Korea, Taiwan top world earth science Olympiad

Korea walked away the winner at the International Earth Science Olympiad (IESO) 2013 which was held in Mysore, India, earlier this month.

The four Korean high school students who represented Korea competed with 101 students from 27 countries for nine days starting on September 11. The latest victory made Korea the IESO winner for three years in a row, a total of three golds and a silver medal at the annual competition, tying Taiwan for first place. A total of ten gold medals, 19 silvers, and 30 bronzes were awarded at this year’s Olympiad.

Korean students pose after winning the IESO 2013 which was held in Mysore, India (photo courtesy of Korea Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Creativity).

Han Sang-woo of Incheon Science High School (second from right) poses for a photo after being awarded the grand prize at the IESO 2013 (photo courtesy of Korea Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Creativity).

Korean students pose for photos after winning IESO 2013 (from left): Han Sang-woo (Incheon Science High School), Lee Juho (Hanseong Science High School), Kim Hee-jun (Busanil Science High School), Lee Min-yeop (Gyeongnam Science High School) (photo courtesy of Korea Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Creativity).

Among the four Korean students, Han Sang-woo of Incheon Science High School was awarded the grand prize for receiving the highest score in astronomy.

From left: Kim Hee-jun, Lee Min-yeop, Lee Juho, Han Sang-woo

The IESO marks its seventh year since its first competition held in 2007 in Korea. Composed of theory and practice tests, the annual Olympiad is designed to assess students’ comprehensive understanding of earth sciences and their capability to interpret natural phenomena, including circulation and changes of the Earth. The IESO includes individual tests and teamwork, requiring students to team up with students from other countries, conduct field research, and discuss the results.

Under the theme “The Earth is indeed a family,” this year’s IESO tests focused on global issues such as natural disasters including climate change, flood, typhoons, and earthquakes, as well as development and abuse of natural resources, and air and seawater pollution. The next IESO will be held in the United States in 2014.

Source:Korea.net

Literacy programs in India, Chad, win Sejong prizes

 

September 8 was proclaimed International Literacy Day by UNESCO in 1965.

In celebration of the day, UNESCO Headquarters played host to a variety of events on September 9, one of which was the UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize awards ceremony.

Inspired by the spirit of Sejong the Great, the fourth king of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), who created and promulgated the Korean alphabet Hangeul, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) kicked off the King Sejong Literacy Prize in 1989 to recognize individuals and groups for their dedication to spreading such Sejong spirit and increasing the world’s literacy rate.

The UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prizes for 2013 went to two literacy programs in India and Chad.

Two UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize winners for 2013: the National Literacy Mission Authority (NLMA) (left) and the Federation of Associations for the Promotion of Guera Languages (FAPGL) (photo courtesy of UNESCO)

India’s Saakshar Bharat Mission conducted by the National Literacy Mission Authority (NLMA) under the Ministry of Human Resource Development received one of the two UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prizes.

The mission activities include basic education, vocational education, functional literacy, and women’s equality.

Working in 26 languages, the program reaches almost 10 million Indians in 25 regions of the nation annually and works with out-of-school youth, women, and minority groups, addressing issues such as low-level adult literacy and inequality in literacy education.

At the Paris-based UNESCO Headquarters on September 9, UNESCO Direct General Irina Bokova (second from left) awards a UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize to the representative from the Federation of Associations for the Promotion of Guera Languages (FAPGL) (photo courtesy of UNESCO).

The second prize was picked up by the Mother Tongue Literacy program from the Federation of Associations for the Promotion of Guera Languages (FAPGL).

The program was awarded the prize in recognition of its diverse training programs including language education and income-generating activities as well as development and standardization of the Guera languages which has helped promote the literacy of the Guera people.

Since it was initiated in 2012, 13 languages have been taught in 143 literacy centers for 6,577 learners, of whom 5,356 were women and young girls who are even more vulnerable to illiteracy.

2013 King Sejong Literacy Prize laureates (third, fourth from left) (photo courtesy of UNESCO)

Source:Korea.net

Korea, ASEAN have in-depth economic discussion

A series of economic ministerial meetings were held in Brunei from August 19 to 21, including the 10th Korea-ASEAN Summit Meeting, the 16th ASEAN+3 Summit Meeting, the 1st Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and the EAS Summit Meeting.

Korean Minister Yoon Sang-jik of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) attended each meeting to exchange views with economic ministers on the economic relationship between Korea and ASEAN countries.

At the 10th Korea-ASEAN Economic Ministerial Meeting on August 20, participating ministers evaluated the current system of origin authentication and trade liberalization for additional products and agreed to fully utilize the Korea-ASEAN FTA by enhancing the quality of services and improving investments.

ASEAN+3 Economic Ministerial Meeting (photo courtesy of MOTIE).

The 16th ASEAN+3 Summit Meeting, a network of ten member countries of ASEAN with China, Japan, and Korea, was held on the same day. Ministers from 13 countries discussed current activities carried out by the East Asia Business Council (EABC), comprised of each nation’s business leaders who work together to provide a private sector perspective.
Inaugurated in 2011, the EABC seeks to strengthen private sector cooperation in Korea, Japan, China, and ASEAN and its chairmanship changes on annual basis.

Korean Economic Minister Yoon Sang-jik (back row, fourth from right) participates in the EAS Summit Meeting in Brunei on August 21 (photo courtesy of MOTIE).

A day ahead of the two ministerial meetings, the 1st Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership was held on August 19. Ten ASEAN member states and its FTA partners (Korea, Japan, China, Australia, New Zealand, and India) confirmed their aim to conclude the FTA scheme by the end of 2015 and agreed to hold the tenth and final round of negotiations in September 2015 in Korea.

On August 21, the East Asia Summit (EAS) was held by leaders of ASEAN and RCEP member states along with the U.S. and Russia. Economic leaders from 18 countries agreed at the meeting to turn the informal summit meeting into a formal consultative community starting this year.

The participating ministers talked about how to finalize the current issue of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) negotiations of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and exchanged comprehensive views on East Asia economic integration. In addition, the 18 economic leaders confirmed their resolve to cooperate against protectionism that seems to be on the rise during the ongoing economic crisis.

Korean Minister Yoon has a bilateral talk with Indian Minister H.E. Arnand Sharma of Commerce and Industry (top) and U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman (bottom) on the sidelines of the economic ministerial summits (photos courtesy of MOTIE).

On the sidelines of the series of economic meetings, Minister Yoon had bilateral talks with other ministers from countries including the U.S., China, Indonesia, Vietnam, India, and New Zealand. The talk with U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman marked the first historic meeting, while Yoon discussed regional integration with Chinese Commerce Minister Gao Hucheong, including issues related to the Korea-China FTA and the direction of RCEP.
Source:Korea.net

Busan International Film Festival opens with ‘Vara’

 

The program for the 18th Busan International Film Festival was unveiled recently. The ten-day festival will open with Vara: A Blessing by Bhutanese director Khyentse Norbu and close with Korean director Kim Dong-hyun’s The Dinner.

The opening film Vara: A Blessing by director Khyentse Norbu (photo courtesy of BIFF organizing committee)

Vara: A Blessing tells a story of love, self-sacrifice, and a woman’s strength in adversity. The story, set in rural India, is about a young woman named Lila, who falls in love with Shyam, a low-caste village boy hoping to be a sculptor.

The Dinner starts as the story of an ordinary family but a series of misfortunes leads them to a tragic state. It is the recipient of the 2011 Asian Cinema Fund script development fund.

The festival will take place on 35 screens at seven movie theaters in Busan from October 3 to October 12.

A total of 301 films from 70 countries will be shown. There will be 95 world premiers that are presented to audiences for the first time and 42 international premiers that are shown for the first time outside their home countries.

The closing film The Dinner by director Kim Dong-hyun (photo courtesy of BIFF organizing committee)

The Gala Presentation program that introduces recent works by renowned directors or sensational projects will show off six films: Ana Arabia by Israeli director Amos Gitai, Nagima by Kazakhstani director Zhanna Issabayeva, Snowpiercer by Korean director Bong Joon-ho, The X by Korean director Kim Jee-woon, Kadal by Indian director Mani Ratnam, and Unforgiven by Zainichi Korean director Lee Sang-il.

An experimental work, Ana Arabia was filmed in only one take. The film contains a message of peaceful coexistence between Jews and Muslims.

Snowpiercer was already released in Korea in August but it is included in the program. “It will be the first time for Snowpiercer to be shown at a major film festival,” said Nam Dong-chul, a BIFF programmer. “Since it will be reedited for screening in North America, if you want to see the full version, you will have to see it in Busan.”

Unforgiven by Japanese director Lee Sang-il (photo courtesy of BIFF organizing committee)

The Korean Cinema Today program will include Kim Ki-duk’s Moebius, which was invited to the ongoing 70th Venice Film Festival’s noncompeting section as well as Hong Sang-soo’s Our Sunhi, which won Hong the Leopard Award for Best Director at the 66th Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland. Nobody’s Daughter Haewon by Hong is also included in the program. For Moebius, the festival will show a version reedited with three minutes cut for general screening.

There are also several special programs -- Unknown New Wave Central Asian cinema and Rogues, Rebels and Romantics: A season of Irish cinema -- focusing on films produced in former Soviet countries and works by Irish filmmakers.

There is also the Korean Cinema Retrospective introducing over 70 films by Korea’s master director Im Kwon-taek.

For the Asian Film Market, a total of 142 institutions from 27 countries will set up promotional booths at BEXCO. Book to Film, a venue for publishers or copyright holders looking to sell original printed work copyrights and producers seeking to purchase them, will include webcomics and graphic novels as well this year.

(From left) BIFF Director Jay Jeon, Festival Director Lee Yong-kwan, Executive Programmer Kim Ji-seok (photo courtesy of BIFF organizing committee)

Speaking of what differentiates this year’s event, Festival Director Lee Yong-kwan told journalists on September 3, “We will present a lot of works by young Asian directors. It will be an opportunity to show the identity of the Busan International Film Festival this year.”

Iranian director Rakhshan Bani-E’temad will lead the jury for the New Currents section, BIFF’s competition category.

Korean actress Kang Soo-yeon and Hong Kong actor Aaron Kwok will moderate the opening ceremony. Among the major guests are Japanese actor Ken Watanabe, Taiwanese director Tsai Ming Liang, Chinese director Jia Zhangke, Artistic Director Charles Tesson of Critic’s Week at the Cannes International Film Festival, Irish director Jim Sheridan, and Japanese directors Lee Sang-il, Aoyama Shinji, and Kore-eda Hirokazu.

Poster of the 18th Busan International Film Festival (image courtesy of BIFF organizing committee)

 

Source:Korea.net

President emphasizes shared growth, cooperation

President Park Geun-hye returned to Korea after successfully finishing her eight-day trip which included the G20 Summit in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and a state visit to Vietnam. Her latest overseas visit is considered her diplomatic debut in the European region since her inauguration. Her state visit to Vietnam, the first Northeast Asian country of her choice, also received favorable marks in strengthening Korea’s cooperation with ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries.

At the Saint Petersburg G20 Summit, President Park stressed the need to pursue mutual growth among emerging economies and advanced countries in the international community. Through her Vietnam state visit, the president and her Vietnamese counterpart Truong Tan Sang held a bilateral summit where the two leaders agreed on enhancing the strategic cooperative partnership and concluding bilateral free trade negotiations by 2014.

President Park Geun-hye (second from left) listens during the second session on September 6 (photo: Cheong Wa Dae).

President Park delivered speeches at two working sessions of the G20 Summit, where she stressed the need for G20 countries to cooperate for common growth and pursuit of the creative economy. She also held a series of summit talks while in Saint Petersburg with the summit participating countries -- Italy, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Germany -- to discuss ways to boost cooperation and exchanges with Korea.

In the first working session themed on “The Growth of the Global Economy” on September 5, President Park called for cooperation among G20 countries in order to achieve shared growth, while mentioning mutual dependence among countries in the world economy. In order to ease financial uncertainties among emerging economies due to the U.S. exit strategy on stimulus policy, President Park urged advanced countries to make concerted efforts to minimize the difficulties faced by developing countries.

In the second session themed “Job Creation and Investment” on September 6, the president proposed her creative economy vision as the key to solving unemployment in her lead speech. Pointing out poor growth, economic inequalities, and high unemployment as issues of the world economy, the president proposed her creative economy vision and a disciplined market economy as solutions.

“In the past, the economy used to run on mineral resources, whereas what drives the creative economy I envision is creative ideas,” said President Park, mentioning the worldwide hit song “Gangnam Style” by Korean singer PSY, to help the summit participants’ understanding.

President Park Geun-hye (left) shakes hands with Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang during a joint press briefing at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi, Vietnam, on September 9 (photo: Cheong Wa Dae).

In the five-day state visit to Vietnam from September 7 to 11, President Park held summit talks with Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang on September 9 where they announced a joint statement dubbed “joint statement of leaders for co-prosperity." At the summit, the two leaders held in-depth discussions on how to strengthen bilateral cooperation and exchanges in economy and culture. Both leaders agreed to finalize the ongoing free trade negotiations, reach an agreement for a comprehensive level of free trade by 2014, and work toward extending the bilateral trade volume to USD 70 billion by 2020 from the current level of USD 20 billion as of 2012.

The two leaders also agreed to cooperate and support Vietnam’s implementation of large-scale projects, including nuclear plant development and power plant construction, with the participation of Korean firms.

Clad in Hanbok, President Park Geun-hye delivers congratulatory remarks at a fashion show on Hanbok and ao dai held in Hanoi, Vietnam, on September 8 (photo: Jeon Han).

Her five-day itinerary included stops to boost cultural exchange between Korea and Vietnam, including a fashion show on Hanbok and ao dai which involved the designers of the two countries. At the fashion show, President Park showed off the beauty of traditional Korean attire on the runway and expressed her hope that the two countries can build a truly close partnership and artists of the two countries can have more exchanges, while mentioning the beautiful harmony that Hanbok and ao dai create.

President Park (right) visits the residence of former Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh on September 9 with Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang in Hanoi (photo: Cheong Wa Dae).

President Park Geun-hye adjusts the ribbon on a wreath as she pays homage to Vietnamese President Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum in Hanoi, Vietnam, on September 9 (photo: Cheong Wa Dae).

President Park visited the residence and mausoleum of former Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh to pay her respects, and Ho Chi Minh City where a number of Korean firms are operating to help extend cooperation in the economy and culture and build close ties among the peoples of the two countries.
Source:Korea.net 

How to make traditional Korean liquor

Two kinds of traditional Korean liquor from the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) have recently been revived.

Under the project “Bring Back Joseon-Era Traditional Alcohol,” the Rural Development Administration (RDA) brought back to life two kinds of traditional Korean alcohol: jaju (liquor produced by boiling clear liquor, or yakju, with medicinal herbs) and jinsangju (clear rice liquor that used to be presented to Joseon-era kings as tribute from the country).

Both were recreated using the recipe from Sangayorok, an agricultural manual written by medical officer Jeon Sun-eui during the reign of King Sejong (1418-1450).

Jaju can be produced after six to twelve hours of heating with medicinal herbs including beeswax, black pepper, cinnamon bark, and dried orange peels in the clear alcohol “yakju.”

Jinsangju is an alcohol fermented with rice crude liquor mixed with steamed glutinous rice. This fermented alcohol is known to have won the Joseon-era royal family’s favor with its unique sweet and light flavor.

□ How to make jaju

○ Prepare 17 liters of clear alcohol or yakju (about 17 proof).
○ Add about 0.3 grams of beeswax, black pepper, cinnamon, and dried orange peels.
○ Put all the ingredients in a pot and place the pot in boiling water for six to twelve hours.
○ Leave it in a cool place.

□ How to make jinsangju

○ Soak 1 kilogram of regular rice overnight. Grind it, then pour three liters of water in a pot with the powdered rice and boil it into a thick gruel.
○ After cooling, add 800 grams of neureuk (powdered Korean yeast) to the gruel, put it in a pot, and ferment it in a cool place for five days in spring or autumn, three days in summer, or seven days in winter, respectively.
○ Wash thoroughly 5.4 kilograms of glutinous rice and steam it. Then cool it and put the steamed rice in the pot.
○ After seven days, strain the resulting fermented rice with a sieve, and now you have sweet jinsangju.

1. Wash regular rice and soak it overnight. (left) 2. Grind the rice.

1. Boil it into a thick gruel. (left) 2. After cooling, add neureuk to the gruel.

(From left) 1. Steam glutinous rice in a steamer lined with cotton cloth. 2. Put the steamed rice in the pot and leave it for seven days. 3. Strain it with a sieve.

Clear rice wine jinsangju

 

Source: Korea.net

A short introduction of Housing in Korea

It is generally believed that Paleolithic man began to inhabit the Korean Peninsula about 40,000 to 50,000 years ago. Neolithic man appeared in Korea around 4,000 B.C., with signs of their active presence around 3,000 B.C. being found across the peninsula. It is believed that these Neolithic people formed the ethnic stock of the Korean people. Neolithic people dwelled near the seashore and riverbanks before advancing into inland areas. The sea was their main source of food. They used nets, hooks and fishing lines to catch fish and gather shellfish. Hunting was another way to procure food. Arrowheads and spear points have been found at Neolithic sites. Later, they began to engage in farming using stone hoes, sickles and millstones.

Rice cultivation started during the Bronze Age, which lasted in Korea until around 400 B.C. People also lived in thatch-covered pits, while dolmen and stone cist tombs were used predominantly for burials during the period.As agriculture became a principal activity, villages were formed and a ruling leader with supreme authority emerged. Law became necessary to govern the communities. In Gojoseon (2,333 B.C.-108 B.C.), a law code consisting of eight articles came into practice, but only three of the articles are known today: First, anybody who kills another shall immediately be killed. Second, those who injure another's body shall compensate in grain. Third, those who steal another's possessions shall become a slave of their victim.

Housing

Hanok, Korean traditional houses, remained relatively unchanged from the Three Kingdoms period through the late Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910).

Ondol, a Korean underfloor heating system, was first used in the north. Smoke and heat generated from the low-lying kitchen stoves were channeled through flues built under floors. In the warmer south, ondol was used together with wooden floors. The major materials of traditional houses were clay and wood. Giwa, or black-grooved roof tiles, were made of earth, usually red clay. Today, the Presidential mansion is called Cheong Wa Dae, or the Blue House, for the blue tiles used for its roof.

Ondol

In modern usage it refers to any type of underfloor heating or a room that follows the traditional way of eating and sleeping on the floor.

Hanok were built without using any nails and were assembled with wooden pegs. Upper-class houses consisted of a number of separate structures, one for the accommodation of women and children, one for the men of the family and their guests, and another for servants, all enclosed within a wall. A family ancestral shrine was built behind the house. A lotus pond was sometimes created in front of the house outside the wall..

 

1-2. Bukchon (North Village) in Seoul's Gahoe-dong district.

3-4. The hanok-style home of Im Jin-su, in Anseong, Gyeonggi-do province.

(Photos courtesy of the Cultural Heritage Administration)

The form of the houses differed from the colder north to the warmer south. Simple houses with a rectangular floor and a kitchen and a room on either side developed into an L-shaped house in the south. Hanok later became U- or square-shaped centered around a courtyard.

From the late 1960s, Korea's housing pattern began to change rapidly with the construction of Western-style apartment buildings. High-rise apartments have mushroomed all over the country since the 1970s but the ondol system has remained popular with heated water pipes taking the place of smoke flues under the floor.

Source:Korea.net