South Korea's Kim Yu-Na performed a flawless free skate on Thursday to handily claim Olympic gold in the women's figure skating finals and earn the first figure skating medal for her country.

Kim, who led after the short program earlier this week, defeated Japan's Mao Asada, who won silver. Canada's Joannie Rochette, who competed just days after her mother died, won the bronze.

"I have been dreaming about this moment and I can't believe that this moment is here," she said afterward.

Kim won by 23 points, a huge margin in figure skating, reaffirming the 19-year-old's status as world champion. Skating to Concerto in F by George Gershwin, she breezed through a triple lutz, triple flip, triple salchow and the combination of a triple lutz and triple toeloop. 

She said she was shocked to see her score -- a 150.06 for the free skating portion. Her final overall score was 228.56.

"I waited a long time for the Olympics, and it feels like a large weight has been lifted off," she said.

Her coach Brian Orser said Kim has been calm throughout her Olympic experience.

"She embraced the entire Olympic experience," he said. "It's everything I'd ever imagined for her. To see her live, it is sensational."

South Korean media celebrated her win, with headlines reading: "We are proud Kim Yu-Na, nation 'jumps' with golden performance" in Sports Seoul and "Netizens emotional: We write Kim Yu-Na and read it goddess" in My Daily Sports.

"The whole nation was watching, even the president," journalist Brett Cole told CNN from Seoul. "The whole nation literally stopped for Yu-Na's performance."

Cole described Kim as somewhat of a girl next door, down to earth -- but she was carrying the hopes of a nation on her shoulders. Read more about Kim's popularity in South Korea

"There was a lot of pressure on her because South Korea really wanted this victory," he said.

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As you many notice, AsianBeats is now down for maintenance and fixing bugs. Be patient and I will try to get it fix as soon as possible. Watch Movies, Play Games, Radio Station, and Listen to music are still accessible. I apologize for the down time.

Kenji Chang

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The Billboard Project: “Don’t Let Our Culture Dye” is prominently displayed on the corner of University and Cleveland Avenues in St. Paul until October 21st. (Amy Doeun / HMONG TIMES)

For those driving on University Avenue in St. Paul, a unique sight can be seen on the corner of Cleveland and University. Kao Lee Thao, an artist, has, through a grant from the Jerome Foundation and Forecast Public Art, made great art available to all. She said of her interesting medium, "For years my interest in public art has grown and what better way to display art than on a billboard. It will expand my audiences far beyond art shows and create more visibility for my medium and culture."

Thao explained how she chose the location, "There were a handful of locations on University Avenue to pick from, but I had to wait for an opening between billboard clients to install my piece. I waited patiently for the billboard on University Avenue and Cleveland because the unique vertical shape complimented my artwork."

The subject matter is as interesting as the medium. This project is entitled, "The Secret War Billboard." Thao described her purpose, "Each year my birth is a constant reminder of those left behind who continue to fight for my freedom. My aspiration was to create a painted billboard that speaks out about the injustices of the remaining Hmong soldiers, called Freedom Fighters, who fought the 'Secret War' started during the Vietnam War and who continue to fight today."

The theme or "tag line" of the piece is: "Don't Let Our Culture Dye." "My vision was to split the billboard into two worlds. My spirit is still trapped in the Jungles of Laos while my soul is in America living out my dreams. I want to inspire young minds to pursue their passion, but remind us not to forget how we won our freedom to America. We should all strive to create change and bring peace to the continued struggle in the jungles of Laos."

Thao said, "Growing up in America and being different, made it difficult to fit in with certain crowds. I turned to art as an escape from reality, but in the end I think art chose me. I spent half my life studying psychology hoping to become a psychiatrist, but I threw it all away to pursue my passion - art. To tell you the honest truth I don't think any parents support the idea of their kid becoming an artist, but if you don't allow them to dream how will you ever know what opportunities are out there."

HMONG TIMES asked Thao, "What is your purpose in making art in general?"

She replied, "The purpose of creating art is to freely express my emotions leaving a part of my soul behind to inspire others to pursue their passion."

The Billboard will be up through October 21st. "My favorite part of the project was driving by and seeing it up on the billboard. It's not everyday you get a chance to create art that is the size of a billboard. Now I just need to find a 26x24 foot room for it's final home once the project is completed."

For more information about the project go to: www.echoingvoices.com.

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Some families long separated by the Korean War saw their loved ones Saturday for the first time in years near the border between North and South Korea.

Korean Yoon Ki-Dal, right, meets the children he left behind as babies during the Korean War.

Yoon Ki-Dal, 88, of South Korea thought such a moment would never come. After leaving his son and daughters when they were babies during the Korean War, he was able to hold the hands of his North Korean children on Saturday.

"Father, we thought you were dead, his daughter, now in her 60s, told him, her face trembling.

Their family was one of 97 reunited Saturday on Mount Keumgang, a North Korean resort near the eastern part of the border, after decades of separation by war and ideology. Watch video

And soon these families will be separated again. They are allowed to be together for a few days. Then the South Koreans must return home.

The reunions -- the first in nearly two years -- are taking place through October 1.

Millions of families were separated by the Korean War, which ended in 1953 with a cease-fire and no formal peace treaty. No mail, telephone or e-mail exchanges exist between ordinary citizens across the Korean border.

The agreement to hold the reunions came after North and South Korea held three days of talks, mediated by the International Committee of the Red Cross, last month, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported at the time.

About 10,000 people applied to take part in the reunion, but fewer than 200 families were allowed to participate. In addition to the 97 families who met Saturday, another 99 families are expected to meet next week, authorities said.

Participants are selected randomly, and there is no date set for a further reunion, which means the tens of thousands of others who were separated by the Korean War have no idea when they may get a chance to see their loved ones -- if ever.

For the many separated family members who are elderly, a reunion may never be possible.

Reunions between North and South have been taking place off and on since 2000 after an inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang, Yonhap says. The last reunion took place in October 2007.

Rapprochement talks between the two Koreas have hit a wall since conservative South Korean President Lee Myung-bak took office in early 2008 with a tougher stance toward the North than his liberal predecessor, Roh Moo-Hyun.

The two Koreas have remained in conflict since the conclusion of the Korean War in 1953.

Last month, officials from both sides had the first high-level, cross-border contact in nearly two years when South Korean Unification Minister Hyun In Taek met with North Korean unity leader Kim Yang Gon.

The meetings and reunions are in stark contrast to the tense public statements each side made about each other earlier this year.

Tensions between the two were heightened in July when North Korea launched seven short-range missiles toward the Sea of Japan, also referred to as the East Sea. The launches came after North Korea conducted a nuclear test on May 25 and threatened U.S. and South Korean ships near its territorial waters.

South Korea condemned the action, calling the launches "unwise."
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While promoting his drama The World They Live In in Yokohama on September 26, Hyun Bin mentioned the topic of crying scenes. He explained that he’d been advised early on that “Your tears should be produced of your own accord. I believe that means you have to become that immersed in the emotions. That’s why from the beginning of my acting career, I’ve never used eye drops to make tears.”

The statement caught my eye not because it’s remarkable for Hyun Bin to think that, but because it makes me super curious to know who HAS had to resort to eye drops. It’s a practice I’ve heard about jokingly but haven’t really heard actors refer to as a serious thing, so now I wonder how common it actually is. (Who else began mentally compiling a list of possibilities when they first read his comment? The first two faces that popped into my mind were Han Ga-in and Yoon-ah. Don’t kill me, SNSD fans!)

Hyun Bin’s last drama was MBC’s Friend, Our Legend, but now he’s busy with Japanese promotions for World. I believe the main reason the drama is drawing belated notice is because his romance with co-star Song Hye-gyo went public after the drama had wrapped in Korea. No doubt his Japanese fans will be watching with eyes focused on the romance between their characters.

Hyun Bin also held a fanmeeting-cum-birthday party in Yokohama on the previous day, September 25. The event was sold out and attended by a crowd of 5,000.
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