last carried out under the Kim Young-sam government on Dec. 20, 1997 when 23 people were executed.
Presently, 58 are on death row, theoretically awaiting execution, and 19 are serving life sentences after receiving commutation, according to the Justice Ministry.
As the police yesterday rounded off the crime scene investigation regarding serial killer Kang Ho-soon who admitted to killing seven women in the past two years, many are demanding that Kang be sentenced to death.
During the two-day crime scene investigation, Kang calmly demonstrated his crimes without signs of regret or agitation, said witnesses at the scene. Family members of his victims are swearing fierce resistance should the judiciary fail to condemn the murderer to an appropriate sentence.
If accusations against Kang turn out to be true, present criminal law provides that he be handed down the maximum legal sentence. Murder, when combined with rape, is subject to the death penalty or life imprisonment, with corpse abandonment adding another seven years.
A well-known serial killer, Yoo Young-chul, was given a death sentence in 2005 for killing 20 people, tearing their bodies to pieces and burying them. Another murderer, Chung Nam-gyu, was also given the sentence in 2007 for killing 13 people and injuring 20.
The Justice Ministry is skeptical about carrying out the irrevocable criminal sentence, despite mounting public requests.
"In the past scandalous serial murder cases, public opinion also demanded the death of the killers, but it was just not enough to resist the worldwide legal trend of capital punishment abolishment," said a Justice Ministry official. "The very nature of the death sentence is controversial, and Kang's case alone will probably not reverse the present flow of criminal punishment."
Yoo and Chung have been imprisoned for several years as their death sentences have not been carried out.
As of December 2007, 102 countries have abolished the death sentence and 31, including Korea, are classified as "abolitionist in practice," according to figures from the AI. Only 64 countries actually execute the maximum criminal penalty.
Those who sympathize with the ministry's stance point out the global trend against capital punishment, the possibility of judicial misjudgment and the value of human life.
The majority of the public, however, claim that the rights of innocent people should be prioritized.
"Legal authorities will be criticized as populist, should they refuse to sentence Kang Ho-soon to death, citing human rights as reasons," said Gyeonggi Governor Kim Moon-soo in a radio interview yesterday.
Criminal statistics from the Justice Ministry also showed a 32 percent increase in murder rates in the 10 years since the government's de facto abolition of the death sentence.
Some say that the government should stop wasting taxes by indefinitely delaying the execution of those condemned to death.
According to government data presented to Rep. Joo Kwang-deok of the ruling Grand National Party during a parliamentary audit last year, the state spends an annual 1.59 million won ($1,100) to keep a condemned criminals in prison.
Amid rising disputes over capital punishment, one of the oldest punishments in history, the Constitutional Court is to hold an open discussion on the legitimacy of the death sentence in June.
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2009/02/03/200902030056.asp
◦
Beauty finds a way to buck the recession in South Korea
In tough times people resort to small luxuries to compensate for letting go of big-budget plans or hobbies like traveling.
For example, two of the country's popular cosmetic brands, Amore Pacific and LG Household & Health Care, said recently that their third quarter sales rose 15.6 percent and 29.8 percent, respectively, from a year earlier.
However, it does not hurt to be thrifty in these times, especially if the quality of a product is guaranteed. Such consumer mentality explains the success of a growing number of cosmetic brands that are selling exclusively on home shopping channels. Some of them are selling like hotcakes because, even though they are cheaper at about 100,000 won a kit, their quality is also ensured by those who make them.
Most of these brands are collaborations between top-notch make-up artists and leading local mid-sized manufacturers, including Aekyung Industries Inc. and Enprani Corporation.
One such successful TV home shopping cosmetic brand is LUNA, created by a partnership between top make-up artist Cho Sung-ah and Aekyung Industries Inc., a well-known home, health and beauty goods production company. LUNA, launched in 2006, is also the first to tap that particular market.
"LUNA was top-ranked in sales among all products sold on GS Homeshopping during the last year. We sold more than 400,000 cosmetic sets," said a spokesperson for GS Homeshopping.
SEP (Simple, Easy and Perfect) joined the market early last year, but is quickly catching up with LUNA. SEP was established by leading make-up artist duo Son Dae-sik and Park Tae-yoon with cosmetics company Enprani Corp.
"Through combining the experience of Son and Park and Enprani's expertise in cosmetics production, we have created a nice teamwork which is appealing to women in their 20s," said an Enprani spokesperson.
Both LUNA and SEP emphasize their convenience and simplicity. Besides the instructions that are enclosed in their products, which often come in complete sets, consumers can catch demonstrations by the make-up artists themselves on TV.
Instead of just selling the products to the consumers, the artists aim at enabling ordinary women to do their make-up well and fast, the Aekyung official said.
"Basically, a set enables beginners like me to finish make-up by just following the guidelines. The kit has everything I need," said Lee Na-yeon, a 24-year-old student.
These brands have also been timely in presenting seasonally suitable products while challenging standard cosmetic products by coming up with unique items.
Under the concept of "Noble Make-up," a trend young Korean women are avidly following nowadays, Son and Park duo have recently presented a cosmetics kit that includes mineral loose powder foundation. CJ Homeshopping sold over 70,000 of them translating into over 7 billion won in sales.
LUNA also has been constantly renewing its line-up of products according to different themes, such as "Baby-face" "Small face" and "Three-dimensional."
"The kit keeps evolving as time passes, adapting to the consumers' needs," said Yoo Hye-mi, 27.
Some items from LUNA have received wild responses from buyers for their creativity. They include "Brush Foundation," a foundation that has a brush attached to it and "Cheek & Eye Print," a stamp-like blush and eye-shadow shaped like those of the cheek and the eye.
LICHT, created by model/actress Byun Jung-soo and KAREN, launched by popular make-up artist Kim Sun-jin, were also introduced on CJ Homeshopping last year and have been enjoying robust sales.
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2009/02/03/200902030063.asp
◦
For example, two of the country's popular cosmetic brands, Amore Pacific and LG Household & Health Care, said recently that their third quarter sales rose 15.6 percent and 29.8 percent, respectively, from a year earlier.
However, it does not hurt to be thrifty in these times, especially if the quality of a product is guaranteed. Such consumer mentality explains the success of a growing number of cosmetic brands that are selling exclusively on home shopping channels. Some of them are selling like hotcakes because, even though they are cheaper at about 100,000 won a kit, their quality is also ensured by those who make them.
Most of these brands are collaborations between top-notch make-up artists and leading local mid-sized manufacturers, including Aekyung Industries Inc. and Enprani Corporation.
One such successful TV home shopping cosmetic brand is LUNA, created by a partnership between top make-up artist Cho Sung-ah and Aekyung Industries Inc., a well-known home, health and beauty goods production company. LUNA, launched in 2006, is also the first to tap that particular market.
"LUNA was top-ranked in sales among all products sold on GS Homeshopping during the last year. We sold more than 400,000 cosmetic sets," said a spokesperson for GS Homeshopping.
SEP (Simple, Easy and Perfect) joined the market early last year, but is quickly catching up with LUNA. SEP was established by leading make-up artist duo Son Dae-sik and Park Tae-yoon with cosmetics company Enprani Corp.
"Through combining the experience of Son and Park and Enprani's expertise in cosmetics production, we have created a nice teamwork which is appealing to women in their 20s," said an Enprani spokesperson.
Both LUNA and SEP emphasize their convenience and simplicity. Besides the instructions that are enclosed in their products, which often come in complete sets, consumers can catch demonstrations by the make-up artists themselves on TV.
Instead of just selling the products to the consumers, the artists aim at enabling ordinary women to do their make-up well and fast, the Aekyung official said.
"Basically, a set enables beginners like me to finish make-up by just following the guidelines. The kit has everything I need," said Lee Na-yeon, a 24-year-old student.
These brands have also been timely in presenting seasonally suitable products while challenging standard cosmetic products by coming up with unique items.
Under the concept of "Noble Make-up," a trend young Korean women are avidly following nowadays, Son and Park duo have recently presented a cosmetics kit that includes mineral loose powder foundation. CJ Homeshopping sold over 70,000 of them translating into over 7 billion won in sales.
LUNA also has been constantly renewing its line-up of products according to different themes, such as "Baby-face" "Small face" and "Three-dimensional."
"The kit keeps evolving as time passes, adapting to the consumers' needs," said Yoo Hye-mi, 27.
Some items from LUNA have received wild responses from buyers for their creativity. They include "Brush Foundation," a foundation that has a brush attached to it and "Cheek & Eye Print," a stamp-like blush and eye-shadow shaped like those of the cheek and the eye.
LICHT, created by model/actress Byun Jung-soo and KAREN, launched by popular make-up artist Kim Sun-jin, were also introduced on CJ Homeshopping last year and have been enjoying robust sales.
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2009/02/03/200902030063.asp
◦
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
South Korean convicted of marital rape commits suicide
A man who last week became the first person convicted of marital rape in South Korea was found dead in an apparent suicide, police said.
The 42-year-old man was found hanged Tuesday at his home in the southern city of Busan, police officer Kim Jong-moon said.
An initial forensic examination shows that the man, identified only by his surname Lim, killed himself, though no suicide note was found, the officer said.
His death came four days after he was sentenced to a suspended 30-month prison term for raping his 25-year-old Filipino wife at knifepoint.
The case marked the first time a man in traditionally male-dominated South Korea has been convicted of marital rape.
Lim had strongly complained about his conviction, claiming the rape occurred "accidentally" while the couple fought and that their relationship was not good because she was negligent about housekeeping, news reports said.
Reports said the couple met through a marriage broker in 2006.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090121/ap_on_re_as/as_skorea_marital_rape_2
◦
The 42-year-old man was found hanged Tuesday at his home in the southern city of Busan, police officer Kim Jong-moon said.
An initial forensic examination shows that the man, identified only by his surname Lim, killed himself, though no suicide note was found, the officer said.
His death came four days after he was sentenced to a suspended 30-month prison term for raping his 25-year-old Filipino wife at knifepoint.
The case marked the first time a man in traditionally male-dominated South Korea has been convicted of marital rape.
Lim had strongly complained about his conviction, claiming the rape occurred "accidentally" while the couple fought and that their relationship was not good because she was negligent about housekeeping, news reports said.
Reports said the couple met through a marriage broker in 2006.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090121/ap_on_re_as/as_skorea_marital_rape_2
◦
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
South Korean actress found guilty of adultery
One of South Korea's most famous actresses was convicted of adultery Wednesday in a high-profile case that drew renewed attention to a decades-old law prohibiting extramarital affairs.
Ok So-ri, who was handed a suspended jail term, had lost a battle in October to have the ban declared unconstitutional.
"I would like to say I'm sorry for causing so much trouble to society," a somber Ok told reporters after the verdict.
A district court in Goyang, near Seoul, handed Ok a suspended eight-month jail sentence, South Korean media reported, meaning she will not have to serve time. Ok's lover received a six-month suspended term.
There was no immediate word on any plans for appeal.
The sensational sex-and-celebrities case has been tabloid fodder for months, with Ok's challenge to the adultery law adding extra spice.
Last year, Ok acknowledged during a news conference that she had had an affair with an opera singer who was a friend of her husband for a few months in 2006. She stressed the affair was a result of her loveless marriage to actor Park Chul.
The court appeared to show some sympathy for Ok's predicament.
"Though the fact of adultery should be criticized, (the court) issued this ruling taking into account that husband Park Chul's responsibility was not small," the court said, according to cable news channel YTN.
She also "suffered mental pains" due to the exposure of her privacy, the court said.
Ok earlier this year filed a petition to have the adultery ban ruled an unconstitutional invasion of privacy. But in October, the Constitutional Court upheld the ban, part of South Korea's 55-year-old criminal code.
Despite decades of Western influence, South Korea remains deeply conservative and is influenced by a Confucian heritage. Those convicted under the anti-adultery law face prison sentences of up to two years, though few serve time.
Supporters of the adultery ban say it promotes monogamy and keeps families intact. Opponents argue the law violates privacy. Complaints have been filed with the Constitutional Court three times in 1990, 1993 and 2001 to abolish the law, but the court has upheld it every time.
While women's rights group were the ban's biggest supporters in the past when the law was meant to keep philandering husbands in line, in recent years some husbands have begun pressing adultery charges on their unfaithful wives.
The number of adultery cases filed in South Korea has dropped in recent years, declining to 8,070 in 2006 from 12,760 in 2000, according to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office. About 80 percent of those cases were dropped before formal charges were filed, largely because complaints were withdrawn.
Many Muslim nations have anti-adultery laws, some with harsh penalties. Taiwan, Austria, Switzerland and some U.S. states also have laws prohibiting extramarital affairs, according to the Korea Legal Aid Center for Family Relations, a government-funded legal counseling office.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081217/ap_on_re_as/as_skorea_adultery_3
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Ok So-ri, who was handed a suspended jail term, had lost a battle in October to have the ban declared unconstitutional.
"I would like to say I'm sorry for causing so much trouble to society," a somber Ok told reporters after the verdict.
A district court in Goyang, near Seoul, handed Ok a suspended eight-month jail sentence, South Korean media reported, meaning she will not have to serve time. Ok's lover received a six-month suspended term.
There was no immediate word on any plans for appeal.
The sensational sex-and-celebrities case has been tabloid fodder for months, with Ok's challenge to the adultery law adding extra spice.
Last year, Ok acknowledged during a news conference that she had had an affair with an opera singer who was a friend of her husband for a few months in 2006. She stressed the affair was a result of her loveless marriage to actor Park Chul.
The court appeared to show some sympathy for Ok's predicament.
"Though the fact of adultery should be criticized, (the court) issued this ruling taking into account that husband Park Chul's responsibility was not small," the court said, according to cable news channel YTN.
She also "suffered mental pains" due to the exposure of her privacy, the court said.
Ok earlier this year filed a petition to have the adultery ban ruled an unconstitutional invasion of privacy. But in October, the Constitutional Court upheld the ban, part of South Korea's 55-year-old criminal code.
Despite decades of Western influence, South Korea remains deeply conservative and is influenced by a Confucian heritage. Those convicted under the anti-adultery law face prison sentences of up to two years, though few serve time.
Supporters of the adultery ban say it promotes monogamy and keeps families intact. Opponents argue the law violates privacy. Complaints have been filed with the Constitutional Court three times in 1990, 1993 and 2001 to abolish the law, but the court has upheld it every time.
While women's rights group were the ban's biggest supporters in the past when the law was meant to keep philandering husbands in line, in recent years some husbands have begun pressing adultery charges on their unfaithful wives.
The number of adultery cases filed in South Korea has dropped in recent years, declining to 8,070 in 2006 from 12,760 in 2000, according to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office. About 80 percent of those cases were dropped before formal charges were filed, largely because complaints were withdrawn.
Many Muslim nations have anti-adultery laws, some with harsh penalties. Taiwan, Austria, Switzerland and some U.S. states also have laws prohibiting extramarital affairs, according to the Korea Legal Aid Center for Family Relations, a government-funded legal counseling office.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081217/ap_on_re_as/as_skorea_adultery_3
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Thursday, November 20, 2008
Blog a Hotbed of Sex Trade
Trying to lose weight, 28-year-old salaried man Kim Hyung-joon hooked up to the Internet last Sunday to learn how to efficiently get rid of his love handles.
As usual, he contacted a popular social-networking Web site, and then moved to a popular diet-specialized blog with nearly 70,000 subscribers.
Searching for tips on diets, his eyes fixed on a photo of a seductive female wearing a tight shirt and short skirt. There was a message at the bottom of the photo: "I feel lonely. I am looking for a boyfriend. Don't hesitate to visit my blog to contact me.''
What Kim found at her blog site was a couple of photos of her taken in seductive poses and a message that she was looking for a boyfriend.
He emailed her and received a surprising reply in a couple of hours. "I would like to get to know you. Please call me,'' she said in a reply with what she claimed were her phone numbers.
Later, Kim realized she was a prostitute promoting herself though the blog.
The sex business is mushrooming in cyberspace. A growing number of prostitutes have transferred their workplace to the Internet to avoid police crackdowns and this shows no sign of letting up.
"Blogs enables prostitutes to attract customers without face-to-face contact and minimize the risk of being caught,'' a police officer said.
The police have yet to figure out how many sex transactions take place through cyberspace on private homepages or blogs. But the officer said, "t's definitely increasing.''
In a parliamentary session last week, Rep. Yoon Seok-yong of the ruling Grand National Party said that 34,795 people were arrested on charges of buying sex in 2006 with 15.4 percent of them using the Web to contact their partners.
The officer stressed the amount of prostitution detected had increased following a series of police crackdowns on major red-light districts in Seoul, which succeeded in driving many brothels there out of business. For instance, the three-month-long crackdown on the red-light district in Jangan-dong in northeastern Seoul has driven more than half of all brothels there out of business, according to the police.
But it speculates most of the prostitutes who were forced to quit still continue to engage in the business in secret, either in nearby areas or on the Internet.
To contain the burgeoning online sex trade, the police last week said they would investigate suspicious Web sites. "The investigation will focus on Internet chat rooms and private blogs apparently designed to sell sex,'' it said in a statement, seeking cooperation with major Web site operators.
In Chee-beom, PR team leader for SK Communications, which operates the nation's leading social-networking Web site Cyworld, said, "We closely monitor our service around the clock to immediately delete any articles indicative of prostitution.''
Naver, Daum and other portals also said they will intensify monitoring of their sites.
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