Latest news with #Seok
Korea Herald
24-04-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Arms agency chief meets senior EU, NATO officials to discuss defense cooperation
The head of South Korea's arms procurement agency held talks with high-level European Union and North Atlantic Treaty Organization officials this week to discuss ways to expand defense industry cooperation, his office said Thursday. Defense Acquisition Program Administration Minister Seok Jong-gun met European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius in Brussels on Wednesday, as Seoul seeks to strengthen arms industry ties with Europe amid the continent's rearmament push. During the talks, Kubilius shared Europe's rearmament plans, while Seok briefed him on South Korea's arms industry capabilities and proposed joint research and development for advanced technologies, according to DAPA. It marked the first time that a DAPA minister has held talks with a high-ranking EU official, DAPA said. Seok also met NATO Deputy Secretary General Radmila Shekerinska the same day and proposed forming a joint consultative body on arms industry cooperation and holding its inaugural meeting this year. Seok emphasized the need for an integrated deterrence strategy between the Indo-Pacific and the North Atlantic, citing Russia's war on Ukraine that has led to calls for interoperability between the weapons systems of South Korea and NATO, it said. Meanwhile, Shekerinska thanked South Korea for its support for Ukraine and shared the need for cooperation on joint research and development of advanced weapons systems, according to DAPA. The talks took place after the EU last month unveiled a new white paper titled, "Readiness 2030," outlining plans to enhance the continent's defense capabilities over the next five years. (Yonhap)
Forbes
03-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Park Eun-Bin Delves Into The Dangerous Mindset Of A Killer Doctor
Park Eun-bin won the Grand Prize at the 59th Baeksang Arts Awards for her performance in the drama Extraordinary Attorney Woo. Her endearing portrayal of autistic attorney Woo Young-woo was celebrated for the insight it offered into the character's unique perspective. In the new Korean series Hyper Knife, Park portrays another complex and interesting character. Jeong Seok is a doctor, but she's also a killer. She's a brilliant brain surgeon, primarily because she's obsessed with perfecting her skills, but she has little regard for social norms or the rights of others. It's a surprisingly dark character for Park, who previously played a princess in disguise in The King's Affection and a singer stranded on a desert island in Castaway Diva. Seok decides who will live or die based on the level of threat they pose to her existence. Playing Seok required learning more about antisocial behavior and yet the character is more than a textbook example of a disorder. Park's portrayal lends her depth. Viewers are not likely to approve of Seok's behavior, but they may come to understand how she justifies it. 'As an actor, it's always fascinating to meet a new character and dive deep into understanding its life,' said Park. "When I first read the synopsis and script of Hyper Knife, I made the decision not to limit the character of Jeong Seok to just the concept of psychopathy. Instead, I focused on exploring her core emotions and the mindset that drives her actions from various perspectives. I also referenced traits of Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) to breathe life into the character. While it can be hard to wrap your mind around the idea of a doctor who is also a killer, there are a few recorded cases of serial killers with a medical license. Park did not base her character on any real-life figures 'Except when portraying actual historical figures, I generally don't approach characters by modeling them after a real person,' said Park. 'I believe that characters should be allowed to live freely within the context of the story, and prefer to focus on the character itself without the influence of external opinions. As such, there wasn't a specific real person I referenced when creating the character. Instead, I referred to DSM-5 and ICD criteria which are used to diagnose ASPD to use as a foundation to build my own interpretation of the character's traits.' Those character traits help explain why Seok feels it's right to take the lives of others 'Seok is a character with significant moral flaws,' said Park. 'She is immature and extremely selfish. She places her own desires above everything else. I saw her as someone who would be incapable of understanding the societal norm that murder cannot be justified. She is impulsive, reckless, and tends to disregard the consequences of her actions. She also only thinks about her needs, often blaming others or justifying actions that go against societal norms with seemingly logical rationalizations.' Although it is a darker role than anything Park has taken on before, she saw it as a challenge. 'Taking on a new role is always something that makes my heart race,' said Park. 'As an actor, I feel truly blessed to be able to explore such a wide range of characters. Every time I'm offered a role that even I could have never imagined before, it's very exciting and feels like people believe in my ability to take on anything. Moving forward, I plan to continue choosing roles that speak to me and what I feel drawn to.' Park began working as a model when she was only four. Two years later she debuted as an actress. Since then she's appeared in dozens of dramas, including Hot Stove League and Do You Like Brahms. As a child she once imagined becoming a doctor, but only briefly. 'However, I feel that I've achieved my dream by experiencing various professions as an actor,' she said with a smile. 'Regardless of which career I would have chosen, I believe that I would have adapted well and enjoyed my life.' When Park first saw the script for Hyper Knife, she was intrigued by her character but also the character's relationship with her mentor, neurosurgeon Choi Deok-hee, played by Sul Kyung-gu (A Normal Family, Kill Boksoon). Deok-hee recognizes her remarkable skill. Sill, he's wary of her impulsive selfish nature and ultimately bans her from working in his hospital. She can now only perform illegal surgeries. When he develops a medical problem that she may be the only surgeon talented enough to correct, he has no choice but to ask her for help. It's a hard sell. 'I was drawn to the hard-to-explain mentor-mentee relationship and the constant psychological tension between them,' said Park. "I was especially excited to present viewers with this never-before-seen dynamic relationship filled with fiery passion and no room for courtesy, particularly in Korean society. It was also interesting that the main character is a doctor, but not a character who embodies justice. It was refreshing to see the villain as the main character in a picaresque story, where you don't have to follow the usual poetic justice." Finding similarities with her character is a stretch. 'Although I don't share many similarities with Seok, my goal was to help viewers connect with the character, even the parts that might be hard to fully understand, and to make them curious to know more. I am truly grateful that viewers were able to understand Seok even more deeply than I expected. As the protagonist, I had to serve as the emotional core of the story, so I am relieved that I was able to make the character feel convincing." Park is pleased that international viewers can enjoy and talk about her dramas. 'It's amazing to live in a world where viewers from all around the world can watch the same content and have conversations about it,' she said. "I'm grateful for these experiences and I'll use it as a foundation to move forward to the next chapter in my life.' Hyper Knife, which also stars Yoon Chang-young (All Of Us Are Dead) and Park Byung-eun (Moving), airs on Disney+ internationally and on Hulu in the U.S.
Korea Herald
28-03-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Arms agency chief discuss K9, cooperation in Norway
The head of the state arms procurement agency held talks with key defense officials in Norway earlier this week to discuss arms industry cooperation and the operation of the South Korean K9 self-propelled howitzer, officials said Friday. Seok Jong-gun, minister of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, met Norway's State Secretary of Defence Andreas Flam on Wednesday, according to DAPA. In the meeting, they discussed Norway's operation of self-propelled howitzers, as well as potential upgrades and additional supplies of the K9 weapons system for the Scandinavian nation. Seok also introduced the Chunmoo multiple launch rocket system as a weapons system that could be supplied at an optimal period for Norway's bid to acquire long-range precision strike weapons systems, DAPA said. In his meeting with Oyvind Kvalvik, deputy director general at the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency, Seok discussed ways to strengthen arms cooperation, such as research and development, in areas that included space, missile and electronics warfare. Norway is among the nine countries outside of South Korea that have acquired the K9, along with Australia, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, India, Poland, Romania and Turkey. (Yonhap)
South China Morning Post
24-03-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
North Korean defectors set for historic K-pop music debut with 1Verse
K-pop's newest idol group, 1Verse, is set to make history as the first to feature two North Korean defectors, Hyuk and Seok. Advertisement The performers have endured a long journey from North Korea to their music debut in South Korea's global K-pop industry. The five-member group also includes a Chinese-American, a Lao-Thai-American and a Japanese performer.
Jordan Times
22-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Jordan Times
Forbidden K-pop to centre stage: North Koreans set for music debut
SEOUL — Growing up in North Korea, Hyuk's childhood was about survival. He never listened to banned K-pop music but, after defecting to the South, he's about to debut as an idol. Hyuk is one of two young North Koreans in a new K-pop band called 1Verse -- the first time that performers originally from the nuclear-armed North have been trained up for stardom in South Korea's global K-pop industry. Before he was 10, Hyuk -- who like many K-pop idols now goes by one name -- was skipping school to work on the streets in his native North Hamgyong province and admits he "had to steal quite a bit just to survive". "I had never really listened to K-pop music", he told AFP, explaining that "watching music videos felt like a luxury to me". "My life was all about survival", he said, adding that he did everything from farm work to hauling shipments of cement to earn money to buy food for his family. But when he was 13, his mother, who had escaped North Korea and made it to the South, urged him to join her. He realised this could be his chance to escape starvation and hardship, but said he knew nothing about the other half of the Korean Peninsula. "To me, the world was just North Korea -- nothing beyond that," he told AFP. His bandmate, Seok, also grew up in the North -- but in contrast to Hyuk's hardscrabble upbringing, he was raised in a relatively affluent family, living close to the border. As a result, even though K-pop and other South Korean content like K-dramas are banned in the North with harsh penalties for violators, Seok said "it was possible to buy and sell songs illegally through smugglers". Thanks to his older sister, Seok was listening to K-pop and even watching rare videos of South Korean artists from a young age, he told AFP. "I remember wanting to imitate those cool expressions and styles -- things like hairstyles and outfits," Seok told AFP. Eventually, when he was 19, Seok defected to the South. Six years later, he is a spitting image of a K-Pop idol. Star quality Hyuk and Seok were recruited for 1Verse, a new boy band and the first signed to smaller Seoul-based label Singing Beetle by the company's CEO Michelle Cho. Cho was introduced to both of the young defectors through friends. Hyuk was working at a factory when she met him, but when she heard raps he had written she told AFP that she "knew straight away that his was a natural talent". Initially, he "professed a complete lack of confidence in his ability to rap", Cho said, but she offered him free lessons and then invited him to the studio, which got him hooked. Eventually, "he decided to give music a chance", she said, and became the agency's first trainee. In contrast, Seok "had that self-belief and confidence from the very beginning", she said, and lobbied hard to be taken on. When Seok learned that he would be training alongside another North Korean defector, he said it "gave me the courage to believe that maybe I could do it". 'We're almost there' The other members of 1Verse include a Chinese-American, a Lao-Thai American and a Japanese dancer. The five men in their 20s barely speak each other's languages. But Hyuk, who has been studying English, says it doesn't matter. "We're also learning about each other's cultures, trying to bridge the gaps and get closer little by little," he said. "Surprisingly, we communicate really well. Our languages aren't perfectly fluent, but we still understand each other. Sometimes, that feels almost unbelievable." Aito, the Japanese trainee who is the main dancer in the group, said he was "fascinated" to meet his North Korean bandmates. "In Japan, when I watched the news, I often saw a lot of international issues about defectors, so the overall image isn't very positive," he said. But Aito told AFP his worries "all disappeared" when he met Hyuk and Seok. And now, the five performers are on the brink of their debut. It's been a long road from North Korea to the cusp of K-pop stardom in the South for Hyuk and Seok -- but they say they are determined to make 1Verse a success. "I really want to move someone with my voice. That feeling grows stronger every day," said Seok. Hyuk said being part of a real band was a moving experience for him. "It really hit me, like wow, we're almost there."
