The Korea Times

'Unsold lacquerware are work of art'

Chung Su-wha, the nation’s foremost “chiljang” or master of lacquer paint and painting, poses in this file photo with works he created and are now stored at his workshop in Suyuri, northeastern Seoul. / Courtesy of Chung Su-whaWorking with lacquer sap to create art: Chung Su-whaBy Kim Ji-sooOnly the clear autumn sky and the peak of Mt. Bukhan accent Chung Su-wha’s lacquer paint workshop in northern Seoul. The 20-year-old workshop, known as Jangan Chilgi, sits humbly in Suyuri northeastern Seoul and is all business.Chung, 60, the nation’s foremost “chiljang” or master of lacquer paint and painting, waved to the reporter. The workshop, which looks like it had been converted from a residential space, has a large, main open space where for the past several decades, Chung’s students either sand wash wooden frames for small Korean small tables or large Korean folding screens; a small corner room for storing valuable lacquer tree sap; and an another small corner space where he performs lacquer painting.Chung extracts sap from lacquer trees, tu

Sep 17, 2014By Kim Ji-soo

Shows & Dramas

Branding expert to open lacquerware museum in November

Sohn Hye-won, CEO of Crosspoint, a branding and design company, said that she considers it her mission to reinterpret the traditional Korean lacquerware. She will open a museum dedicated to Korean lacquerware in her gallery/office building near Mt. Nam in Seoul on Nov. 1./ Courtesy of Sohn Hye-wonBranding expert Sohn Hye-won, 59, has a special storage in the basement of her gallery/office situated along the meandering driveway on Mt. Nam, which stands in the center of Seoul.In this space, she stores a roomful of various Korean “najeonchilgi” or traditional lacquerware inlaid with mother-of-pearl, ranging from a closet to boxes and a small Korean table, all kept under a certain temperature and humidity.In the same way that the plants in her terrace “talk” to her, she says, “Once you step in, you can feel the lacquerware talk to you,” said Sohn, as she surveyed the room.Her heart, however, lies in a far smaller room, which she calls her “coffee and prayer room.” The room is located where a large pine tree used to stand, which she has sinc

Sep 10, 2014By Kim Ji-soo

Branding expert to open lacquerware museum in November

Shows & Dramas

Jiro tells youth don't be shy, learn from past

Japanese guitarist Yoshida JiroYoshida Jiro, a jazz guitarist, preaches confidence and patience to young people as they try to find their path in life.“Don’t be shy ... and learn from the past,” Jiro, 56, said in an interview with The Korea Times.Jiro, who is in town for the 5th Culture Communication Forum, said he was initially shy to be among fellow cultural experts at the forum hosted by the Corea Image and Communication Institute.“I was very nervous at first, but I’m glad I came here,” he said, where he had the chance to collaborate with 15 other cultural experts.He added that young people need not rush to find an answer for everything.Jiro, who received a master’s degree from the Berklee College of Music in Boston, has worked with the Joe Chambers Jazz Band and Phyllis Hyman’s group. He served as a musical director for the “Save the Rainforest” documentary, and has created music for television commercials. He said exploring different works of art helped him find new ideas and express his emotions more clearly.Walking ar

Sep 2, 2014By Kim Ji-soo

Jiro tells youth don't be shy, learn from past

Shows & Dramas

'Korea's embrace of tradition, modern suggests alternative'

Catherine Chevillot, director of the Rodin Museum in ParisBy Kim Ji-sooCatherine Chevillot, director of the Rodin Museum in Paris, said if she were to build a museum based on what she has seen so far, “it would have a garden surrounded by buildings that house objects of different periods ... from the middle ages to the contemporary periods, and see what has changed and what has not,”Chevillot, 53, said in an interview with The Korea Times in Seoul, Monday.She is in Korea for the first time to speak at the 5th Culture Communication Forum (CCF) in Seoul.The CCF started on Sunday, with visits to the Dongdaemun Design Plaza, the Leeum, the National Museum of Korea, the Korea Furniture Museum and Hyundai Card Design Lab, followed by the main discussion Tuesday.“I always wondered how Korea fared compared to the giants China and Japan. The curator at the furniture museum said the Japanese sought to miniaturize things, while the Chinese sought to control nature. However, Korea is not like either one; it is in harmony with nature,”she said. “I think we could see

Sep 2, 2014By Kim Ji-soo

'Korea's embrace of tradition, modern suggests alternative'

Shows & Dramas

'Strike balance between old and new'

Former Prime Minister Han Seung-soo, fifth from right in the front row; Choi Jung-wha, fourth from right, president of the Corea Image Communication Institute (CICI); U.S. Ambassador Sung Kim, in the back to Han’s right; and foreign participants and dignitaries pose for a photo at the Westin Chosun Hotel in Seoul, Tuesday, ahead of the fifth Culture Communication Forum. The three-day forum involved 16 foreign experts on culture and communication and tackled the theme “Culture — Mirror and Trigger of Change.” / Courtesy of CICI5th Culture Communication Forum wraps up its Aug. 31-Sept. 2 runBy Kim Ji-sooParticipants at the 5th Culture Communication Forum (CCF) in Seoul agreed Tuesday that culture is a powerful force that enables stronger communications, not only among countries but within them too.The CCF, hosted by the Corea Image Communication Institute (CICI) tackled this year’s theme of “Culture — Mirror and Trigger of Change” on the last day of the three-day forum at the Westin Chosun in downtown Seoul. Choi Jung-wha, presi

Sep 2, 2014By Kim Ji-soo

Lifestyle

Letting sun, wind and water do work

Large round potteries stand under the sun and the wind as soybean lumps in salt and water in them undergo fermentation and maturing into soybean paste and soy sauce at Jookjangyeon in Jookjangmyeon, North Gyeongsang Province. / Courtesy of Jookjangyeon Making paste old-fashioned way in new worldBy Kim Ji-sooJOOKJANGMYEON, North Gyeongsang Province — It’s verdant hill after hill to get to this village located about an hour-and-a-half from Singyeongju Station on the KTX Line. That is to say, after a two-and-half-hour train ride from Seoul.But once you get there, the sun blazes in your eyes and there is only the sound of the warm strong wind riffling through the trees in the valley. It’s a sound of quietness hard to find these days.“This is the end. I guess you can go 100 meters more in but that’s about it,” said Kim Jin-kyu, a deputy section chief in charge of production at Jookjangyeon.Taking the name of the village “Jookjang” and the word “yeon” or nature, Jookjangyeon makes soybean paste, chili pepper paste and so

May 25, 2014By Kim Ji-soo

Lifestyle

Knots keep hold on skill master's life

Shim Young-mi twists and crosses strings to make the dahoe or cord on a tool in her workshop in Gahoe-dong, Seoul. / Courtesy of DongLim Maedeup WorkshopBy Kim Ji-sooThere is a vivid memory of a day in junior high school where I was completely immersed in “maedeup” or Korean knots. The simple technique of twisting and looping a piece of chord lured me in like a cosmic black hole. I was so engrossed that I didn’t notice the teacher noticing and calling me out, and eventually taking away the knot I was working on.I never revisited maedeup because of the public shame.The knots had a similar hold on Shim Young-mi, 68, who stuck to the Korean knots, unlike me.A waist-band that Shim Young-mi recreated based on the relic that was excavated from a grave from a Joseon official named Byeonsu.Spurred on by the practicality, the all-consuming focus it offered to its practitioner and the eventual call for a higher form, she held on to the knots. Her path is akin to that of the traditional art that began as a survival technique in the old days, then a skill for kno

May 20, 2014By Kim Ji-soo

Korean Heritage

'Gye,' mutual aid fund between master, slave

A scene from “The Slave Hunters,” an epic drama series in 2010, which portrays a slave hunter who tracks down a general-turned-runaway slave in the Joseon Kingdom. / Korea Times fileBy Ahn Seung-junAfter going through the Imjin and Manchu wars of 1636, the Joseon Kingdom experienced substantial changes starting from the bottom of society from the late 17th century.The change began with the slave class that took up two-thirds of the population at that time. Many slaves had grievances against Joseon society.As a result, various mutual-aid communities, called “gye” — such as “gumgye,” “saljugye” and “hyangdogye” — were established. Gumgye and saljugye were formed by slaves to do their masters bodily harm with weapons such as swords. Hyangdogye was formed to carry dead bodies and build graves for their members. The members were mostly the lower-class, deeply dissatisfied with society.Struggling through gye communities was an aggressive measure that slaves could take, but they were soon overwhelmed by harsh reali

May 8, 2014By Kim Ji-soo

'Gye,' mutual aid fund between master, slave

Shows & Dramas

'Flower Grandpa Investigators' to air Friday

By Kim Ji-sooThe entertainment program “Grandpas Over Flowers” was almost an unlikely combination for success. Running on cable television tvN, the show with its four veteran Korean actors — Lee Sun-jae, Shin Gu, Baek Il-sup and Park Geun-hyung — and their actor porter Lee Suh-jin has achieved popularity.Naturally, the cable channel, tvN, has decided to create a spin-off program called “Flower Grandpa Investigators.” The new drama brings over Lee Sun-jae from the travel variety show.“Because there are rarely dramas and shows that put the central focus on senior actors, the new program is giving me great energy, so I will do my best to do better than the younger actors here,” said Lee Sun-jae at a press conference at the Press Center in Seoul.He stars along with actors Byun Hee-bong, Jang Gwang and K-pop group Super Junior’s member Kim Hee-chul. The four will play 20-something police officers who, through a mistake, are transformed into 70-something officers with Kim Hee-chul’s character being the only exception. The K-pop st

May 7, 2014By Kim Ji-soo

Shows & Dramas

Male actors take to prime time

Actor Lee Jong-suk, left, plays a genius North Korean defector doctor in the new drama “Dr. Stranger” that airs on SBS. His co-star, Park Hae-jin, right, will star as the rival genius South Korean doctor in the medical/spy drama. / YonhapBy Kim Ji-sooThe “boys” are back; at least on the small screen.The networks and cable television have slowly restarted weekly prime-time dramas where male actors take center stage. It’s a change from the first quarter of 2014, where actresses such as Jun Ji-hyun in “My Love From the Star” and Ha Ji-won of “Empress Ki”reigned in the 10 p.m. prime time drama slot.These dramas were extremely popular, with both averaging in near the 30-percent ratings. In the case of “My Love From the Star,” the heroine Jun Ji-hyun nearly sold out everything she wore on the show, both in clothes and makeup, not only in Korea but most of Asia.So as the second quarter of the year begins, males are taking center stage, as they portray a diverse array of professionals — including doctors, lawye

May 7, 2014By Kim Ji-soo

Kim Ji-soo

Read more

'Unsold lacquerware are work of art'

Branding expert to open lacquerware museum in November

Jiro tells youth don't be shy, learn from past

'Korea's embrace of tradition, modern suggests alternative'

'Strike balance between old and new'

Letting sun, wind and water do work

Knots keep hold on skill master's life

'Gye,' mutual aid fund between master, slave

'Flower Grandpa Investigators' to air Friday

Male actors take to prime time

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