The Winter Olympics starts up this weekend and you know you’ll be glued to your television for the next couple of weeks. Time Magazine came out with it’s top athletes to watch out for during the Winter Olympics and Kim Yu Na is one of the featured athletes. She is South Korea’s biggest hope in winning a gold medal figure skating because she enters the games as the current world champion and therefore the unofficial favorite to win a gold medal. However, we all know about past Olympics and the disheartening falls of figure skating favorites. Will Kim Yu Na be able to handle the weight of South Korea on her shoulders or will she succumb to the pressures of living up to massive expectations?

Taekwondo, archery, short track — these are the niche sports in which South Korea tends to dominate. But a bright-light event such as figure skating? You bet, ever since Kim, 19, began racking up championships and setting records with the highest-scoring performances, quietly making her case to be the Olympic gold-medal favorite. Steady and consistent almost to the point of appearing robotic, Kim rarely slips on the ice — a skill that has served her well in the points-based judging system. She’s the current world champion and trains in Toronto but is hard to miss in Seoul — her image adorns buses, stores and cosmetics counters. When it comes to performing, the unflappable teen always delivers; Kim stood at the top of the podium in every competition she entered this season.

Read more at Time Magazine

Korean Beacon is saying so long to our popular news show each week and moving on to a more interactive form of news, discussion, and debate. Christina Lee will start hosting a show called “Hi Krista” that will feature a topic each week and get feedback from viewers to respond to. Feedback can be emailed to beacon at koreanbeacon dot com or uploaded via youtube and the link emailed to us. This is a revolutionary way of doing what we call “an online talk show”.

So let us know what topics are of interest to you and check out our series premiering next week!

The Yorkshire Terrier originated in Yorkshire, England but Chloe is the Korean Yorkie.  This has to be one of the cutest dogs out there.  Chloe is so cute that she has a following and multiple websites devoted to her.  Chloe happens to be a dog model and has a long list of print and TV appearances.  Pretty funny stuff heh?

For more on Chloe the Korean dog, check out her websites:  http://www.crookedcakes.com/ & http://www.myspace.com/chloeyorkshire.

Victor Kim of the Quest Crew shows off his b-boy moves in studio. His dance group became famous on MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew. Don’t try this at home kids. Enjoy!

A common problem I see among Asian women is their two-toned face.  Their face will be one color, but their neck is another color. Another is that they don’t choose the right shade for their skin tone.

This can happen very easily because most people’s faces are lighter than their body because they’re wearing sunscreen.

*If you’re not wearing sunscreen daily, start now! Even in the winter, you should be wearing AT LEAST SPF 15!

In order to fix this problem, there are a few quick fixes:
Tinted Moisturizer- This is the lightest formula- It gives light coverage and evens out skin tone.  I never used to use Tinted Moisturizer, but I’ve recently started and am very happy with the results. It’s great for people who don’t want to spend a lot of  time and want a natural look.
* Tinted Moisturizer is great because it’s quick and easy- You can get moisturizer, foundation, and SPF in one.
My favorite Tinted Moisturizers are Laura Mercier, Josie Maran, and Hourglass.

Foundation- There are many different formulas. Play around at a Sephora or Cosmetics Counter and find out what’s best for you.
Creme Foundation: Creme formulas are recommended for older skin because they reduce the appearance of fine lines (while powder formulas can settle into wrinkles).  I like the texture of Creme foundation and think it gives good coverage.  I prefer M.A.C. and Motives for creme formulas.
Powder Foundation: Powder Foundation is great for Oily Skin.  I personally prefer other formulas before Powder, but people love Bare Minerals. I prefer Benefit and M.A.C. Studio Fix
Liquid Foundation: Liquid foundation applies very smoothly and can give a lot of coverage with a little product.  The ultimate liquid foundation is Makeup Forever H.D.  Your skin will look amazing.

Concealer- Many people put on concealer before foundation, but I like to put it on afterwards.  Most of the time, foundation will do the trick. If you have blemishes, you can add the tiniest amount of concealer on top of the foundation and blend with a blending brush.  Set with powder.

Powder/Bronzer- If you find that your face is lighter after putting on all your makeup, you can dust on a darker powder or use a bronzer.  Start light and add more as you go. It’s always  easier to add more makeup than to correct mistakes.

Self-Tanner-  I hope you ladies are not tanning (Skin cancer, Wrinkles, Leathery skin are a few reasons to avoid it)
Instead, buy a bottle of Self-Tanner.  I like the Daily Self-Tanners from Jergens and Banana Boat and Clarins
Tips:
* When looking for makeup, make sure you are in good lighting. Flourescent lighting is the worst.
* If you have trouble finding the right color for your skin, go to a professional and have them pick out a color for you (but make sure they pick the right one…. just because they work there doesn’t mean they know makeup)
* You’ll probably need different foundation depending on the season

So I hope these tips are helpful and you will have flawless, perfect looking skin!

*~ Have a Beautiful Day! ~*

http://irenekimmakeup.com
http://irenekimmakeup.blogspot.com

Janice Min is the former US Weekly editor-in-chief who reportedly made $2M a year and at one point in time, her monthly paycheck was more than her husband’s annual salary.  Ka-ching!  In the New York Post this week, Janice Min who is Korean-American, shares her secrets to having a successful marriage while being the female breadwinner.  She notes that nearly a quarter of American wives serve as the family breadwinner but to her estimation, 60% of them are annoyed by that status.

To me, marriage wasn’t a goal, but something that happens to some and not others. I probably filled my mind with thoughts about being a journalist and working in media more than anything else.

Now I look back at that decision and realize what I was really resisting was the idea of turning over my independence — financial and otherwise — to someone else. It wasn’t my style. But it has never shaped my worldview. I dare you to find another editor in New York who has assigned more stories and photo shoots involving rings, wedding dresses and romance than I. I am a staunch believer in love, marriage and family, but not that a woman can’t out-earn a man or that a man shouldn’t change the diapers.

Are you an Alpha Woman?  Read more at the New York Post.

Not many people can say they used to snowboard professionally or be identified as a “rising star ” chef in the United States. Akira Back, born in Korea, moved to Colorado at a young age and became a professional snowboarder. He was featured in some of the top snowboarding magazines such as Transworld and Snowboarder and also earned prominent endorsements with companies such as Etines.

As a professional snowboarder, Akira also spent time cooking in local Aspen restaurants, where he realized his passion for food was equal if not greater than snowboarding. After a strong 7 year career in snowboarding, Akira decided to attend culinary school and began working for some of the best Japanese restaurants in the world, include Chefs Nobu Matsuhisa and Masaharu Morimoto.

Akira has been widely recognized for his food by the culinary world including being named one of the “Rising Stars” by Restaurant Hospitality magazine.  As the Executive Chef for Nobu Matsuhisa’s namesake restaurant in Aspen, he became even more popular for his unique style and precision.  He has prepared meals for many celebrities and important figures such as Jay Z, Mariah Carey, Paris Hilton and former President Bill Clinton.  Currently, he is the Executive Chef of Yellowtail Japanese Restaurant at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, where Grammy Award winner Taylor Swift has called the meal that Chef Akira Back prepared “the best of her life”.    Akira has also been featured on the Food Network’s Iron Chef America, taking on Bobby Flay in a spinach battle. (see battle video below)

Less than a month ago, we had the pleasure of trying out Chef Akira’s current restaurant to taste and talk about his food.

The food was a pleasant surprise especially for a Korean American. Although the restaurant is technically called a Japanese restaurant and you can order sushi, what makes this restaurant good is the Chef’s ability to use his creativity and integrate Korean flavors into fresh and clean tasting food. I would not call his food Korean Japanese fusion, but rather American Cuisine, using Japanese and French techniques using Korean flavors.

For example, one of my favorite dishes was his Toro Sashimi wrapped around some micro mixed greens and “gochujang” (korean red pepper sauce) topped off with some caviar. (see picture below)

I’d also recommend the Big Eyed Tuna Pizza, his signature dish that will blow your mind.  It’s basically tuna on a fried tortilla with some minced onions with some truffle oil and greens on top.  (see video below)

So the next time you are in Las Vegas, I would highly recommend trying at least a couple of Chef Akira’s dishes and ask for something with gochujang in it, because you won’t be disappointed.

Comedian and actress Margaret Cho will join the cast of CBS’s “Ghost Whisperer” starting February 5.  She will play Professor Avery Grant.

“Ghost Whisperer” follows Jennifer Love Hewitt’s character of Melinda Gordon- a woman who has the ability to see and communicate with ghosts. While trying to live as normal a life as possible, Melinda helps them pass over to the other side by working as an owner of an antique store, sometimes dealing with people who push her away, and disbelieve her ability. The show was created by John Gray and is produced by Sander/Moses Productions, in association with ABC Studios and CBS Television Studios.

Margaret Cho has performed nationwide with one-woman shows including “I’m the One That I Want,” “Notorious C.H.O,” “Revolution,” “State of Emergency,” and “Assassin.” On screen, she has played John Travolta’s FBI colleague in the action movie “Face/Off.” On television, she appears as Terri – assistant to lawyer Jane Bingham – on Lifetime’s Drop Dead Diva.

“Ghost Whisperer” airs on CBS Friday’s at 8 pm EST.

Source: Broadway World

The power of the Internet (or Korean netizens) made the music video “Nobody” by the Wonder Girls as the video of the year (2009), according to an online poll conducted by musiqtone.com.  The video received 37% of the overall vote among 80 eligible candidates.  That’s a lot of voting from the devoted Wonder Girls’ fan base and probably from South Korea.

Musiqtone.com is a website that provides news and multimedia content about albums and music videos in the U.S.

Source: Wonderfuls World

At the end of December 2009, the Chosun Ilbo published an article stating that the current spelling of “Makgeolli” might cause some non-Koreans to mispronounce it as Mak-jolee. The author suggested that the spelling should be changed and this would popularize this alcohol overseas. He recommended a few different options such as Maggoli, Makkoli, and Makoli.

I wish that the author had done some research to test this opinion, because it caused quite a stir with the aT Center (The Agro-Trade Center) and amongst the Korean public. The aT Center is a government organization that has been heading the Korean Food Globalization project and my company (O’ngo Food Communications) has been working with them on several different projects including how to market makgeolli overseas.

Back in October of 2009, our company and the heads of many makgeolli companies had a meeting to discuss changing the name of makgeolli. I will tell you the same thing I told them: it is not cost efficient, it will cause needless confusion, and it won’t put the drink in people’s hands.

If you Google the current spelling of makgeolli, you will get 75,800 hits on the traditional rice alcohol. This is the spelling accepted by CNN, the Lonely Planet, Wikipedia, Korean newspapers, the Korean government, and overseas newspapers. If you search for maggoli (which sounds like maggots), you will get 103 hits — most are about a Scottish family. Makkoli has 35,000 hits (the top hits refer to a Japanese sushi restaurant in New Jersey) and most of the hits about “makoli” are of a famous chess player with the same last name.

Changing the name of something that is obviously accepted would cost the Korean government millions of dollars and cause endless confusion.

Go here to read the rest:
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2010/02/02/201002020014.asp

Posted By Daniel Gray of Seoul Eats