The Korea Times

Linton thanks Korea for recognizing his family

John Linton’s friendly jovial face would instantly calm a patient, but his passion would also engage people in causes that better human rights. Linton poses during an interview with The Korea Times Tuesday at his office at Severance Hospital at Yonsei University, Sinchon, Seoul./ Korea Times photos by Choi Won-sukBy Kim Ji-sooJohn Linton, 55, calls himself a “Jeollado” or Jeolla Province person. The southwestern region was once known for political oppression and lesser development compared to other regions in South Korea. It is the home of the Gwangju Democracy movement, the late former president and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Kim Dae-jung. But for Linton’s family, it has been home since his great-grandfather’s days.Linton, director of the Severance Hospital International Health Care Center at Yonsei University in Sinchon, now lives in Seoul where he works.“When I say I am a Jeollado person, it means that I value equality, a fair society, and upholding the integrity of the marginalized and the weak,” Linton told The Korea Times.Linton’s

Dec 28, 2014By Kim Ji-soo

Linton thanks Korea for recognizing his family

Shows & Dramas

A behind-the-scenes look at veteran entertainer Song Hae's life

Veteran entertainer Song Hae sticks out his tongue upon request from the photographer after an interview with The Korea Times held last week in Seoul. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulVeteran emcee talks about music, people, programBy Kim Ji-sooSong Hae may be known for his long-standing career as the host of the “National Song Contest,” but there is much more to the 87-year-old’s life than what we see on stage.Song fled the North during the 1950-1953 Korean War and settled in Seoul in the South. This move rendered him rootless and without family or relatives, and meant that he never planned for more than three years at a time.“I am what you call a ‘38 ttaraji,’” he said. The number refers to the military demarcation line dividing the two Koreas and the word “ttaraji” means wretched life.“So I learned to live it that way,” he said, sitting at an office for the association of elderly entertainments on off-Jong-no street in downtown Seoul.In a way, Song was a sojourner in the South and his role as emcee of the &ldquo

Dec 24, 2014By Kim Ji-soo

A behind-the-scenes look at veteran entertainer Song Hae's life

Korea's oldest celeb to host singing contest to mark 70 years on stage

Shows & Dramas

Museum director says Koreans should re-learn their traditions

The compounds of the Korea Furniture Museum in Seongbuk-dong, Seoul/ Korea Times photos by Shim Hyun-chulBy Kim Ji-soo“Thank you so much for showing me the refined beauty of Korean culture ... This is what Chinese President Xi Jinping told me personally” after dining at the Korea Furniture Museum in July, the director Chyung Mi-sook said Monday.“Hanok is pretty and comfortable come rain or shine. That is its value,” Chyung said, adding that it’s a value that’s been forgotten or misunderstood.Chyung Mi-sook, director of the Korea Furniture Museum, looks out from the court-style hanok in the Korea Furniture Museum, where PresidentPark Geun-hye and Chinese Xi Jinping lunched this summer.The wet snow transformed the hanok on the museum’s compound into a postcard image as this reporter interviewed Chyung for The Korea Times. She said she wanted people to visit in order to “open  their minds aesthetically after experiencing our culture.”Watching the snow fall on the wooden edifice and seeing the low-lying stone walls gracefully giv

Dec 17, 2014By Kim Ji-soo

Museum director says Koreans should re-learn their traditions

Shows & Dramas

Artisan Jung Yun-suk, born in heart of 'onggi'

The hands of Jung Yun-suk, artisan of “onggi’ or traditional Korean earthenware. Here Jung is making finishing designs on the onggi he completed forming. / Courtesy of Jung Yun-sukGANGJIN, South Jeolla Province — The coastal road along Gangjin leading to Jung Yun-suk’s workshop was deserted; the only sound coming from the strong wind, the sound of dogs barking and the cows. But it wasn’t always this way for the one-time hub of “onggi” or traditional Korean earthenware.Jung remembers how the town used to be.“When I was in elementary school, there were onggi here and there. Everybody in the town was involved in earthenware-making,” the 73-year-old said.“My father and grandfather, my in-laws, everyone,” Jung said as he worked with his two sons inside a surprisingly warm workshop.The entire neighborhood used to produce traditional Korean earthenware — the somewhat crude-looking crock used to store fermented food, paste and sauces. Koreans are believed to have been eating fermented food since the days of the Goguryeo

Dec 14, 2014By Kim Ji-soo

Artisan Jung Yun-suk, born in heart of 'onggi'

Shows & Dramas

Shin Kyung-sook revisits autobiographical book in English, 20 years later

Writer Shin Kyung-sook poses in this file photo. Her 1995 novel will be published as “The Girl Who Wrote Loneliness” in the United States next fall, her third English book since the first one “Please Look After Mom” received rave reviews in 2011. / Courtesy of Shin Kyung-sookBy Kim Ji-sooAs a writer, Shin Kyung-sook has gained the admiration of readers both in Korea and across the world. It was the second time this reporter got to interview the Seoul-based writer who over three decades has solidified herself as a leading literary figure. She seemed more at ease this time, and prone to chuckling.When asked whether she was courageous to have written a novel modeled after her younger self and then revisit it in English 20 years later, she replied: “Courageous? I think writers are shy if anything.”In “The Girl Who Wrote Loneliness,” the speaker lives along with her older brother and a cousin in one of the unnumbered rooms in a beehive-like edifice in the Guro Industrial Complex in Seoul. There she works with other girls in late teens a

Dec 5, 2014By Kim Ji-soo

Shin Kyung-sook revisits autobiographical book in English, 20 years later

Shows & Dramas

Lee Hye-soon holds onto hanbok tradition

Hanbok designer Lee Hye-soon pose works with the materials in this file photo taken at her shop Damyeon in Cheongdam-dong, Seoul. / Courtesy of Lee Hye-soonBy Kim Ji-sooSitting in her chair at her hanbok shop in Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul, Lee Hye-soon cuts a rotund triangle from her handmade hanbok consisting of white “jeogori” or traditional Korean upper jacket and a deep blue skirt. The absence of creases on her dress conveys an image of calm.“The Korean hanbok is the result of women who are not loquacious,” Lee said.Lee, 54, is a hanbok designer who wants modern Koreans to reacquaint themselves with the elegant and beautiful yet pragmatic hanbok that their ancestors used.Lee Hye-soon’s hand at work on the inner tie; and the stacks of silk material she has at her shop in Seoul. / Courtesy of Lee Hye-soon“Hanbok are designed based on a flat dimension, which the human body is not. Unlike Western clothing, which cuts out material according to the lines of the human body to accentuate, hanbok leaves it, and thus, wearing hanbok is the art of adj

Nov 30, 2014By Kim Ji-soo

Lee Hye-soon holds onto hanbok tradition

Shows & Dramas

Artisan reveals secret to playing Korean zither

Courtesy of Lee Young-heeBy Kim Ji-sooFriday nights in Korea are referred to as “bulgeum” or “burning Fridays,” as people gather usually in bars to wash away the week’s stress.But one Friday night, on Nov 21., some people chose to relieve their stress in a different way. They gathered at a traditional cultural center in Samseong-dong to watch Lee Young-hee, 77, calm the night with her soulful solo stage performance of the “gayageum sanjo” or scattered melodies on a “gayageum” or 12-string Korean zither.On the stage alone, Lee was a picture of poise, strength and elegance as she performed the “jinyangjo” or the slow rhythm and the “jungmori” or the fast one. As she plucked, flicked and dragged the strings with her right hand, sometimes pushing the strings either lightly or heavily with her left hand, her gayageum’s melodies seemed to whisk the listeners away. Her sense of rhythm was strong, making the listener’s head rock with it. Her “students” or those who will carry on her legacy j

Nov 26, 2014By Kim Ji-soo

Artisan reveals secret to playing Korean zither

Shows & Dramas

Using wood, silk to produce traditional sound

Go Heung-gon, 63, Important Intangible Cultural Asset No. 42 in traditional music instrument making, put together the “haegeum” or two-stringed traditional instrument in this file photo. / Courtesy of Go Heung-gonBy Kim Ji-sooGo Heung-gon was busy winding silk threads to make a batch of 12 that he would need for the “gayageum” or 12-stringed Korean zither. He worked constantly, even as he answered the phone, received guests and talked at his workshop in Seocho-dong, southern Seoul.When more nylon-wrapped steel and brass strings are used in modern-day gayageum, Go keeps on to the traditional method.“The (silk) strings are responsible for the clear sound,” he said.Because he worked non-stop, one is naturally drawn to watch his hands that have done this task for 40-plus years; and you notice one hand is just as big as his face. When you mention this, he goes, “Ah...because I guess I did so much work with my hands,” chuckling a bit.Go works on the strings for the “gayageum” or a 12-string Korean zither in this file photo. T

Nov 16, 2014By Kim Ji-soo

Using wood, silk to produce traditional sound

Shows & Dramas

Passing on 'samhae yakju' court wine

Kwon Hee-ja, No. 8 master of “samhae” rice wine makes a batch of raw alcohol in this file photo. She will hold a demonstration of how to make the samhae yakju at the Seoul History Museum Saturday. / Courtesy of Kwon Hee-jaMaster Kwon Hee-ja of clear rice wine to demonstrate on Nov. 15By Kim Ji-sooThe popularity of traditional Korean liquor such as “makgeolli” or soju has prompted interest in Korean traditional drinks. So much so, that Kwon Hee-ja now has more seekers — both Korean and foreign — coming to learn the secret of her family’s beverage, samhae yajku.It’s a good thing because Kwon doesn’t mass produce the family’s 500-year-long secret to brewing the clear rice wine, although word of mouth about its elegant taste got around and the government followed on this ahead of the 1988 Seoul Olympics. She hasn’t branched out like artisans in other traditional drinks because it requires a permit and the personnel to do it on a large scale.Since she was designated as a cultural asset for the Seoul Metropolitan Govern

Nov 12, 2014By Kim Ji-soo

Shows & Dramas

Noble, street food mix in Hollywood

Korean “ssambap” or rice wrapped in vegetables in small-sized “onggi” or traditional Korean earthenware are flanked by spoons with plums prepared in molecular gastronomy method.By Vivian HanHOLLYWOOD — I have two wonderful friends in the United States. Nam Sujin is a composer who has produced music for “Spiderman 2,” “Spiderman 3,” “Grudge” and other popular movies. She is one of the leading movie music composers in Hollywood. YoungSong Martin is one of most popular event designers who has worked for celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey and Michelle Obama. She is a big name in Hollywood and was the creator of the wedding scene in the wood for “Twilight: Breaking Dawn.”Last year, Nam created an event she calls “Hollywood’s Music Night.” She decided to set it up because of the many young talented performers in Hollywood who don’t have the opportunity to meet famous composers to showcase their talent. This year’s event was more special because our dear friend Martin, CEO of Wildflowe

Nov 5, 2014By Kim Ji-soo

Kim Ji-soo

Read more

Linton thanks Korea for recognizing his family

A behind-the-scenes look at veteran entertainer Song Hae's life

Museum director says Koreans should re-learn their traditions

Artisan Jung Yun-suk, born in heart of 'onggi'

Shin Kyung-sook revisits autobiographical book in English, 20 years later

Lee Hye-soon holds onto hanbok tradition

Artisan reveals secret to playing Korean zither

Using wood, silk to produce traditional sound

Passing on 'samhae yakju' court wine

Noble, street food mix in Hollywood

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