Can Japanese home run king Yoshitomo Tsutsugo, 33, make a comeback?

Tsutsugo went 1-for-2 with a walk and two RBIs in a pinch-hit appearance in Major League Baseball’s spring training exhibition game against the Chicago Cubs at Scottsdale Stadium in Scottsdale, Arizona, on Friday.

Tsutsugo grounded out to shortstop in the top of the sixth inning. He was batting seventh in the order. In his first at-bat in the bottom of the seventh inning, he grounded out to first base. But in the bottom of the ninth, Tsutsugo refused to be the last batter. With runners on second and third in the bottom of the ninth, he lined a double to right off Cubs’ Chris Kachmar. It was his first RBI of the exhibition game, as he was 0-8 and the deficit was tightening.

Otto Lopez followed with a two-run single to center field to bring Tsutsugo home and cut the Giants’ deficit to 4-8. It wasn’t enough to prevent the team from losing, but the Giants were able to avoid a sweep thanks to Tsutsugo in the opening game of the exhibition season.

Tsutsugo is indomitable.

He was one of the biggest names in Nippon Professional Baseball and the No. 4 hitter for the Japanese national team. He made his debut with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars in 2010 and went on to play 10 seasons until 2019, batting .910 with 205 home runs, 613 RBIs, and an OPS of .910 in 968 games (3426 at-bats, 977 hits). In 2016, he led the Central League in home runs with 44.

He garnered major league interest after representing Japan in the 2015 WBSC Premier12 and 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC). After batting .272 with 29 home runs, 79 RBIs and an .899 OPS in 2019, Tsutsugo decided to challenge for the major leagues and signed a two-year, $12 million contract with Tampa Bay ahead of the 2020 season. In his debut on July 25, 2020, which was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 토토사이트 Tsutsugo hit a two-run home run off Toronto starter Ryu Hyun-jin (Hanwha Eagles) for his first career hit.

But Tsutsugo hasn’t been able to escape the slump since. In 2020, he struggled with accuracy, batting just 1-for-31 (157 at-bats) with Tampa Bay. His production wasn’t bad, with eight home runs, 24 RBIs, and a .708 OPS, but he couldn’t improve on his accuracy issues. He ended 2021 with Tampa Bay, batting 1-for-68 (13-for-78) with no home runs and a .462 OPS with five RBIs, and was designated for assignment (DFA) in mid-May.

He was then claimed off waivers by the Los Angeles Dodgers,

But was released again after batting 1-for-12 in 12 games due to injury. He rebounded after being traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 32 games, he batted .268 (34-for-127) with eight home runs, 25 RBIs, and an .883 OPS, raising expectations for the following season.

He re-signed for one year and $4 million, but struggled in 2022, going 1-for-7 with two homers, 19 RBI and a .478 OPS, and was released in early August. They finished the 2022 season with Toronto and signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers in 2023. He was solid in Triple-A, going 2-for-4 with six homers, 33 RBIs, and an .812 OPS, but he never received a big league call-up and was released via opt-out in June. After bouncing around the independent leagues last year, he signed a minor league contract with San Francisco and will try to resurrect his career with the Giants again this year.

Despite being released four times, the Japanese home run king’s ego was bruised, but Tsutsugo never let go of his desire to play in the big leagues. He hasn’t given up and continues to challenge himself. Despite rumors of a return to Japan, Tsutsugo always chose the major leagues.

Meanwhile,

Tsutsugo was once again reunited with his Korean teammate Lee Jung-hoo, who played with Choi Ji-Man (now with the New York Mets) in Tampa Bay in 2020 and 2021. “He knew how to say ‘hello,’ because he was in the Tampa Bay Rays with Ji Man-hyung (Choi),” Lee said, adding, “We feel like we’re fellow Asian players.”

“From my point of view, I have to produce results. That’s all I’m thinking about,” he said, adding, “You need a good mind and body to make good technique. I’ve been in the U.S. for five years now, and I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in.”

With an indomitable will, Tsutsugo is challenging to return to the major leagues again. Will we ever see him on the field with Lee Jung-hoo in a San Francisco uniform? Tsutsugo’s first hurdle in his quest to restore his pride has begun.

Three-time Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander (41, Houston Astros) was the subject of numerous trades to the Los Angeles Dodgers last summer. He had a no-trade clause against his former club, but the deal fell through when he returned to Houston.

The New York Post broke the news of Verlander, who is preparing for the new season, on Nov. 23 (KST) and told the story of how he was almost traded to the Dodgers at the trade deadline last summer.

After signing a two-year, $86.66 million free agent contract with the New York Mets in December 2022, Verlander became the highest-paid player in the league alongside his former Detroit Tigers teammate Max Scherzer (39, Texas Rangers).

However, he didn’t start the season until May due to shoulder soreness, and while he didn’t perform too badly, going 6-5 with a 3.15 ERA in 16 games (94⅓ innings), he found himself on the trade market when the Mets were completely out of fall ball. At the time, the Dodgers were considered a potential trade partner, as they were missing key starting pitchers, including Clayton Kershaw, due to injury.

Verlander was willing to agree to a trade to the Dodgers. 안전놀이터 When he heard that the Dodgers and Baltimore Orioles were interested in him at the trade deadline, he was willing to accept without invoking his no-trade clause. Scherzer was traded to Texas first, and then the possibility of a Dodgers deal was raised.

If Verlander had been traded to the Dodgers, it would have been problematic for a number of reasons.

The Dodgers were the opponent in Houston’s first World Series title when he was caught stealing opposing autographs from cameras in the outfield during home games and then tapping a trash can behind the dugout to deliver them to batters at the plate. In 2019, after the incident came to light, Verlander infuriated Dodger fans by saying that “our team is technologically and analytically advanced.”

Despite the bad publicity, things would have been quite different if Verlander had been traded to the Dodgers. The Dodgers lost in three games to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the Division Series due to a series of pitching meltdowns, and they wouldn’t have been so helpless without him. But without him, the payroll wouldn’t have had enough room to go all-in on last winter’s top free agent signings of Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow.

While the Dodgers’ early exit from Fall League baseball last year was devastating for them, in the long run, it made sense for the Dodgers not to acquire Verlander. From Verlander’s perspective, he was comfortable returning to the two-time champions. Returning via trade less than a year after leaving as a free agent, there was no sense of dislocation. After returning to Houston, he went 7-3 with a 3.31 ERA in 11 games (68 innings), helping the Astros win the district title.

In the postseason, he was a big-game pitcher, going 1-1 with a 2.95 ERA in three games (18 1/3 innings).

“I thought I was going to do well with the Mets, but I didn’t, and I think both Scherzer (who was traded to Texas) and I knew we were on a mission to win a championship,” said Verlander, reflecting, “I was really happy that things worked out with Houston.” Although Houston fell short of a World Series berth, losing to Texas in the Championship Series in four games to three, the Astros are still in contention this year.

However, Verlander’s preparation for the season took a hit. A sore shoulder delayed his pitching schedule by two weeks. “It’s going to be tough, if not impossible, to pitch on Opening Day,” 바카라사이트 he admitted, but he is determined to stay on the field until age 45. “As long as I can get hitters out, I’m going to keep working hard,” he said. Born on Feb. 20, 1983, Verlander, who just celebrated his birthday, is now 41 years old.

Humiliated and helpless, the South Korean baseball team is starting over. Now it’s the long game.

The Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) named Ryu Joong-il as the full-time head coach of the national team on Nov. 23. Ryu had been the head coach of the national team at the Hangzhou Asian Games in the second half of last year. Ryu, who had been on the sidelines since stepping down as manager of the LG Twins, was appointed in time for the Hangzhou Asian Games, which were originally scheduled to be held in 2022. At the time, it was more of a one-time appointment, as the full-time head coach system had not been reinstated.

But something changed last year. After a disastrous performance at the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in March, the KBO decided to reinstate the full-time managerial system at a strategy meeting on July 20. The Asian Games were pushed back by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the games kicked off in September last year, naturally extending Ryu’s tenure at the helm of the national team. After achieving his goal of winning gold at the Asian Games, 카지노사이트 Ryu took the reins at the Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC) in November at the Tokyo Dome in Japan, which featured promising players in their early to mid-20s from South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and Australia. The team finished runner-up in the APBC.

The full-time managerial system was reinstated, but it was an ambiguous two tournaments with no official full-time manager.

It was finally speculated earlier this year that a new full-time coach would be appointed. The only international tournament scheduled for this year is the Premier 12 in November, but the national team will be called up in March when Major League Soccer clubs visit South Korea for the first-ever official opening game. The most likely candidate for the job would be Ryu Joong-il. There is a lot of pressure to hand over the reins of the national team to someone new right away, and last year’s Asian Games and APBC laid the groundwork for a generational change. A veteran and experienced baseball coach was a good fit for the position, which is often referred to as the “poisoned chalice,” as it is a position that is either revered or criticized.

The newly-formed Power Enhancement Committee said that Ryu “was highly praised for his knowledge of the players who will be the mainstays of the upcoming 2024 Premier 12 and 2026 WBC tournaments based on the successful generation change, and also for his continuity.” Ryu is the third full-time head coach of the national baseball team after Sun Dong-yeol and Kim Kyung-moon.

In addition to the full-time head coach, Choi Il-un and Ryu Ji-hyun were appointed as the national team’s two-hitting coaches. Until now, even with the full-time head coach system, the coaching staff was organized ahead of the tournament. There was a lot of change due to the personal lives of these coaches. However, at least the main pitching and hitting coaches have been nailed down, which is a sign of empowerment for the head coach. The rest of the coaching staff will be finalized in early March.

Ryu’s guaranteed tenure is not long.

He has until this year’s Premier12 tournament. There are no big international competitions scheduled for next year. Of course, his tenure could be extended depending on this year’s results and what matchups the KBO pushes for next year.

However, the national team’s destination doesn’t end this November. The national baseball team has been humiliated and helpless in international competitions over the years. A shock first-round exit at the WBC in 2017 and a gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta-Palembang shook the entire squad, as player selection standards were called into question. Despite finishing runner-up in the Premier12 in 2019, the ‘no-medal’ shock at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics was a major setback, and it was the first failure of the full-time managerial system, which led to the adoption of a joint managerial system.

However, at last year’s WBC, the national team had to accept an unbelievable first-round exit, as the United States, Japan, and Latin American nations fielded their best teams. Despite recruiting major leaguers such as Kim Ha-seong and Tommy Edmon, the first Korean national team player, and having some of the best players in the league, including Lee Jung-hoo, Kim Kwang-hyun, Yang Hyun-jong, Yang Ji Hyun-soo, and Park Byung-ho, the team realized the gap between them and the world stage. European teams, which they called ‘fringe’ teams, have seen a rapid rise, and the gap with Japan has only widened. The disappointing results led to the bitter criticism that Korean baseball was a frog in a well.

After last year’s WBC failure,

The national team’s lack of international interaction, lack of clear guidelines, and lack of long-term planning were highlighted. After the humiliation, they vowed to change and reform, but the jury is still out on how much they will actually change. Japan, Chinese Taipei, Australia, 메이저사이트 and others continue to organize national team events. Japan’s national team will play a practice match against the European Union in early March. The practice game between the European Union team, which includes players from the Czech Republic, Italy, and the Netherlands, and the Japanese national team, which includes members of Japan’s professional baseball elite, is not just an event, but an effort to continue to promote interaction with various players.

Next month, the Korean baseball team will play two games against Major League Baseball stars from the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres at the Gocheok Sky Dome before gearing up for the Premier 12 in November. There’s no time to bask in the glory of last year’s Asian Games gold medal. International competitiveness is the foundation of Korean baseball. It”s not just Ryu Joong-il and the national team, but all baseball players.

An eight-year contract totaling 17 billion won. That’s the price for Ryu’s return to Korean baseball.

“I strongly rejected a multi-year contract to fulfill my promise to return to Hanwha when I have the strength,” Ryu explained. Even if it’s less than the 10 million dollars (about 13.3 billion won) per year that his agent Boras wanted, it’s still a “huge difference” from his salary in Korea.

Still, it’s the highest and longest contract in Korean baseball history, surpassing the likes of Yang Ji Kwang-hyun and Lee Dae-ho. The baseball world’s attention is bound to be focused on Ryu’s performance this year.

It’s unlikely that he’ll have the same powerful 150-kilometer fastball and overwhelming stamina to last 200 innings as he did in his prime. Even Ryu himself said, “I think I should throw more than 150 innings.”

His Tommy John (elbow ligament reconstruction) surgery in 2022, 바카라사이트 his declining fastball velocity, and the fact that hitters in the KBO are better than they were 12 years ago are some of the reasons why some in the baseball world are talking about Ryu’s potential struggles. Can Ryu make people forget his 37-year-old age?

According to MLB stats site Baseball Servant,

Ryu’s average fastball (four-seam) velocity in 2023 is 88.6 mph (about 142.6 kilometers). That’s down from 2018 (90.3 mph), when he was on the World Series mound, and 2019 (90.7 mph), when he led the league in ERA. It’s also the lowest of Ryu’s entire career. It’s in the bottom 2% of pitchers who pitched in the big leagues last year.

However, since returning to the big leagues last August, Ryu has appeared in 11 games, going 3-3 with a 3.46 ERA. Baseball is not a game of fastball velocity. It’s a game of timing for the hitter and timing for the pitcher.

The value of a fastball is a combination of many things, not just velocity, but movement and delivery. Ryu’s fastball is rated above the major league average (46%) with a knife-like delivery. It’s just that his changeup, his main weapon, hasn’t gotten the same recognition.

Ko Young-pyo, who signed a five-year, 10.7 billion won extension with KT in January, is four years younger than Ryu, born in 1991. Despite the differences in left-handedness and sidearm, they are similar in that they both have exquisite pitches and a changeup that is often overlooked.

He went 12-7 with a 2.78 ERA in 174⅔ innings last year.

He was arguably the best native pitcher in the game. However, his fastball only averaged 134.6 mph (per Statcast).

In the last three years, Ko has pitched 523⅔ innings (the most in the league), won 10 games (36) in three consecutive years, and has a 2.99 ERA. His presence has also been felt on the national team and in the postseason.

Ryu Hyun-jin is a pitcher who has been known for his fastball and pinpoint delivery. In 2012, his last season in the KBO, he had a fresh shoulder that could throw a 153-kilometer fastball in a game, but even then, 사설 토토사이트 his average fastball velocity was around 143 kilometers.

While Ryu is confident that he’ll be in good enough shape to start on Opening Day, he also mentioned the possibility of his velocity increasing in the future, saying, “After Tommy John surgery, your arm gets more comfortable in the second or third year.” That’s why expectations for the “monster that came back” are heating up.

Kia’s Na Sung-beom is looking forward to a two-hitter against Ryu Hyun-jin, who is returning to Hanwha after a 12-year absence.

Despite being just two years apart in age, Na and Ryu have never met in the professional ranks. Na joined NC in 2012 after graduating from Yonsei University and made his first team debut the following year. Ryu played for Hanwha until 2012 before crossing the Pacific Ocean in 2013 to start his big league career in a Los Angeles Dodgers uniform.

“I’ve only seen him on TV, but when I made my professional debut, he moved to the LA Dodgers, so I never played against him,” said Na Sung-beom when asked about Ryu Hyun-jin at the Kin Stadium in Okinawa, Japan.

“I thought I would meet him someday (in the KBO). It’s just a little bit earlier,” he said, adding, “The world of competition is cold. I will prepare well so that I can play a good game,” he said.

He was limited to 58 games last year due to calf and thigh injuries. Despite that, he batted .222 with 81 hits, 18 home runs, 57 RBIs, 51 runs scored, 토토사이트 and a 1.098 OPS. He would have had a career-high season if it weren’t for the injury list.

“The most important thing is not to get injured. If I don’t get injured, the record will come out and I can play,” he emphasized.

“Last year, not only me but many players were injured, which weakened the team’s strength, but now all the players are playing well without injuries. I hope all the players will stay injury-free throughout the season,” he added. Na invested a lot of time and effort in lower body strengthening training and stretching last winter to prevent injuries.

Despite missing a lot of games due to injury, his bat has been hot.

What was the secret? “I didn’t make any special changes. When I had a calf injury, I watched the TV broadcast and tried to improve my timing with the idea that I was batting,” he says.

Kia is one of the favorites to win the title this season, along with LG and KT. Na Sung-beom, who served as the team’s captain this season, said, “All the players are doing their best to prepare themselves without thinking about external evaluations. We just need to do what we’ve always done, and if we don’t get injured, we’ll do well.”

Lee Bum-ho, the KBO’s first manager born in the 1980s, seeks elder brother leadership. “My concept is to be comfortable with the players. I need to be able to get along with the players and talk to them, so I can understand their current condition,” he laughs.

“They don’t find it difficult. They ask me to look at their posture when they hit. The don’t treat me differently because I’m the coach. I talk to them as usual. They call me manager instead of coach, but the title doesn’t mean anything,” he added.

In response,

Na Sung-beom said, “When I first came to KIA, the manager was the hitting coach, and he helped me a lot for two years. It helped me adapt to the team. Usually, it’s not easy for a player to approach the manager, but he just approached me casually and joked with me without any pretense. He made us feel comfortable, just like he did when he was the hitting coach, so we felt comfortable approaching him.”

“He makes it easy for the players, and the more he does that, the better we have to be. I haven’t told the players anything, but I think they know what to do. I’m sure I’ll be criticized if there’s a player who does something out of the ordinary, but we’re training well without that player yet.”

Na Sung-beom, 파워볼사이트 who had different styles of managers after his professional debut, said, “I needed a lot of training when I switched from pitcher to hitter after my professional debut. At that time, I met coach Kim Kyung-moon, who helped me a lot. I feel blessed to have him,” he smiled.

He is also satisfied with the second spring training camp in Okinawa, Japan. “The facilities are good, and I’m grateful to the club for helping me focus on baseball,” said Na.

Renowned singer Lee Hyo-ri, 44, took the stage to address her juniors at Kookmin University’s 2023 graduation ceremony, Wednesday.Lee, a graduate of the university’s School of Performing Arts, rose to fame as a member of the first-generation K-pop girl group, Fin.K.L, in 1998. slotplayground Transitioning to a solo career in 2003, she produced a slew of chart-topping hits like “10 Minutes” (2003) and “U-Go-Girl” (2008), solidifying her status as a female icon in Korea.During the graduation ceremony attended by around 400 people, the singer reflected on her time as an undergraduate at the university. Twenty-six years ago, I arrived with dreams of becoming a famous figure. Back then, I lacked exceptional talent in acting, singing or even physical attractiveness.” She chuckled, “Not much has changed, but here I am, still going strong.”

Beyond nostalgia, Lee offered invaluable advice drawn from her personal experiences to the graduating students.”It is none other than yourselves who would lead you onto the right path … Do not be swayed by words of flattery, and avoid trusting anyone too easily,” she said. “Only what you’ve personally experienced in life will truly become your assets.” Lee conveyed a message of encouragement, saying, “Go out to the world, get hurt, experience a lot of things and learn in the process … I’ll always be giving you my warmest support.”Her speech concluded 슬롯게이밍 with a performance of her 2010 smash hit, “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” eliciting enthusiastic applauses from the students.

“Maximalist” doesn’t even begin to describe the lusciously chaotic landscapes that artist Ken Gun Min conjures up on his canvas.

Seemingly plucked straight out of a wild daydream, his fantasyland brims with swirling clouds, lush flora and sensual portraits that captivate the eyes and refuse to let them go.

For some, these scenes, summoned via a mix of Western oil paints with Korean pearl pigments and adorned with silk embroidery threads, beads and vintage textiles, may as well be a utopia and nothing more.

Yet beneath their fantastical facade lies a tapestry of repressed narratives — queer identity, non-white masculinity, race and cultural assimilation — inspired by the Seoul-born artist’s own experiences as a gay Asian first-generation immigrant in Los Angeles, California.

Min’s surreal paintings produced within the last three years, dubbed the “LA Trilogy,” reimagine the neighborhoods of his adopted hometown — primarily Silver Lake, Westlake and Koreatown. He transforms familiar neighborhoods into spaces where personal memory and queer history intertwine, highlighting the often-overlooked narratives of marginalized communities.

In “13 Missing Ladies,” he retells the story of transgender women who were violently murdered in the MacArthur Park area in 2020, just a few blocks casinositekingcom from his residence. The incidents involving these individuals, many of whom were low-income undocumented immigrants, failed to gain extensive media coverage and even, sometimes, proper police investigation.

“I summoned the bodies of these invisible women as 13 mushrooms, so that their legacy can be memorialized and live on in my work,” the artist told The Korea Times in a recent interview.

Portions of these otherworldly mushrooms are embellished with threads and beads — materials that were deconstructed from the dress of a drag queen he encountered at a nearby thrift store.

“I wanted to use these elements, once likely a physical part of the LGBTQ+ community, and bring them to the commercial realm of art fairs and galleries beyond the drag stage,” he said. “My position as an artist — and not a historian or a politician — allows me the freedom to document such a story in my own fantasy-oriented way.”

It’s also part of his strategic approach to engage a broader audience as he allures them into the wonderland he has crafted through brushstrokes and hand embroidery, seamlessly introducing them to these underrepresented, perhaps discomforting, narratives.

In “Ambiguous Yoga Club,” where two muscular men are seen grappling with each other, Min turns LA’s Runyon Canyon Park frequented by celebrities into a sexually suggestive site of queer liberation. The pose of the two figures draws from multiple art historical references from both the East and the West — including the Greek statue of Hercules wrestling Antaeus and an early 20th-century woodblock print depicting Japanese and Russian soldiers during the Russo-Japanese War.

Such a piece would remain in dialogue with a series of his sensual portraits of East Asian and Southeast Asian gay males in the surrounding neighborhoods, who are often subject to emasculation or complete exclusion from representation.

The painter’s exploration of different historical chapters of LA even intertwines with his memories of his homeland, as witnessed in an ongoing group exhibition, titled “Wonderland,” at Lehmann Maupin Seoul.

His “1992, Western Ave.” draws parallels between the fraught racial and ethnic tensions that fueled conflicts between Black and Korean Americans during the 1992 riots and those in present-day Korea, where discrimination and abuse of migrant workers persist.

And in “2022-1988,” Min revisits his bitter childhood memories from nearly four decades ago. In time for the 1988 Seoul Olympics, which was viewed by the government as a chance to showcase to the world a new cultural image of Korea beyond its war-torn past, young children were forced to practice for the game’s opening ceremony, with some passing out from the stifling summer heat. By juxtaposing the death of the tiger, the official mascot of the Seoul Olympics, with that of LA’s celebrity mountain lion P-22, the artist visualizes the pain shared by these overlooked children.

“It hasn’t been long since I ventured into the realm of contemporary fine art as a full-time creative,” Min remarked.

He studied art history and Western painting in Seoul before moving to San Francisco in 2001, but ended up pursuing a master’s in production design for motion pictures and TV at the Academy of Art University.

It was a “rather straightforward” decision made to support his immigrant status — the one that eventually helped him land a job with Lucasfilm at Skywalker Ranch.

For a decade as a production designer, he helped develop the color, texture, lighting and look of the Star War franchise films, including the distinctive leathery appearance of Yoda’s skin.

“While my career flourished during this time, I consider the period a bubble in my life. Living within that privileged bubble, I was unable to see beyond its confines,” he noted.

It wasn’t until he quit his job and relocated to Los Angeles in 2013 that he was struck by the reality of living as a first-generation immigrant without a stable source of income or insurance.

It took Min several years of efforts — including doing artist residencies in Zurich and Berlin — to channel his own experiences and identity into a creative voice of his own that began to resonate with the art world.

“I believe that for an artist to be authentic, they must begin with their own story. However, what’s important is that it doesn’t end there. It should be digestible and shareable by others to foster more meaningful dialogues,” he said.

One method he has chosen to achieve this goal is by incorporating craft and threading elements onto his canvas — art forms long devalued as “low art” due to their association with femininity and domesticity.

“I wanted my work to transcend the boundary between craft and contemporary painting, paying tribute to countless women who have helped me discover myself,” said the artist, emphasizing the central role of women’s care labor in immigrant communities.

This idea of solidarity and connection extends to the source of some of the vintage textiles and beads that find their way into his final work — sentimental items once belonging to the deceased, such as half-finished cross-stitch projects, cardigans and brooches, which are gifted to him by anonymous bereaved family members moved by his art.

Moving forward, Min hopes to continue uncovering the narratives that get lost and forgotten within the entrenched dynamics of power on his canvas — but in a more visceral manner and with greater room left for his craft materials.

“I approach each opportunity to express myself as if it were my last. Since I’ve been fortunate to be given this platform at present, I want to talk about things that truly warrant attention,” he said.

Two of Min’s richly-textured paintings are on view at Lehmann Maupin Seoul’s “Wonderland” until Feb. 24. His first solo museum exhibition, “The Lost Paradise,” opens on 카지노사이트킹 March 8 at the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, Colorado.

Several Korean celebrities, including actor Ji Chang-wook, singer Meenoi, EXO member D.O. and NCT’s Haechan, have found themselves in trouble after images and videos of them smoking indoors were made public.Korean law requires that buildings with a floor area exceeding 1,000 square meters, such as office buildings, factories and mixed-use buildings, be designated as non-smoking areas.The appropriateness of indoor smoking in shared spaces remains a controversial issue, even beyond legally mandated non-smoking areas.Recently, casinositezone actor Ji was seen holding his e-cigarette in a behind-the-scenes video of the JTBC drama “Welcome to Samdal-ri” released on Jan. 26, drawing criticism for openly using the device on set even in the presence of fellow actors and filming staff.Following the controversy, Ji’s agency, Spring Company, issued an apology, Sunday, acknowledging his inappropriate behavior and expressing regret for disappointing many. The label further pledged to take measures to prevent such incidents in the future.Similarly, singer Meenoi faced a backlash after inadvertently revealing her smoking habit during her recent live stream on Instagram. The unintnded exposure of Meenoi’s cigarette pack and ashtray at her apartment where she lives with her cat raised eyebrows.

This drew significant criticism as the issue of smoking within apartment buildings has long been a problem due to its potentially harmful effects on neighboring units. Both NCT’s Haechan and EXO’s D.O. have also faced fines for using e-cigarettes indoors. D.O. was spotted smoking indoors at a broadcast station through a shared video on the group’s official YouTube channel last August. Consequently, he was fined by the Mapo District Public Health Center, with the center confirming his commitment to complying with the law from now on.Haechan was seen smoking an e-cigarette device at a studio in the video clip, which showed the members of NCT practicing a dance, prompting SM Entertainment, his label, to announce the singer’s intention to pay an imposed fine.These incidents underscore the broader issue of indoor smoking, which conflicts with growing societal expectations for smoke-free indoor environments in Korea.A 2021 survey conducted by the Korea Health Promotion Institute found that 93.7 percent of Korean adults believe a complete ban on indoor smoking is necessary. Additionally, there is strong support (86.7 percent), for a total ban on heated 온라인카지노 tobacco products, indicating widespread opposition to indoor smoking, including among smokers themselves.

The health ministry said Thursday it will take stern measures if any cllective action by doctors over a plan to boost the number of medical students threatens the safety of patients.Second Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo made the remarks as tension between doctors and the government has grown over last week’s decision to add 2,000 to the country’s medical school enrollment quota next year, marking a sharp rise from the sportstotozonecom current 3,058 seats.Park called for doctors not to “threaten the life and health of patients. If it becomes a threat, the government will sternly respond in accordance with law and principle.”As some trainee doctors have reportedly moved toward a collective submission of letters of resignation, Park said the government will push for tasks to improve their working conditions.Still, no trainee doctors have submitted a letter of resignation, Park told reporters.In a bid to block the potential strike, the health ministry ordered training hospitals to reject a collective submission of letters of resignation from residents, to block them from carrying out the strike as non-medical personnel by law.

Unless they step down legally as doctors, the residents must return to work if the government issues an administrative order because doctors are classified as essential workers.Earlier in the day, Park told MBC radio that the ministry will fully expand telemedicine services and mobilize assistant nurses if a major association of trainee doctors pushes ahead with a nationwide strike in protest of the medical school enrollment hike.The government has prepared to cope with the looming strike by trainee doctors, including plans to use military and public hospitals to respond to emergency medical services, Park said.Although the government says the hike in the medical enrollment quota is needed to address a shortage of doctors in rural areas and essential medical fields, doctors say such a hike may aggravate problems associated with an oversupply of medical personnel in the market.Also on Thursday, the Korean Medical Association (KMA), another major lobbying group of doctors, plans to hold nationwide rallies to protest against the planned hike in medical school enrollment quota.The KMA, which has threatened to stage a nationwide strike, is set to hold a meeting Saturday to discuss its actions.Meanwhile, Park Dan, the head of the Korea Intern Resident Association, said he will step down next week as a doctor and the association’s head to protest against the planned hike.In another sign of simmering tension, fourth-year students of the college of medicine at Hallym University in the eastern city of Chuncheon unanimously agreed to take a leave of absence for one year in an effort to prevent the government’s “medical reform for the worse.”A major association of medical schools will also carry out a survey of whether to join the move and take a one-year leave of absence and will make a decision “within a few days.”Members of the group, mostly students of 40 medical schools nationwide, have discussed what to do in response 스포츠토토존 to the government’s decision.