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Singer advocates Korean Dokdo claim

Korean Singer Kim Jang-hoon made waves in the New York Times, financing a full-page advertisement regarding Korea's sovereign claim over the islands of Dokdo and naming rights to its surrounding body of water.

Page A15 of the July 9 New York Times was covered with a spread masterminded by advertising expert Seo Gyung-duk and paid for by Kim.

"Just like the candlelight vigil protests was a form of civilian diplomacy that helped bring additional negotiation with U.S. beef, I feel that this advertisement can be used as a fuse to straighten out incorrect perceptions in the international community", Kim said in an interview with Yonhap News.

The ad begins with the headline "DO YOU KNOW?" followed by a map of the disputed region and five sentences arguing for Korea's sovereignty of Dokdo and the naming of the East Sea. It also directs readers to a website that deals with other Korean issues such as Goguryeo and Balhae, comfort women and Baekdu Mountain.

Similar advertisements are set to run during next year's Korean Liberation Day in papers around the world while Kim is planning to run an advertising blitz surrounding the Chinese historic claim to the Goguryeo and Balhae kingdoms.

At the center of the naming controversy is the East Sea - also known as the Sea of Japan - the body of water between the Korean peninsula and the Japanese islands. In that sea, the two rocky islets of Dokdo - referred to as Takeshima in Japanese - is the subject of great animosity between the two nations and each claim sovereignty. Currently, a platoon of Korean soldiers guard the islands.


Writer makes debut doing commercials

Lee Oi-soo, the 62-year-old writer known for his eccentricities as much as his novels, will appear in a TV commercial for SK Telecom, the country's leading telecommunications company.

The PR company called Prain said that SK Telecom asked Lee to star in its new commercial after seeing him on a recent show.

Lee will also be seen acting for the first time - in the upcoming new MBC TV sitcom "The Secret of Keu Keu Island", which starts airing on July 21.

Lee says that the extreme poverty he grew up in fueled his writing. In fact, he is known for denying himself food and sleep even now when he writes. His most recent work is "Haak Haak", a collection of essays which made it to No. 1 on the bestseller list.

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