The Korea Times

Korean Buddhism: Untold hallyu teetering

Buddhist monastics walk in a row at Baekdam Temple, Gangwon Province, in this Korea Times file photo. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulA series of scandals undermine Korean Buddhism's global influence By Kang Hyun-kyungEven before the term hallyu was coined in the early 2000s to refer to the successive sensational success of Korean dramas in Japan following KBS's mega hit TV series “Winter Sonata,” there was the export of Korean ideas and thoughts.Korean Buddhism is the untold side of hallyu.Korea's export of Zen Buddhism had preceded the overseas sensational reactions to Korean dramas and K-pop which seems to have reached its peak with the presence of superstar K-pop band BTS since the mid-2010s. Starting in the late 1980s, Korean Buddhism captivated some Americans and Europeans who sought to find peace of mind and reach the mental state of complete detachment from worldly desires. In the 1990s, a flurry of Westerners visited Korea to study Buddhism and about 100 people chose to become Buddhist monastics, dedicating their rest of lives to preaching and spreading Budd

Nov 25, 2020By Kang Hyun-kyung

Korean Buddhism: Untold hallyu teetering

Books

'Don't be scared. You're not alone'

Han Yu-kyung, author of “The Cancer Center Graduate,” poses at The Korea Times newsroom in Seoul last Thursday. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulAuthor shares cancer treatment experiences for those fighting cancer alone By Kang Hyun-kyung“Why me?” Like many other cancer patients, Han Yu-kyung, author of “The Cancer Center Graduate” published by Chamomile Press, kept asking this question after she was diagnosed with cancer last year at a university hospital in Seoul. Her book shares the emotional rollercoaster she had gone through after receiving what felt like a death sentence and how she overcame it, elaborating her experience of treatment for other cancer patients. Han, now 29, had one of the worst forms of stage-four tongue cancer, according to her doctor, and had to undergo surgery to remove half of her tongue. She was shocked and in disbelief, trying hard to figure out what had gone wrong with her. She didn't smoke. She's not a heavy drinker. She has no family history of the disease: none of her family members had tongue cancer. What espec

Nov 18, 2020By Kang Hyun-kyung

Books

Poet shares thought-provoking backstory

Award-winning poet Kim Yi-deum speaks at the 51st Korea Times Modern Korean Literature Awards held at the Press Center in central Seoul, Thursday. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukBy Kang Hyun-kyungThe atmosphere of the 51st Korea Times Modern Korean Literary Translation Awards held on Thursday was very different from that of previous events. It was entertaining and, at the same time, thought-provoking, mainly because of the special guest ― the award-winning poet Kim Yi-deum. Kim, whose poetry book “Hysteria,” was translated into English and won the 2020 U.S. National Translation Award and the Lucien Stryk Asian Translation Award, dominated the stage when she read out her poem “Country Whore” for the attendees. Ironically, it was a sad event, too, because what the poet said in her introduction before she read her favorite poem reminded all the attendees of the grim reality that poets and novelists are facing in the digital era. Visually provocative content requiring only a short attention span has pushed lengthy, meticulously crafted literary works out of fa

Nov 13, 2020By Kang Hyun-kyung

Korea Times translation award recognizes budding talents

Music

Na Hoon-a to hold Christmas Concerts in Seoul, Busan and Daegu

By Kang Hyun-kyungTrot singer Na Hoon-a will hold Christmas concerts in Seoul, Daegu and Busan in December, following his sensational TV concert which aired on KBS2 on the eve of the Chuseok holiday in September. Starting Dec. 12 at BEXCO, Busan, his agency Yearah said, the singer will perform a total of 16 times, twice a day, in the three big cities, as part of the “Na Hoon-a: Brother Tes Jingle Bell Concert” tour.“Previously his concerts were called 'filial events' because many of his fans are elderly people and their children book tickets for their parents. Through his new album, he was able to expand his fandom to the younger generation and they reacted explosively to his new songs,” the agency said in a press release. “Due to the expanded fandom, his concerts will be something that every generation can enjoy.”Singer Na Hoon-a / Courtesy of YearahDue to the coronavirus pandemic, the organizer said seats will be assigned in accordance with the social distancing regulations. Na released a new album, titled “A Tale of Nine Stories,” in

Nov 9, 2020By Kang Hyun-kyung

Na Hoon-a to hold Christmas Concerts in Seoul, Busan and Daegu

Photo News

PHOTO Miss Korea winners at Korea Times

Miss Korea winners at Korea Times: The finalists of the 2020 Miss Korea pageant visited The Korea Times on Friday. From left are Lee Hwa-in, Ryu Seo-byn, Miss Korea 2020 Kim Hye-jin, Jeon Hye-ji and Jun Yeon-ju. They paid a courtesy visit to The Korea Times President-Publisher Oh Young-jin, not in this photo. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Nov 6, 2020By Kang Hyun-kyung

Miss Korea winners at Korea Times [PHOTO]

Trends

Fun-loving Koreans: 1980s-style TV show captivates viewers

Eight middle-aged women, who performed as a team for the 2019 National Song Contest held in Seoul, pose with their colorful stage costumes. / Courtesy of Byun Soon-choelPhotographer captures local stars who competed in touring song contest By Kang Hyun-kyung The National Song Contest, starring amateur singers, is a rare TV show as it has enjoyed steady popularity over the past four decades since its first episode aired on KBS on Nov. 9, 1980. Without much modification from the original format and very little change to the original set, the old-fashioned TV show has been surviving the digital revolution which has hit the media industry and forced both print and broadcasting media to undergo radical restructuring. In each episode, 15 teams from all age groups compete in the show. Their backgrounds are diverse. Soldiers take advantage of their leave of absence from the military to compete in the touring show held in their hometown. Farmers, housewives, retirees, and children show off their singing and performance skills. Some contestants try self-deprecating humor or use physical comedy

Nov 5, 2020By Kang Hyun-kyung

Fun-loving Koreans: 1980s-style TV show captivates viewers

Books

Korea's disappearing culture captured in photography

A woman smokes through a long, slender pipe called “gombangdae” in this photo taken by Han Jeong-sik in 1980 in the southwestern city of Gwangju. Photographer Han recently released a photo essay collection, “The Highway Beside The Stable,” which sheds light on disappearing aspects of Korean culture. / Courtesy of Noonbit Publishing houseEven bathroom culture changing with the rise of new money By Kang Hyun-kyungHan Jeong-sik's “The Highway Beside the Stable” is a collection of photo essays showing Korea in the incipient stages of urbanization and in transition between the pre-modern and modern eras.The black-and-white photography is the author's personal account of extinct or disappearing elements of culture and his memories entangled with them.With his camera in hand, the retired professor of photography zeroed in on lamps, “touring” realtors (called “ttutdabang” as they popped up for a few days at sites where large housing complexes were to be built, in order to attract clients, and then disappeared once housing contracts

Oct 26, 2020By Kang Hyun-kyung

Korea's disappearing culture captured in photography

Books

ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL Korea Times is part of my life, says avid reader

By Kang Hyun-kyungLee Bock-hee has played a role as an honorary goodwill ambassador of The Korea Times unwittingly for the past decade.Lee, vice president of the non-profit group Seoul International Women's Association (SIWA), was once a “need-driven” reader of the newspaper in 1982 when she entered college. Like other college students of her time, she read it to improve her English. Her purpose, however, has changed since 2012 when she assumed the chair of SIWA's Charity Committee responsible for the annual bazaar to raise money to help those in need.Lee Bock-hee, vice chairperson of Seoul International Women's Association / Courtesy of Lee Bock-heeTo work closely with other SIWA members who are from Korea and around the world, she had to know what was going on not only in the nation but also in the foreign community. Lee became an avid Korea Times reader reading the paper for news, rather than for English. “The Korea Times has long been part of my daily routine,” Lee said during a recent phone interview. “Back in 2012, I looked into SIWA archives to le

Oct 26, 2020By Kang Hyun-kyung

[ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL] Korea Times is part of my life, says avid reader

ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL The Korea Times offers global perspectives for Navy officer

Opinion

What were they fighting for?

By Kang Hyun-kyungBack in the late 1980s, one of my high school classmates made me think about the cause she was then fighting for. She was a student activist taking to the street to protest the then President Chun Doo-hwan who rose to power through a military coup.At that time, people called students like her “undong-kwon,” a member of a student activism ring. In the 1980s, the popular protests were so common that classes were canceled almost every day, particularly in the mid-1980s when the anti-government protests reached their peak. Yes, my friend and I are part of Generation 586, an acronym of the generation in their 50s, who went to college in the 1980s and were born in the 1960s. But the roads we took were very different. She was an activist and I was an observer. Speaking honestly, I was not convinced by Marxism-Leninism, books about class struggles which were then widely read by student protesters to boost their fighting spirit.What intrigued me most was what she was fighting for. My friend has a sister one or two years older than her. Her sister was a sweatshop

Oct 21, 2020By Kang Hyun-kyung

Books

Odd one out in literary circle

Poet Kim Yi-deum / Courtesy of Kim Yi-deum'NTA win tells me it's okay to be different,' says poet By Kang Hyun-kyungKim Yi-deum, whose translated poetry won the 2020 National Translation Award (NTA) of the American Literary Translators' Association (ALTA), considers herself the odd one out in Korean literary circles. Unlike other Korean poets, she said her poetic style is free, crude and decadent. In a society where being different is deemed as something akin to a problem or a flaw, Kim has been compared with other poets who write “decent, ethical” works. Some conservative critics harshly criticize her for her unique writing style. Being undervalued among local critics and domestic readers was one reason why she was so surprised when her poem “Hysteria” was honored by the NTA last Friday.“It was a nice surprise. I was in disbelief,” she told The Korea Times over the phone Friday after winning the award. Her voice and tone still portrayed excitement, although hours had passed since the victorious moment.“I felt like a little girl born out

Oct 20, 2020By Kang Hyun-kyung

Kang Hyun-kyung

Read more

Korean Buddhism: Untold hallyu teetering

'Don't be scared. You're not alone'

Poet shares thought-provoking backstory

Na Hoon-a to hold Christmas Concerts in Seoul, Busan and Daegu

PHOTO Miss Korea winners at Korea Times

Fun-loving Koreans: 1980s-style TV show captivates viewers

Korea's disappearing culture captured in photography

ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL Korea Times is part of my life, says avid reader

What were they fighting for?

Odd one out in literary circle

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