Japanese emperor says he wants to visit Korea

TOKYO (Yonhap) -- Japanese Emperor Akihito has expressed his wish to visit Korea and said he could apologize for Japan's colonial rule if needed, a Japanese weekly reported, amid heightened diplomatic tension between the two nations. During a Sept. 4 issue briefing with Koji Tsuruoka, the deputy vice-minister for foreign policy in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Akihito said he and Empress Michiko hope to visit South Korea "some day," the Japanese women's magazine published Wednesday reported. Michiko hope to visit South Korea "some day," the Japanese women's magazine published Wednesday reported. The magazine also quoted the 79-year-old emperor as saying that he hopes that "Japan and Korea maintain good relations in the coming days." Akihito had pushed to visit Korea in 1986 when he was Crown Prince, but dropped the plan due to the then Crown Princess' health problems. It is the first time Akihito has expressed his willingness to visit Korea after South Korean President Lee Myung-bak called on the Japanese emperor to apologize for Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule if he wishes to visit Korea. Lee's demand, which came shortly after his unprecedented trip to the southeastern islets of Dokdo on Aug. 10, has triggered a diplomatic tit-for-tat feud between the two nations. Citing a Japanese lawmaker, the magazine also said Akihito had said he "wouldn't hesitate to make an apology during his visit to Korea if that's needed for friendly relations between the two nations." Despite being strictly constrained by his constitutional position, he issued several wide-ranging statements of remorse to Asian countries in the 1990s, for their suffering under Japanese occupation. In 2001, Akihito said he feels kinship with Korea, noting that the grandmother of his eighth-century imperial ancestor, Kammu, was from a Korean kingdom. He also offered prayers and flowers at a Korean peace memorial during his visit in June 2005 to the U.S. territory of Saipan, the site of a battle in World War II. Tokyo issued a formal apology in 1993, but has failed to convince Korea it is truly contrite about its wartime record, including its military's forceful recruitment of sex slaves, euphemistically called "comfort women." Japan has frequently laid claims to South Korea's rocky outcroppings of Dokdo in the East Sea, stoking enmity in South Korea against its former colonial ruler. Korea views Tokyo's claims to Dokdo as a sign that Japan has not fully repented for its imperialist past and denies Korea's independence because the country reclaimed sovereignty over all of its territory, including Dokdo, after the colonial rule ended.

Ahn races ahead of rivals in polls

Liberal-minded independent presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo raced ahead of the ruling party’s Park Geun-hye in a public poll released Friday, after announcing his much anticipated bid earlier this week.

According to pollster Realmeter, Ahn increased his lead over the Saenuri Party candidate to 49.9 percent versus 44 percent in a hypothetical two-way matchup.

Ahn’s poll numbers also soared in a hypothetical three-way race including Rep. Moon Jae-in of the main opposition Democratic United Party. The gap between Ahn and Park narrowed to a mere 3.3 percent, while Moon’s numbers dropped below 20 percent.

The political rookie appears to be raking in the support of indecisive neutral voters, as well as those who formerly backed Rep. Moon, political observers said.

The increased popularity is a boost to Ahn’s political posturing against Moon, amid calls from liberal voters for them to unify candidacy in order to stop conservatives from continuing their reign.

Ahn, the founder of Korea’s largest anti-virus software firm, AhnLab, threw his hat into the ring Wednesday, ending months of speculation and posing a serious challenge to the conservative Saenuri Party candidate.

He also suggested his rivals to hold a three-party gathering before the upcoming Chuseok holidays.

“In order to achieve true social unity, the candidates should win the public’s trust during the election campaign period by playing a fair game and communicating with one another,” he said on Friday.

“Fortunately, the two candidates have shown positive response to my idea.”

On Ahn’s soaring popularity, the right-wing camp maintained composure and shrugged off any anxiety.

“The uptrend in Moon and Ahn’s pools is a temporary phenomenon, following the candidacy announcement,” said supreme councilor Rep. Chung Woo-taik in a radio interview on Friday.

“What counts is the sustainability of the support rates.”

Park has long maintained her lead in polls, and Moon and Ahn may falter once the actual race begins, Chung said.

Rep. Park is scheduled to pay a visit to Busan on Monday.

The southern city is expected to become a contentious battleground as it has long been a right-wing stronghold but is also the home city of the two left-wing contestants Moon and Ahn.

Observers speculated that the daughter of iron-fisted military ruler Park Chung-hee may revise her disputed historical perspective during the trip in order to maintain her poll standings.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)

Gangnam Style’ offers social commentary

South Korean rapper PSY's ``Gangnam Style'' video has more than 200 million YouTube views and counting, and it's easy to see why. No Korean language skills are needed to enjoy the chubby, massively entertaining performer's crazy horse-riding dance, the song's addictive chorus and the video's exquisitely odd series of misadventures.

Beneath the antic, funny surface of his world-conquering song, however, is a sharp social commentary about the country's newly rich and Gangnam, the affluent district where many of them live. Gangnam is only a small slice of Seoul, but it inspires a complicated mixture of desire, envy and bitterness.

Here's a look at the meaning of ``Gangnam Style'' _ and at the man and neighborhood behind the sensation:

In this photo taken on Sept. 14, 2012, South Korean rapper PSY performs his massive K-pop hit "Gangnam Style" live on NBC's "Today" show in New York. His "Gangnam Style" video has more than 200 million YouTube views and counting, and it's easy to see why. Gangnam is only a small slice of Seoul, but it inspires a complicated mixture of desire, envy and bitterness. It's also the spark for PSY's catchy, world-conquering song. (AP-Yonhap News)

THE PLACE:
Gangnam is the most coveted address in Korea, but less than two generations ago it was little more than some forlorn homes surrounded by flat farmland and drainage ditches.

The district of Gangnam, which literally means ``south of the river,'' is about half the size of Manhattan. About 1 percent of Seoul's population lives there, but many of its residents are very rich. The average Gangnam apartment costs about $716,000, a sum that would take an average South Korean household 18 years to earn.

The seats of business and government power in Seoul have always been north of the Han River, in the neighborhoods around the royal palaces, and many old-money families still live there.

Gangnam, however, is new money, the beneficiary of a development boom that began in the 1970s.

As the price of high-rise apartments skyrocketed during a real estate investment frenzy in the early 2000s, landowners and speculators became wealthy practically overnight. The district's rich families got even richer.

The new wealth drew the trendiest boutiques and clubs and a proliferation of plastic surgery clinics, but it also provided access to something considered vital in modern South Korea: top-notch education in the form of prestigious private tutoring and prep schools. Gangnam households spend nearly four times more on education than the national average.

The notion that Gangnam residents have risen not by following the traditional South Korean virtues of hard work and sacrifice, but simply by living on a coveted piece of geography, irks many. The neighborhood's residents are seen by some as monopolizing the country's best education opportunities, the best cultural offerings and the best infrastructure, while spending big on foreign luxury goods to highlight their wealth.

``Gangnam inspires both envy and distaste,'' said Kim Zakka, a Seoul-based pop music critic. ``Gangnam residents are South Korea's upper class, but South Koreans consider them self-interested, with no sense of noblesse oblige.''

In a sly, entertaining way, PSY's song pushes these cultural buttons.



THE GUY:
More mainstream K-Pop performers, already famous in South Korea and across Asia, have tried and failed to crack the American market.

So how did PSY _ aka Park Jae-sang _ a stocky, 34-year-old rapper who was fined nearly $4,500 for smoking marijuana after his 2001 debut, get to be the one teaching Britney Spears how to do the horse-riding dance on American TV?

``I'm not handsome, I'm not tall, I'm not muscular, I'm not skinny,'' PSY recently said on the American ``Today'' TV show. ``But I'm sitting here.''

He attributed his success to ``soul or attitude.''

PSY, whose stage name stems from the first three letters of the word psycho, has always styled himself as a quirky outsider. But he is from a wealthy family and was actually raised and educated south of the Han River, near Gangnam.

He's an excellent dancer, a confident rapper and he's funny, but another reason for his breakthrough could be that less-than-polished image, said Jae-Ha Kim, a Chicago Tribune pop culture columnist and former music critic.

South Korean music has scored big in Asia with bands featuring handsome, stylish, makeup-wearing young men, including Super Junior and Boyfriend. But seeing such singers ``makes some Americans nervous,'' Kim said.

``People in America are comfortable with Asian guys who look like Jackie Chan and Jet Li, who are good-looking, but they're not the equivalent of Brad Pitt or Keanu Reeves,'' Kim said.

Part of the initial interest in ``Gangnam Style,'' Kim said, was a kind of ``freak-show mentality, where people are like, `This guy is funny.' But then you look at his choreography and you realize that you really have to know how to dance to do what he does. He's really good.''



THE SONG:
PSY, at times wearing sleeveless dress shirts with painted-on untied bowties, repeatedly flouts South Koreans' popular notions of Gangnam in his video.

Instead of cavorting in nightclubs, he parties with retirees on a disco-lighted tour bus. Instead of working out in a high-end health club, he lounges in a sauna with two tattooed gangsters. As he struts along with two beautiful models, they're pelted in the face with massive amounts of wind-blown trash and sticky confetti. The throne from which he delivers his hip-hop swagger is a toilet.

The song explores South Koreans' ``love-hate relationship with Gangnam,'' said Baak Eun-seok, a pop music critic. The rest of South Korea sees Gangnam residents as everything PSY isn't, he said: good-looking because of plastic surgery, stylish because they can splurge on luxury goods, slim thanks to yoga and personal trainers.

``PSY looks like a country bumpkin. He's a far cry from the so-called `Gangnam Style,''' Baak said. ``He's parodying himself.''

The video abounds with ironic, ``not upper-class'' images that ordinary South Koreans recognize, said Park Byoung-soo, a social commentator who runs a popular visual art blog. Old men play a Korean board game and middle-aged women wear wide-brimmed hats to keep the sun off their faces as they walk backward _ a popular way to exercise in South Korea.

PSY's character in the video is modeled on the clueless heroes of movies like ``The Naked Gun'' and ``Dumb & Dumber,'' he told Yonhap news agency earlier this year. He has also said his goal is to ``dress classy, but dance cheesy.''

Others see more than just a goofy outsider.

``PSY does something in his video that few other artists, Korean or otherwise, do: He parodies the wealthiest, most powerful neighborhood in South Korea,'' writes Sukjong Hong, creative nonfiction fellow at Open City, an online magazine. (AP)

Ahn names chief campaigner as rating edges up

Pays respects to late conservative presidents who Moon skipped

Independent presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo launched his campaign Thursday with a visit to Seoul National Cemetery, as his campaign team began to take shape including a key opposition figure as chief.

Accompanied by aides, Ahn paid his respect to former presidents Syngman Rhee, Park Chung-hee and Kim Dae-jung, POSCO founder Park Tae-joon and fallen soldiers.

“There are two reasons for those holding public posts to pay respect at the National Cemetery. It is to learn the history, and to inherit the meritorious deeds while making right the errors,” Ahn told reporters at the site.

Presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo visits the national Cemetery in southern Seoul on Thursday, accompanied by Park Sun-sook, a former opposition lawmaker appointed as his campaign chief. (Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald)

Paying respect at the National Cemetery has long been a prerequisite course for presidential candidates as their first official agenda item, as did the ruling Saenuri Party’s Rep. Park Geun-hye and the main opposition Democratic United Party’s Rep. Moon Jae-in. Moon, however, had skipped visiting the graves of presidents Rhee and Park, citing their authoritarian rules are yet to be condoned.

Ahn’s visit to all past presidents resting at the site regardless of their political affiliation was considered to be a move to highlight the “harmony” message underscored during his announcement of the presidential bid Wednesday.

His tribute to the grave of Park Tae-joon, meanwhile, was considered as an honorary gesture toward the legendary businessman, whom Ahn has long shown his respect for. Ahn was also an outside director for the steelmaker between 2005 and 2011.

Alongside the former professor was Park Sun-sook, who just defected from the DUP the same day to oversee Ahn’s election activities. Also present were Ahn’s chief secretary Cho Gwang-hui, spokesmen Jeong Yeon-soon and Yoo Min-young and vice spokeswoman Lee Sook-hyeon, a former journalist.

Ahn’s appointment of Park Sun-sook, a former secretary-general of the DUP, as his chief campaign manager was considered a blow to the main opposition party.

Often dubbed the key strategist for the DUP, Park had headed a working-level team for the alliance of the opposition forces in the April 11 general elections. She has also served as communications secretary and spokeswoman during the Kim Dae-jung administration, and as vice environment minister during the Roh Moo-hyun government. Park is also a member of Minpyeongryeon, a gathering of supporters of late pro-democracy activist Kim Geun-tae, a key political forefather for the DUP.

Mindful of the explosive impact Ahn’s bid is bringing, the DUP’s Moon met with the party’s supreme councilors in the morning and said, “I am confident that I will win against both Ahn Cheol-soo and Park Geun-hye in the presidential election.”

“If I was not confident, I would not have bothered to run,” he added.

The former presidential chief-of-staff also assured that he will stand in the fore in assembling the progressive votes, saying, “As long as the party changes properly throughout the competition, (we) will for certain also win in the competition in the union (with Ahn).”

After the tribute visit, Ahn offered his views on the past presidents, upon which he also indirectly prodded his Saenuri rival.

Ahn said the country’s foundation of industry were prepared under the rule of President Park Chung-hee, the late father of Park Geun-hye, but at the sacrifice of too many laborers and farmers. He added privatizing power beyond the legal system could not be justified in any way.

“We need self-examination of the past at this juncture where we can either go toward a new future by overcoming the dark legacies of the industrialization era or fall behind. I therefore believe introspection is the first step toward reconciliation and harmony,” Ahn said, apparently referring to Park Geun-hye who is criticized for sidestepping questions of her father’s iron-fisted rule.

He also described President Kim Dae-jung as a pioneer in democracy, human rights and inter-Korean relations, but that under his government, the nation survived the economic crisis but became more polarized.

“I will learn from the mistakes of the past and also learn and inherit the accomplishments of the past to become a good president.”

In the afternoon, Ahn visited Seoul National University to submit his resignation as the dean of the Graduate School of Convergence Science and Technology. He then wrapped up his second day as politician with a farewell party at Ahnlab, which he founded and has remained affiliated with as the chairman of the board of directors.

The entry by the popular philanthropist to the politically charged presidential race was seen as an outlet of the public’s anger toward the established parties.

Following his long-awaited presidential bid, Ahn enjoyed rising popularity ratings, proving to be a tough contender against the candidates of the major parties.

A poll by JTBC and Realmeter on 1,500 respondents on Tuesday and Wednesday this week showed Park Geun-hye in the lead with 35.7 percent, followed by Ahn with 26.5 percent, and Moon 24.3 percent.

It was a 4.0 percentage points surge for Ahn from the same survey conducted earlier in the week. The ratings for Park and Moon, meanwhile, dropped by 2.9 and 1.8 percentage points, respectively.

Questions, in the meantime, were cast over whether Ahn’s ultimate destination would be an alliance with the DUP to go up against conservative frontrunner Park Geun-hye.

Lawyer Keum Tae-sup, a close associate of Ahn, indicated during a radio interview that an alliance, even in the form of Ahn joining the DUP, was possible if the preconditions set by Ahn were met.

“The support toward Ahn who does not belong to any party is not for him to become a candidate through a primary by entering a party, but to change the existing parties and the political circles to a point where people can trust them,” Keum said.

Ahn had said in his bid that a union with the DUP must come upon the change and reform of the politics and the consensus by the people.
By Lee Joo-hee

Labor shortage

Rapid aging and low birthrates are often cited as negative factors that cast dark clouds over the long-term prospects of the Korean economy. Adding fuel to this gloomy forecast is that the nation’s working-age people will continue to become fewer and fewer.

Earlier this week, the Bank of Korea said in its report on demographic changes and financial stability that the working-age population, which refers to those aged between 15 and 64, will peak at 73.1 percent of the total population this year. From next year, the figure will show a sharp downward curve, gradually tumbling to 52.7 percent by 2050.

What’s alarming is that the declining pace of our working-age population will be more than double the speed in such countries as the United States, Britain and China over the cited period. Of course, an increase in life expectancy along with rapid aging and a slowdown in birthrates are blamed for that.

The shrinkage of the working-age population is certain to dent economic vitality, thereby bringing down the growth rate and curbing income growth. This in turn could lead to a fall in asset prices and hurt financial stability in the end.

It’s dismal just to imagine that 100 workers will be needed to support 80 elderly people in the next generation. There should be fundamental changes in our approach for all social issues ― education, welfare, jobs and so on.

In fact, the low-growth era ― usually less than 3 percent here ― is in the offing because the nation’s potential growth rate is expected to tumble to the 2 percent range soon. This means that even if the world economy emerges from the current slump, it would be all but impossible for the Korean economy to make a V-shaped recovery.

The best policy would be to put the brakes so the working-age population stops shrinking. The government has made strenuous efforts to raise the birthrate so far, but there have not been satisfactory results indeed.

To begin with, top priority should be given to boosting labor productivity. To our regret, however, Korea ranks 23rd in labor productivity among the member countries of the 34-nation Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), an economic club of rich countries.

The government also must focus on maximizing the use of the idle labor force ― women and senior citizens. There is much room for improvement in this, given that the ratio of women engaged in economic activities remains at 54.5 percent in Korea, compared with the OECD average of 61.8 percent.

Last but not least, utilizing foreign students here can be another option, considering that many of them are diligent and competent. Currently, there are about 100,000 foreign students in Korea.  

Jobs, jobs, jobs

Which candidate has most detailed, feasible plan?

Now that the three major candidates have thrown down their gauntlets, the three-month presidential race has begun. As always, it’s the economy that voters care about most. And the best way to improve the economic situation is to give jobs to those who don’t have them, and better, higher-paying ones to those who are currently employed. Are any of the three would-be presidents able to make this happen, and, if so, which one?

Predictably, all three contenders put job creation at the top of their priority list. There can’t be much difference in their basic approaches. But what matters are the details of their methods.

Park Geun-hye, the candidate of the conservative Saenuri Party, vows to create jobs by developing new growth engines, specifically through industrial evolution in the IT sector. That sounds good, but appears to be too distant to give prompt help to those who have to worry about tomorrow, or even today.

Moon Jae-in and his more liberal Democratic United Party (DUP) plan to provide more public-sector jobs and turn temporary workers into regular employees. It will give more immediate relief to people at the bottom of the job market ladder, but may prove to be costly and not permanent.

Ahn Cheol-soo, an independent runner not affiliated with any party as yet, is rather vague on this issue. He says the nation can “kill two birds with one stone” if the government goes all out to create jobs, while leaving economic growth to business enterprises. One can only guess the entrepreneur-turned-professor-turned politician’s idea is the division of labor between public and private sectors in adding jobs. But how many economic experts, and even non-experts, will agree to it?

Voters will know more details of the candidates’ plans soon. For now, however, none seems to dissolve popular anxiety satisfactorily.

This is lamentable, indeed, given the dire situation facing hundreds of thousands of young who are part of the jobless population, the 1.7 million self-employed people whose net monthly income is below 1 million won ($900), and 5.8 million workers, half of the nation’s total workforce, who are hired on a temporary, part-time basis.

Large businesses call for deregulation and labor market flexibility for further growth. No other government in the world achieved this better than the Lee Myung-bak administration, but jobs added by the chaebol were miniscule, as they were bent on outsourcing and off-shoring jobs under the pretext of the “unfavorable” or “chaebol-bashing” environment here.

This shows the direction the next government should take.

It should seek job creation through promoting service industries run by smaller, more creative businesses, while increasing public sector jobs such as teachers, public health employees and other social workers, in far greater numbers. It also ought to offer more help, in finance and tax breaks, to both employers who train their workers, and college graduates willing to start at smaller firms.

This is the time for candidates to provide specific policies, and not become mired in endless whitewashing of history or unifying of candidacies. 

Destiny influenced by how they speak

Success story of Psy in his songs

By Janet Shin

There is a saying that a singer’s life path follows his or her lyrics. It is not an unusual subject that our fate is re-routed by how we think, what we do, whom we meet and where we live. It is even said that what we eat may influence our personality.

Some fortune tellers read one’s destiny by the logic of numbers, so they figure as far as the strike counts of one’s name, license numbers and even the zip codes. I do not totally buy all their assertions. However, being a saju master, I am open to see what other aspects steer our life. What is read by saju is mingled by other environmental factors and a true saju master should be able to read other causes that affect the rest by delicate distinction.

Let’s look at the story of a singer who always delivers bright and cheerful energy. Psy is enjoying sudden fortune with “Gangnam Style,” having enormous numbers of YouTube views for the music video. His success has become a global sensation, reaching No. 1 on the iTunes chart and he has been invited on many prominent shows in the United States.

Looking back on his past songs, he sang not only funny sarcastic toned songs like “Gangnam Style,” but also self-mocking and serious ones. The underlying sentiment in his songs is conviviality. Another interesting part is that his life also followed how he rapped. The title song from his debut album intended that he screwed up and was dumped. After a hit, he was in trouble over questions about his military service. As a result, people withdrew their support for him. Nevertheless, he continued producing vibrant songs, such as “Champion” and “Entertainer.”

In the history of popular music, quite a few singers have lived a life similar to the lyrics they sang. There are some songs that particularly draw singers’ affection and they perform those more often than others. This is often true when their feelings mirror the sad words of the song.

There was a song in Korea titled “A Woman in a Remote Cabin” in the 1950s. It was sung by a woman known for her easy listening style, different from the then-popular music. Among the lyrics are the lines, “Nobody is looking for me at this remote lonely cabin ... I was deserted and forgotten from the memory of the world.” It was a sad song. She was actually found dead in her 70s, after a long unremembered time away from the public eye, at an isolated place just as she sang in the song.

Names are also regarded as important in determining our destiny. So many people try to name their babies according to what is read by fortune tellers. Some even change their names during adulthood as they think their bad luck is caused by deficient name fortune. Due to this belief, there are not only agreeable names but awkward and ludicrous ones just for fatalistic reasons.

This phenomenon is seen in the names of ordinary people as well as those of many public figures. In the old days in Korea, by virtue of a strong tradition of preferring sons, many girls were named with some words meaning “boy” or “man,” with the parents hoping to have a son. These names sound rather indecent.

On the contrary, for those who have positive names ― meaning smile, hope and goodwill, for example, ― lead a pleasant life though they are still inept as names. It may not be just the names but they feel pleasant whenever they are called.

As it is not a cinch to change registered names, some use different ways to drive their life toward a positive direction. I know a president, who always signs “I am happy” instead of his official name. Whenever I see contracts with his signature, I am also delighted.

Information: Are you interested in learning more about the ancient Chinese teaching about the “Four Pillars of Destiny?” For further information, visit Janet’s website at www.fourpillarskorea.com, contact her at 010-5414-7461 or email janetshin@hotmail.com.

The writer is the president of the Heavenly Garden, a saju research center in Korea, and the author of “Learning Four Pillars.” For further information, visit Janet’s website at www.fourpillarskorea. com, contact her at 010-5414-7461 or email janetshin@hotmail.com.

S. Korean Shin Ji-yai wins Women's British Open on LPGA Tour

South Korean Shin Ji-yai captured the Ricoh Women's British Open on the LPGA Tour here Sunday for her second career major championship.

At Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Shin fired a four-round total of nine-under 279 in windy conditions for a resounding, nine-stroke victory over compatriot Park In-bee. It is the largest margin of victory in the Women's British Open history since it became an LPGA major in 2001. Shin, 24, won the 2008 British Open for her first major.

South Korea's Shin Jiyai poses for photographers after winning the Womens British Open golf tournament at the Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, northern England, on September 16, 2012. (AFP-Yonhap News)

Shin was the only player to finish under par at the par-72, 6,600-yard layout, despite an up-and-down final round of one-over 73. Her dominant win was aided in large part by her course-record 64 in the second round, which featured six birdies and an eagle.

She now has 10 career LPGA victories.

Shin said afterward she was "surprised" that she was able to go so low in such difficult conditions.

"I said yesterday, my goal was (to shoot) one-under par every single day. So my goal was four-under," she told the post-tournament press conference. "Because (this is a) really tough course here, when I finished it today, I'm just like, wow, I can (post) good scores on any, any other course, I'm pretty sure of that."

The Women's British Open was the fourth and the final major on the LPGA Tour this season. South Koreans won three of those four big tournaments, with Yoo Sun-young taking the Kraft Nabisco Championship in April and Choi Na-yeon claiming the U.S. Women's Open in July.

Feng Shanshan of China was the other major champion, as the winner of the Wegnmans LPGA Championship in June. For the first time in the tour history, all four majors in a season went to Asians.

Shin has now won two straight LPGA tournaments in the past seven days, after going nearly two years without a victory. She defeated Paula Creamer on the ninth playoff hole to win the Kingsmill Championship last Monday in Virginia.

Golfers were forced to play 36 holes on Sunday after the second round play was postponed to Saturday because of strong gusts. The fourth round was also briefly suspended, with Shin on the 11th tee.

The champion said she was glad to end this tournament on time.

"I'm happy to finish today because I didn't want to play until Monday," she said. "It was a really, really tough and long day, because I played 36 holes with rain and wind. I tried to keep focusing on each shot. So I feel a little tired now."

Shin held a three-shot lead over Karrie Webb of Australia to start the final round at 10-under, after shooting 71 with five birdies and four bogeys in the third round.

The South Korean stumbled with a triple bogey on the first hole in the fourth round, as the wind picked up its speed. She settled down with pars on the next four holes, and her lead actually increased as Webb committed a double bogey, bogey and bogey on her first three holes of the day.

The rout was on as Shin birdied the sixth and the seventh to reach 9-under, while Webb fell further back with a bogey on the sixth hole. Shin picked up three more birdies on the back nine and Webb faltered with two more double bogeys over her final five holes.

The victory here completed a career turnaround for the former No. 1-ranked player who struggled with injuries in recent years.

Shin won the British Women's Open and two other LPGA tournaments in 2008 as a non-member, and added three more victories in 2009 as a tour rookie. She easily won the Rookie of the Year points race and became the youngest-ever money winner in the tour history.

Shin won twice in 2010, including at the Evian Masters in France, a prestigious event that will become the tour's fifth major next season.

The following season, however, Shin developed back pains while attempting to change her swing and was forced to miss about a month of action. She ended the year without a victory. Then in May this year, she underwent surgery on her left wrist.

In the process, she dropped out of the top 10 in the world rankings. Shin climbed to No. 10 after the Kingsmill victory, and is likely to move up further on the strength of the British win.

Park In-bee made a late charge and closed with two birdies on the final three holes for sole possession of second place. It was her ninth consecutive top-10 finish on the tour.

No player broke par in the final round and 13 of 57 players made the cut shot in the 80s over their last 18 holes.

Yani Tseng, the two-time defending champion, went 76-79 on the weekend to finish at 11-over par, tied for 26th. South Korea's Kim In-kyung and Chella Choi tied for 10th at 7-over. (Yonhap News)

Psy fever in U.S.

Korean rapper-singer Psy is enjoying great popularity in the U.S., taking the No. 1 spot on the U.S. iTunes Chart with “Gangnam Style” on Saturday and making appearances at NBC’s “Today Show” and “Saturday Night Live.”

“It’s surprising to see a Korean artist reach No. 1 on the iTunes chart, which accounts for about 80 percent of the U.S. online music charts,” his agency YG Entertainment said.

“Gangnam Style” entered at No. 52 on iTunes on Aug. 27, and then broke the top 10 on Thursday.


Psy debuted at 64th on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and remained No. 1 at Social 50, which ranks the most popular artists on YouTube and other SNS channels.

The 35-year-old singer has appeared on a string of popular U.S. shows in the last few days. His latest television appearance was on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” on Saturday, of which the singer wrote on Korean SNS channel Me2Day, “I just finished SNL. It’s really overwhelming. Every day is so unreal.” He also posted his picture taken with two other actors on SNL on Twitter and Me2Day.

Psy performed his hit song on the “Today Show” on Friday morning in front of hundreds of fans gathered in front of Rockefeller Center in New York. Earlier last week, he was a surprise guest on NBC’s “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” where he taught his signature “horse-riding” dance to singer Britney Spears.

Since his music video “Gangnam Style” was posted on YouTube in July, it has reached more than 150 million views and spawned a series of parodies from around the globe.

By Lee Woo-young (wylee@heraldcorp.com)

Moon seals DUP nomination

Rep. Moon Jae-in won the main opposition Democratic United Party’s presidential nomination Sunday after three weeks of controversial primaries.

He faces a possible contest with professor Ahn Cheol-soo who is expected to announce his presidential bid this week.

The political liberals look to unify a Moon-Ahn candidacy to run against Rep. Park Geun-hye of the conservative ruling Saenuri Party.

“My victory today is based on the past history written by former presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun,” Roh’s former chief-of-staff said in his acceptance speech.

“I will return the party members’ support by winning in the December election.”

Rep. Moon Jae-in of the opposition Democratic United party gestures after winning its presidential nomination Sunday. (Ahn hoon/The Korea Herald)

In the DUP’s 13th and final regional vote in Seoul on the day, Moon once again took the lead over his three rivals ― Sohn Hak-kyu, Kim Doo-kwan and Rep. Chung Sye-kyun ― with 60.61 percent of the votes.

Rep. Moon avoided a run-off contest with the closest runner-up Sohn, as his average polls reached 56.62 percent in the 13 rounds.

The DUP’s candidates agreed back in July to accept a run-off election, in case none of them manage to win over 50 percent of the total.

Moon pledged to launch an election committee to embrace all in-party factions, as well as liberal civic groups.

Moon had trailed Ahn in polls until last week when he narrowly outstripped the former software business guru in a survey thanks to his consecutive victories in the DUP primaries.

Ahn recently made a series of political gestures that strongly indicated his will to run in the December presidential election.

He had a closed-door meeting with Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, his political ally, on Friday. He also made a surprise visit to the May 18 National Cemetery in Gwangju on Saturday.

Another concern for Moon is the factional feud in the DUP which has worsened during the primaries.

The DUP had pledged to display a clear contrast to the Saenuri’s primary in which frontrunner Park won an easy victory, but this plan went astray.

Moon’s challengers in the in-house election claimed that the party’s leadership favored him from the onset in a collusion of the two biggest factions ― the pro-Roh Moo-hyun group led by party leader Lee Hae-chan and pro-Kim Dae-jung group led by floor leader Park Jie-won. They alleged that mobile voting was skewed to the advantage of Moon.


By Bae Hyun-jung
(tellme@heraldcorp.com)