January 22, 2010 | By Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer President Obama has nominated Lucy Koh, a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge, to the federal bench in San Jose. If confirmed, she would be the nation's second Korean American federal judge. Koh, 41, a Harvard law graduate, was a U.S. Justice Department attorney on legislative affairs for three years, a federal prosecutor in Los Angeles for three years and a lawyer with a Silicon Valley firm for six years before Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed her to the county court in January 2008. Obama nominated her W…
In front of a packed house at UCLA's Kerckhoff Hall today, Chancellor Gene Block presented United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon with the UCLA Medal, the highest honor bestowed by the campus. The chancellor lauded Ban, the former foreign affairs minister of the Republic of Korea, for his distinguished contributions to international diplomacy and understanding. "The secretary's life," Block said, "has been dedicated to building bridges between nations in the pursuit of peace and security for all citizens of this planet." Following the …
Hyundai Sonata [Hyundai Motor Co.] The latest version of Hyundai Motor Co.'s bestselling mid-sized sedan Sonata was named the Top Safety Pick by the United State's Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the carmaker announced on Friday. Vehicles equipped with vehicle dynamic control system that receive the top "good" rating in frontal, side-on, rear and roof collision tests, are named as Top Safety Picks by the U.S. institution. The new Sonata, which is the sixth generation to bear the name, went on sale in the United States this month. In additi…
The Korean delegation to the Vancouver Winter Olympics including figure skating gold medalist Kim Yu-na carrying the national flag arrives at Incheon International Airport yesterday. They earned six golds, six silvers and two bronzes. [Park Hae-mook/The Korea Herald]
After giving out a shout of concentration, Huh Hwe-tae started a stroke on a giant Chinese drawing paper with an arm-length brush. His moves showed no hesitation. The room grew silent except for the sound of a machine rubbing an ink stick on an ink stone. The powerful act was finished in less than 10 minutes but Huh's nose was sprinkled with sweat. The completed work contained bold black strokes with an orange circle on top. In a way, it looked like a bright sun peeking out behind tall mountains. "I wrote 'Sae Achim (New Morning)' in Korean letters, hoping f…
LONDON - Korean restaurants are beginning to pop up in London's center as British people are increasingly being exposed to Korean cuisine - or "hansik" - and more Koreans visit the United Kingdom. No longer restricted to New Malden - a southwestern suburb which is the closest thing London has to a Koreatown - Korean restaurants have gone central and can be found in the busiest of the shopping, tourist and business districts in the city. They are not, however, that prominent. This is hardly an explosion of the Korean Wave and the restaurants woul…
Mingling: Michelle Rhee visits with students in Washington, D.C., where the chancellor is trying to turn the embattled school system into the "highest-performing" district in the country. (Alex Tehrani) Is Michelle Rhee the new face of education reform? The chancellor of Washington, D.C., public schools puts teacher performance at the center of a controversial bid to remake one of the nation’s most troubled urban school districts. Washington On a recent afternoon, Michelle Rhee, the chancellor of the District of Columbia Public Schools, came out of a meeting to find …
A highly anticipated Korean film directed by acclaimed Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho is now playing in local theaters and it is available with English subtitles at several theaters. “Mother,” the story of a mother setting out on a lonely fight to clear her son of a murder charge and featuring veteran actress Kim Hye-ja as the mother, received a standing ovation after premiering at the 62nd Cannes International Film Festival this month. Hallyu (Korean Wave) star Won Bin plays the 28-year-old son Do-joon who has limited mental capacity and who happens to get caught up in a murder case. …
The Korean movie "Thirst" ("Bakjwi" in Korean) that clinched the Jury prize at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival last month is soon to be released across the United States. The film is directed by Park Chan-wook, who has gained acclaim from audiences and critics around the world for his unique storytelling and sensational imagery, and will hit theaters in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco on July 31. Hollywood’s Focus Features, in charge of distributing the film, said it plans to expand release up to 80 theaters across the United States, depending on audience reaction in the three major …
