China may change its position on Cheonan tragedy

For weeks leading to the official announcement of the Cheonan tragedy, Chinese diplomats had told South Korean counterpart that brining North Korea to the U.N. body wouldn't be a good idea, according to the local JoongAng Ilbo newspaper Saturday.

"For weeks, Chinese diplomats in Seoul told diplomats from other countries in South Korea that taking the matter to the U.N. would 'upset' North Korea. So, it would not (be) a good idea," it said citing an unnamed source.

However, China is now showing signs of subtle changes after the official announcement on Thursday by international inspectors that held North Korea as the culprit for the deadly naval attack.

"China's attitude has changed compared to before," an unnamed South Korean government official told the newspaper.

"In the past, its stance was not to take the matter to the U.N. Security Council. But now, they have become more prudent," the official said.

The official declined to elaborate on how the Chinese have changed.

China is expected to state its official stance by the time of the East Asian Summit where Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao will meet his counterparts from South Korea and Japan, it said.


Credits :Koreatimes,,,,,,,

Colorful lanterns honor Buddha's Birthday

It’s been over 1,700 years since Buddhism first reached Korea. It spread slowly but surely during the country’s Three Kingdoms’ Period (57 B.C. – A.D. 668), first winning over the Goguryeo Kingdom (37 B.C. - A.D. 668) in 372, then the Baekje Kingdom (18 B.C. – A.D. 660) to finally reach the Silla Kingdom (57 B.C. – A.D. 935), located at the far end of the Korean Peninsula, which it had entered from China.


The Goryeo Dynasty (918-1932) that came along later, continuing the traditions and partial territories of all three kingdoms above, made Buddhism a state religion. It was during this period that Korea showed the deepest dedication to the Buddhist teaching, making nationwide celebrations annually and carving woodblocks for many Buddhist scriptures. The Tripitaka Koreana, as this collection is called, is known to be the world’s oldest extant and most comprehensive Buddhist canon. The Haeinsa Temple in Gyeongsangnam-do (South Gyeongsang Province) that stores the woodblocks has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.



Because Buddhism has been around in Korea for so long, the monks are revered by her people and Buddhist sayings and teachings are commonly found in old proverbs and folk tales, it should be safe to say that the religion has become an indispensable part of Korean culture.


Buddhism can still be fun in the 21st century. The temple stay program run by many Buddhist temples across the nation has been doing quite well in attracting tourists from both home and abroad. Temple food is free of meat, onions, garlic, red pepper and artificial seasonings, and is lauded as a clean, healthy food.

Finally, there is Buddha’s birthday, celebrated annually with many Buddhist ceremonies, lantern parades and other fun events. It falls on the 8th day of the fourth lunar month. That’s Friday, May 21 in the year 2010.





Every year, beginning weeks before the actual birthday, some 100,000 colorful paper lanterns bearing caricatures of Buddha adorn the streets of Seoul. Traditional lanterns come in all shapes and colors: lotus lanterns, fruit lanterns, turtle lanterns, fish lanterns, drum lanterns, phoenix lanterns and even dragon lanterns designed to breathe real fire from their throats. The variety of lanterns continues to increase every year.


You can also find traditional percussion performances like samulnori or Buddhist dances like “seungmu” the butterfly dance and “bara-chum” the cymbal dance. Street festivals will also have programs for little children who want to learn how to make lanterns, a Buddhist rosary or build mini-Buddhist towers, among other activities. A flea market for Buddhist goods will be open to sell Buddhist items.

Korean festival & culture center to open in Africa

With the 2010 FIFA South African World Cup just around the corner, the Korean government is taking advantage of the high spirits to launch a Korean Culture Festival in Africa.

The Korean Culture and Information Service (KOCIS), an organ of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, will host seven big events in five cities in four African nations: Pretoria and Cape Town in South Africa, Abuja in Nigeria, Izmir in Turkey and Cairo in Egypt.

The festivities, which will run from May 20 to June 2, will introduce a wide range of traditional and modern performances from Korea, including traditional drum dances and percussion playing, break dancing, taekwondo demonstrations and fusion music.

Throughout the festival, KOCIS will screen various promotional films on Korea, including relating to its bid to host another World Cup, following that of 2002 with Japan. There will also be joint performances by Korean and local performing troupes.

As the year 2010 marks the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Korea and Nigeria, there will be a commemorative ceremony on May 24 – the grand opening of the Korea Culture Center in Nigeria’s capital city of Abuja, the first of its kind in Africa. It will kick off with a Korean Food Festival with some 250 key officials and ambassadors present. Korean folk games and other big stage performances will follow.


In Turkey there will be a ceremony to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the start of the Korean War (1950-53). Turkey sent the second largest number of troops to Korea to help put an end to the communist invasion, and the commemoration will begin with a silent prayer, followed by the national anthems of both countries. Veterans will be invited to the stage and receive gifts.

A Korean Film Festival will be held in Egypt from June 1 to 4. Some recent hit Korean movies like “Old Partner” (2008) and “Lifting King Kong” (2009) will be screened in the Cairo Opera House.

“We plan to make a full use of our colorful cultural content to make a big impression in Africa,” said one KOCIS official. “This event will contribute greatly to upgrading Korea’s image.”

Schedule for Korean Culture Festival :

South African Republic
(City: Pretoria)
ZK Matthews Great Hall, UNISA
May 20
19:00-21:00

South African Republic
(City: Cape Town)
Outdoor stage of V&A Waterfront Theater
May 22
17:00-18:00

Nigeria
(City: Abuja)
Studio Room & Taekwondo Class Room at Korea Culture Center
May 24
17:00-18:00

Nigeria
(City: Abuja)
Lady Kwali Hall, Sheraton Hotel
May 25
18:00 - 20:00

Turkey
(City: Izmir)
Konak Square
May 28
18:30-21:30

Turkey
(City: Izmir)
Ismet Inonu Cultural Center at Izmir International Exhibition Center
May 29
19:30 – 21:30

Egypt
(City: Cairo)
The Opera House
June 2
21:00 – 23:00

Winners of 1st World Taekwondo Federation photo contest announced

The WTF (World Taekwondo Federation) nominated 40 photos related to the World Taekwondo Qualification Tournament for the 1st Youth Olympic Games and the 8th WTF World Junior Taekwondo Championships, both held in Mexico, for the 1st WTF Photo Contest.

The theme of the contest was “the Spirit of Taekwondo” and Mexico’s Teodoro Guerrero Bonilla captured the top prize.

Entries have closed for the 2nd WTF Photo Contest on the occasion of the 2nd WTF World Para-Taekwondo Championships that was held on May 11. The topic for the second contest was “Taekwondo and the Disabled.” WTF Photo contests will help enhance the image of taekwondo around the world. Winners are expected to be announced shortly.

Photo taken by the first prize winner Teodoro Guerrero Bonilla from Mexico


Photo taken by the second-place winner Jesus Zurita Salazar, also from Mexico.

Credits:Koreanet...

A GREATFUL NATION REMEMBERS

On May 200th,Timor Leste became the world's newest democracy and the first new country of the third millennium.The celebrations took place at TACI TOLU,just outside Dili,A former mas grave site,and were attended by dignitaries,including United Nations Secretarry GEneral KOFI ANNAN,The President of the United States Bill Clinton and perhaps,most significantly,President Megawati Soekarnoputri of Indonesia.

Kofi Annan Megawati SuekarnoPutri
Bill Clinton
At midnight,on May 19th,the new flag of Timor-Leste was raised,the new national anthem wan sung and Timor-Leste long fight for freedom was finally over.


And it is on this day that "EAST TIMORESES" remember with pride and gratitude all who have given of themselves in defense of our great nation as members of the armed forces n ect..........

On Veterans Day, and all days, we salute, honor and thank you for your service.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aAnLARXdYY&feature=related

National anthem of East Timor:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRzmKmtGPNg&feature=related







to view the video please visit this link :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7Nx3RJClgk

GOD BLESS EAST TIMOR

!VIVA TIMOR LESTE!

Not the focus of the blog, but Korean women and Korean girls continue to dominate the traffic

More than 50% of the time when looking at the top Korean websites like Naver.com and Daum.net, you will see some image of a top Korean female model. As stated before in previous posts, Korean women dress in a tantalizing manner. So, unless I’m totally devoid of my natural desires of a man, I can’t help but notice. Today, it happened again and my theory of Korean women being the sexiest dressers just continues to be buttressed.

My main coworker is freezing these days just like me. However, she is even colder because on most days, she’ll wear skirts to work regularly. Across the Korean peninsula, you see this constantly: Korean women still wear skirts in the most freezing temperatures. It never made sense to me from a comfort standpoint, but at the same time, the simple fact they wear high heels despite all the discomfort falls helps me understand a bit more, I guess…

Anyway, here’s the latest proof of my theory – pics that automatically show up on the top Korean websites. It will probably just continue to support the top 3 searches (here on www.jaimitokorea.blogspot.com/ and http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&source=imghp&q=korean+girls&gbv=2&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai ) which lead to my blog beyond “porcupines.”

It’s not just my blog though. www.jaimitokorea.blogspot.com/ a Korean American portal which focuses on Korean American issues in a social manner has the same realization. Their ..
# 2 most viewed thread basically is images of Korean women/girls. Another top 5 thread most likely is also related to these same images despite the title. They’ve also changed their format recently to profile top images on the site and in the few times I visited recently, pictures of racing models for example dominated the galleries. anyway,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,!

























Who are sexiest woman in the world???
Korea ...
Japanese ...
Chinese ...
other Asian...
Europian ...
American ...
other...?

Please Vote..........

Obama backs Seoul over Cheonan

President Lee Myung-bak speaks with U.S. President Barack Obama, seen in a file photo, from Cheong Wa Dae, Tuesday. During the 25-minute phone conversation, they discussed a joint response to the March 26 sinking of the South Korean Navy vessel Cheonan. Obama pledged his country’s full support for South Korea and its handling of the incident. / Korea Times



Clinton to visit next week to discuss joint response

U.S. President Barack Obama expressed his full backing for South Korea and its investigation into the sinking of the Navy vessel Cheonan near the inter-Korean West Sea border, Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday.

President Lee Myung-bak and Obama spoke over the phone for about 25 minutes earlier to discuss a joint response to the naval tragedy.

"Obama told Lee that he fully trusts Seoul and backs its handling of the incident," the presidential office said in a press release.

Obama said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will fly to Seoul next week to discuss the case, adding the U.S. will closely cooperate with South Korea to deal with the aftermath. Clinton is scheduled to hold high-level meetings in Beijing from May 24 to 25.

Following weeks of joint investigations by naval experts from the United States, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Australia, the South Korean military will announce the results on Thursday.

Sources say the investigators have concluded that the cause of the sinking, which claimed the lives of 46 sailors, was a surprise torpedo attack by North Korea.

President Lee plans to call the leaders of the countries involved in the six-party talks on Pyongyang's nuclear program this week to share the outcome and urge a joint international reaction to the alleged act of provocation, his aides said.

The Lee administration is seeking to refer the case to the U.N. Security Council, but it's not clear whether Obama would back the move.

Following the conversation between Lee and Obama, the White House said in a statement, "They emphasized the importance of obtaining a full accounting of the event and committed to follow the facts of the investigation wherever they lead."

It, however, stopped short of blaming North Korea.

"The leaders reiterated that North Korea must live up to its commitment to eliminate its nuclear-weapons program, comply with its international obligations under relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions, and put an end to belligerent behavior toward its neighbors," said the statement.

Secretary Clinton will make another visit to Seoul in July, along with Defense Secretary Robert Gates, for the first-ever two plus two security talks with their South Korean counterparts. The upcoming meeting is the result of an agreement made between Lee and Obama in Seoul last November.

The two leaders also agreed to hold a bilateral summit in late June on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit in Toronto, Canada, Cheong Wa Dae said.

By Na Jeong-ju
Staff reporter
Credits: Koreatimes

'Seoul to send letter to UNSC over Cheonan'

South Korea plans to send a letter to the president of the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) soon regarding the sinking of the South Korean frigate Cheonan near the sea border with North Korea on March 26, a report said Monday.

This will be the initial step in referring the naval incident to the UNSC, Yonhap News Agency said, adding the government believes North Korea was behind the sinking that claimed the lives of 46 sailors.

The letter will be sent after an announcement ― due around Thursday ― of the results of an investigation into the cause of the tragedy, according to the report.

Kim Young-sun, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, declined to confirm the move, saying detailed countermeasures would be made public after the final announcement.

Kim said the government plans to brief the results to related countries beforehand.

"We plan to explain the results of the investigation to related countries before a final announcement, but consultations are under way over which nations it will be and when the briefings will be made," Kim told reporters.

Separately, Vice Defense Minister Chang Soo-man invited ambassadors of the United States, Britain, Australia and Sweden to the ministry and thanked them for their cooperation in the Cheonan investigation, a ministry spokesman said.

Experts from the four countries have been participating in the multinational team looking into the disaster.

The ministry will also invite military attaches of foreign embassies here to brief them on the outcome, the spokesman said.

Diplomatic sources said the government will outline a set of measures to respond to North Korea after the May 20 announcement.

The measures will include referring the case to the UNSC, strengthening the ROK-U.S. combined defense readiness, a review of inter-Korean economic projects, reviving radio propaganda near the border and including the North on a blacklist of countries on which international financial sanctions are imposed, the sources said.

Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Zhang Xinsheng called for "verifiable and irreversible evidence" regarding the investigation of the incident, according to Rep. Choi Moon-soon of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP).

During a meeting with DP Chairman Chung Sye-kyun, Zhang was quoted as saying that there were still many outstanding issues that investigators needed to look closely at regarding the cause of the maritime disaster.

No concrete evidence has been found so far, Zhang said.

China's stance could play a pivotal role in resolving the Cheonan row, given it is North Korea's closet ally and is one of the five veto-wielding permanent members of the UNSC.


By Jung Sung-ki
Staff reporter
Credits:Koreatimes

I coulda been a star!!!!!

It was sorta like "Mausoko Bulak ida"ㅗ getting discovered at a drug store soda fountain at Hollywood and Vine. Except I was having a brew at Goldfish in Itaewon as I am won't to do when killing time. As mentioned before, this is a “open air” Bar that is ideal for people watching. I hadn’t considered that some of the lookees might be looking back.
Anyway, My solitude was interrupted when a 30ish Korean woman came in off the street and politely inquired in near perfect English if she might bother me with a questionsㅎㅎ. Well, I was fully expecting that she was going to do the “do you know Jesus” thing, but being nice to a fault I responded “sure”. She thanked me and said she would only take a minute of my time. I nodded and then she layed it on me–would you like to appear in a commercial?

I was momentarily taken aback because it seemed out of the blue. But my instinctive reaction was to say no, and so I told her “NO”. She asked me to reconsider and said the photo shoot would only take one day. I again responded “NO THANK YOU, just not interested”. She thanked me again for my time and left.

ㅋㅋI don’t know why I said no without really thinking about it. But upon reflection, I knew it was the right call. There was no mention of money, but I’m doing all right in that regard anyway. I guess,I just didn’t see why they would want a fat old white Guys in their commercial unless it was for the purpose of mocking me. After all, I’ve not seen many waeguks외국 portrayed favorably in Korean media. And it likely would have been in violation of my visa status as well.

So,opportunity knocked and I said get the hell outta here.ㅎㅎㅎㅎ

Jose Ramos Horta(East Timor President's) for UN Secretary General

East Timor President'sJOSE RAMOS HORTA



Jose Ramos Horta has been one of the world's enduring political figures. Like the Queen, Fidel Castro, Nelson Mandela and, until recently, Yasser Arafat, he is one of those people who have seemingly always just been there. And yet he's only 57. And, if he has his way, he will tread this stage for years to come as the secretary general of the United Nations.

"I know if I was to be UN Secretary General, I would be a great secretary general" he says.

"I know the world like no one. None of the previous UN Secretaries general has had my field experience and visited as many countries as I have visited. I have visited over 100 countries. I was born barefoot in one of the poorest areas of East Timor; that means one of the poorest areas of the world. No UN Secretary general has had this type of poor background. I am more sensitive to issues of poverty than anyone" he says.

He is leading his young country out of poverty and yet got shot and had to be hospitalised.

And I think folks...No UN Secretary General has had the luxury of grass root supports from the worldwide web comunity such as blog,facebook, twitter and ect. Now it's the time, for the people of the world to elect their leader! the voice of one people of the world!

for more information please click this link below :

http://www.presidency.tl/eng/a.html

wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/José_Ramos-Horta

http://www.unsg.org/candidates.html

Wonder Girls makes comeback

Group Wonder Girls has returned to the pop scene through an album launching event in the United States. The event was aired live worldwide.

The girl group Saturday disclosed its newest song, ``2 Different Tears(2DT),'' in Los Angeles, signaling a start for its new activities.

The girls caught the eyes of the audience with their funky costumes, the group's trademark since its hit song "Nobody," at the event hosted by Perez Hilton, a famous American blogger.

The girls showed off their dance moves singing "Nobody,""Tell Me," and "So Hot," which were their biggest hits in Korea, and continued with their new number "2DT."

The comeback stage was aired in English throughout the world with subtitles in Korean and Chinese.

"The most memorable incident in our career was us being listed in HOT 100 on the Billboard," said a member of Wonder Girls, asking for love and support from fans. The group will tour around the U.S. in June.

Credits :Koreatimes

South Korea beats Ecuador 2-0

Lee Seung-yeoul, right, celebrates with teammate Lee Chung-yong after scoring a goal during the South Korean national team's friendly game with Ecuador at Seoul's Sangam Stadium, Sunday. South Korea won the match 2-0. / Korea Times

Former 2002 World Cup Korea team boss Guss Hiddink said before that the new national squad would benefit from the combination of experienced and fresh younger members.

On Sunday, the Taeguk Warriors proved the Dutchman was right, as Young guns Lee Seung-yeoul and Lee Chung-yong exploited their presence on the pitch by scoring the goals that lifted South Korea to a 2-0 victory over Ecuador in a friendly at Seoul's Sangam Stadium.

Lee, one of the youngest members of the squad, unleashed a left-footer outside the box to give Korea the lead in the 73rd minute, followed by Lee's brilliant drive six minutes before time.

With the win, South Korea made it even with the Latin Americans, gaining revenge for a 2-1 loss in their first meeting in Houston, the United States, in June 1995.

Under Huh Jung-moo's leadership, South Korea has recorded 20-4-13 since December 2007. Before heading off to Japan on Saturday for a friendly with the Japanese team, he will shortlist the current 30-man squad to 26 members ― three sidelined as contingency additions.

The national team will them have two more tests against Belarus and Spain, before arriving in South Africa on June 5.

Facing the Ecuadorians, Huh Jung-moo, the 47th-ranked team's manager, put veteran Lee Dong-gook instead of an injured Park Chu-young to pair up with the less-experienced Yeom Ki-hun up front. He also placed team captain Park Ji-sung in the starting lineup against expectations the Manchester United star would be rested in the beginning.

Though Yeom and Kim Jae-sung posed threats to the South Americans with their ceaseless moving, Korea in general failed to impress the sell-out audience at Sangam.

The team's first chance came in the 29th minute with an overlapping Oh Beom-seok cross from the right, which found Yeom, whose shot was met by a fine save by Ecuadorian goalkeeper Marcelo Elizaga.

Then in the 37th, Yeom headed a Lee Dong-gook cross from the right into the woodwork.

Two minutes into the second half, midfielder Ki Sung-yueng's corner barely missed out on Lee Dong-gook's heading effort, and Kwak Tae-hwi's cross from the right in the next minute went wide open.

In the 59th minute, Kim Jae-sung intercepted a pass from Geovanny Nazareno and sent a low cross to the on-rushing Lee Dong-gook, whose sharp drive to the left was barely deflected by an outstretching Elizaga.

Korea also fell for a couple of counterattacks from Ecuador ― Hwang Jae-won's failed clearance could have led to a dangerous moment, right before Kwak managed to make it safe with a tackle. Two minutes later, a long Ulises de la Cruz cross gave Edison Preciado a one-on-one chance up front, but Korean goalie Jung Sung-ryong saved with ease.

Korea's continued attacking finally paid off in the 73th minute, after Yeom sent a reverse-heading pass in front of Lee Seung-yeoul.

Lee, the 21-year-old FC Seoul striker, beat a defending Marcelo Fleitas and shot a left-footed drive into the right corner of the net for his third goal in six A-matches.

The Korean blitz didn't subside and Lee Chung-yong of Bolton Wanderers, who picked up a pass from Kim Bo-kyung, scored the team's second by netting a rebound off Elizaga.

The only thing that might worry the manager Huh came in the last minutes of the game, when Kim Jae-sung was sidelined after Pedro Quinonez brought the lively midfielder down, which earned him a yellow card.

By Yoon Chul
Staff reporter
Credits :Koreatimes