Philippines president calls US ambassador ‘gay’
Hong Dam-young – The Korea Times Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, notorious for using derogatory terms about his political opponents, has called. U.S. ambassador Philip Goldberg a “son of a bitch.” Duterte made the comment while giving a speech to soldiers at Camp Lapu-Lapu in Cebu City on Friday. After recalling that his recent meeting with […]
Health and wealth Gospel of Korean Buddhism
Jason Lim – The Korea Times Ven. Hyon Gak, who became a household name in Korea with the publication of his book, “Manhaeng: From Harvard to Hwagye Temple,” recently made front page news when he posted (in Korean) on his Facebook page his frustrations with the Jogye Order. He was empathizing with an article in […]
To recall 1988 Seoul Olympics
By Park Moo-jong – The Korea Times Finally, it’s time for the Olympics to beat the heat of this scorching summer. The 2016 Summer Olympics, ironically during the winter season of the host city of Rio de Janeiro, will kick off its 17-day run at 8 o’clock tomorrow morning (Korean Standard Time), amid global controversies. […]
In Search of Korean values
Michael Breen – The Korea Times In its research last year to develop the new national brand ― Creative Korea ― the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism came up with three key national values: creativity, passion and harmony. But are these really the core values of Korea? Harmony could be. It fits with the […]
THAAD and Korea’s Cold War lessons
Arthur I. Cyr – The Korea Times Sustained North Korea threats, and nuclear weapon and missile tests, have led the Obama administration and President Park Geun-hye’s government of South Korea to agree to deploy the Lockheed Martin THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Air Defense) anti-missile system. Beijing is reacting with consternation, but China’s arms buildup and […]
Dismissal of the Choson Dynasty Army
Min Byung-Don (Former President of Korean Military Academy) On a rainy morning on August 1st, 1907, Commander Yang Sung Hwan and his cavalry, artillery, and infantry officers of the Imperial Guards were summoned to the office of Hasegawa, the Japanese Imperial Army Commander. There, the Minister of the Military, Lee Byung Moo, read the Emperor’s […]
Leading Turkish historian Halil İnalcık dies at age 100
Prof. Halil İnalcık dubbed as ‘the professor of professors’, one of the most respected historians in Turkey, passed away Monday in Ankara at 100-years-old, Daily Sabah reports. Early life and education İnalcık was born on Sept. 7, 1916, in Istanbul. His father Seyit Osman Nuri Bey and his mother Ayşe Bahriye Hanım were Crimean migrants. […]
Russia to unveil first monument honoring Persian poet Omar Khayyam
A four-meter-tall bronze statue honoring the Persian poet and philosopher Omar Khayyam is slated to be unveiled on August 4. This is the first monument in Russia dedicated to the much-beloved poet, whose words of wisdom are often quoted from bloggers to President Vladimir Putin, who said Khayyam was among his favorite poets, TASS reports. […]
Russia to build statue of Ivan the Terrible
A monument to Tsar Ivan the Terrible is to be built in the Russian city of Orel 350km south of Moscow, the Moscow times cites TASS report. The monument will be unveiled on 3 August, two days before the 450th anniversary of the city’s founding, the Orel region’s governor Vadim Potomsky told journalists. “He founded […]
Interesting Fact: An Official Rainbow Flag in Armenian History
A controversial historical fact remains a big discussion for Armenians. A rainbow flag was proposed by Martiros Saryan in 1919 and it was used for a short time. A piece appeared on the website of the Public TV Company of Armenia, titled “The Creation Story of the 3 symbols of the First Republic”. Here we […]