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Park Ji-won

Korea Times Politics & City Reporter

Park Ji-won is a writer for The Korea Times who has been covering a wide range of topics from Korea’s culture to its politics. An avid journalism enthusiast to the core, Ji-won brings a thoughtful and unique perspective to every topic she covers. On weekends, you'll often find her contemplating life’s purpose on a yoga mat — with a cup of quality tea in hand. A native Korean speaker by birth and fluent in English through her work, she went to college in Japan and is learning Chinese and French — hoping to add Polish, Russian and Thai to the mix.

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Arts & Theater

Monthly ticket sales for theater performances recover to pre-pandemic levels

Jaap van Zweden, the Dutch music director of both the Hong Kong Philharmonic and the New York Philharmonic orchestras enters the stage for a performance with the KBS Symphony Orchestra at the Seoul Arts Center, Oct. 29. Korea Times photo by Jang Jae-jinBy Park Ji-wonAggregate ticket sales for musicals, plays, classical concerts and other performances reached 30.3 billion won ($25.7 billion) in October, according to the data from the Korea Performing Arts Box Office Information System (KOPIS), for the first time in about 21 months, since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.Monthly revenue had been on a steady decline since January last year when it reached 40.5 billion won ― it amounted to 20.9 billion won in February and 9.1 billion won in March of 2020. Monthly revenue fell to its lowest level in January this year, recording 3.7 billion won. However, except for July and August, when the number of infections soared, revenue has been showing a rebound, as many learned that there were many infections at theaters.Sales are likely to rise further as most shows have been ready to welco

Nov 9, 2021By Park Ji-won
Monthly ticket sales for theater performances recover to pre-pandemic levels
Trends

Criteria for designating treasures set to change

Heunginjimun Gate, Treasure No. 1 / Korea Times fileBy Park Ji-wonThe criteria for selecting treasures for government-recognized status will be redefined starting from Nov. 19.The Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) said it partially revised the rules on designation of treasures and national treasures under the Cultural Heritage Protection Act, which was enacted in January 1962. Currently, the law stipulates that items can be designated as treasures if they have at least one of the “historic, artistic or academic” values, but more details are being added to help quantify these criteria.“UNESCO considers authenticity of cultural and natural heritages as well as detailed values in evaluating their addition to its World Heritage List. World Heritage inscription can be achieved with backing by the law and management policy … So far, the criteria of designating a treasure have been vague despite the international trend of detailing the criteria,” the CHA said in a press release.“We expect the revision will better inform the people of the designation

Nov 9, 2021By Park Ji-won
Criteria for designating treasures set to change
Music

US violinist Karisa Chiu wins ISANGYUN Competition

Violinist Karisa Chiu performs during ISANGYUN Competition 2021 held from Oct. 30 to Nov. 7 at Tongyeong Concert Hall, South Gyeongsang Province, Saturday. Courtesy of Tongyeong International Music FoundationBy Park Ji-wonPoster for the competition “ISANGYUN Competition” / Courtesy of Tongyeong International Music FoundationTongyeong International Music Foundation (TIMF) said its jury selected violinist Karisa Chiu from the United States as the winner of the ISANGYUN Competition 2021 in South Gyeongsang Province, Saturday.The violinist played Brahms's “Violin Concerto” with the Tongyeong Festival Orchestra conducted by Dmitry Sitkovetsky. She will receive 30 million won in prize money ($25,391) and a chance to perform during the Korean Orchestra Festival.The second prize went to Jeong Ju-eun and the third prize went to Kang Na-kyung both from Korea.“As the chairperson of the ISANGYUN Competition 2021, I was pleased to listen to the unique performances by the outstanding young musicians who radiated their brilliant youth through music in the great concert

Nov 7, 2021By Park Ji-won
US violinist Karisa Chiu wins ISANGYUN Competition
Trends

19th-century pavilion in Korean royal palace restored by artisans

Seen is the Hyangwonjeong Pavilion, a two-level hexagonal construction on the 4,605 square-meter Hyangwonji Pond within the Gyeongbokgung Palace, northern Seoul, Friday. The pavilion was restored over the last three years by Royal Palaces and Tombs Division of the Cultural Heritage Administration. YonhapBy Park Ji-wonThere is a mysterious pavilion in the back garden of Gyeongbok Palace located in north-central Seoul that originally nobody knew when exactly it was built. Named the Hyangwonjeong Pavilion, literally meaning “the pavilion where the fragrance spreads afar,” the two-level hexagonal construction was thought to have been built in the 4,605 square-meter Hyangwonji Pond between 1867 and 1873 during the period of King Gojong (1863-1907), the last king of the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910). According to oral and written historic records, or “the Diaries of the Royal Secretariat” where the name of the pavilion first appeared ― without the exact dates of its construction ― it was designed for the relaxation of the royal family.However, during a three-year proje

Nov 7, 2021By Park Ji-won
19th-century pavilion in Korean royal palace restored by artisans
Arts & Theater

Early Joseon-era metal movable type blocks unveiled to public

Movable metal type print blocks are on display at the National Palace Museum of Korea, Tuesday. YonhapBy Park Ji-wonUp to 1,755 excavated artifacts, including the oldest existing movable metal type print blocks made in the Joseon era (1392-1910), at around 1434, will be unveiled to the public in the National Palace Museum of Korea.In the exhibition, titled “Encounter with the Brilliant Scientific Technology of the Joseon Dynasty” which will run until Dec. 31, the museum will present up to 1,632 metal print blocks bearing Hangeul and classical Chinese characters, unearthed during an archaeological excavation at a redevelopment site in Insa-dong between March and June. According to the museum, 48 of the print blocks bearing classical Chinese characters known as “Gabin-ja” were made in 1434 under King Sejong, predating Johannes Gutenberg's metal movable-type printing press, introduced in Europe in the 1450s, by about 16 years. There are also 42 print blocks carrying “Eulhae-ja” classical Chinese characters made in 1455 under King Sejo, and 214 “

Nov 3, 2021By Park Ji-won
Early Joseon-era metal movable type blocks unveiled to public
Music

David Reiland appointed artistic director of Korean Symphony Orchestra

Belgian conductor David Reiland, the newly appointed artistic director of the Korean Symphony Orchestra (KSO) / Courtesy of KSO By Park Ji-wonThe Korean Symphony Orchestra (KSO) appointed Belgian conductor David Reiland as its seventh artistic director, replacing outgoing Chung Chi-yong and serving starting from January 2022 for the next three years, the orchestra said.Born in Belgium, the new director majored in conducting and composing at the Royal Academy of Music in Brussels, the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris and the Mozarteum University in Salzburg, Austria. He served as associate conductor for the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment of London. Since 2018, he has been serving as music director of the Orchestre National de Metz and the Sinfonietta Lausanne while serving as principal guest conductor at the Munich Symphony Orchestra and leading the Dusseldorf Symphony Orchestra as a guest conductor with the title “Schumann Guest.”Reiland worked with the Kore

Nov 2, 2021By Park Ji-won
David Reiland appointed artistic director of Korean Symphony Orchestra
Foreign Affairs

'Symbol of citizen diplomacy' Dr. Billy Kim wins award

Dr. Billy Kim, left, the chairman of Far East Broadcasting Company Korea (FEBC-Korea), poses after winning the International Affairs Award given by the non-profit, the Seoul Forum, at the Far East Art Hall in Seoul, Friday. Courtesy of FEBC-KoreaBy Park Ji-wonDr. Billy Kim, the chairman of the Far East Broadcasting Company Korea (FEBC-Korea), received an annual diplomacy award in Seoul, Friday, for his role in enhancing Korea's image via cultural and aid activities in the United States and other countries.Kim, also known as Pastor Kim Jang-hwan, won the 13th YoungSan Diplomat Award, which the non-profit, the Seoul Forum for International Affairs, awards to a civilian or public official each year for their contribution to Korea's diplomatic interests.Last year, Choi Sung-jae, interpreter for director Bong Joon-ho during the campaign for the Oscar-winning film, "Parasite” and Kang Hyung-sik, head of the foreign ministry's international safety management bureau, also received the annual diplomacy award for their roles in boosting Korea's national image.FEBC-Korea said that the 87-

Nov 2, 2021By Park Ji-won
'Symbol of citizen diplomacy' Dr. Billy Kim wins award
Arts & Theater

State-run theater company launches online streaming platform

Kim Kwang-bo, artistic director of the National Theater Company of Korea (NTCK), and other participants at an opening event for the company's new streaming platform, Online Theater, watch a projected video at its Myeongdong Theater in Seoul, Monday. Courtesy of NTCKBy Park Ji-wonPoster for “Online Theater” by the National Theater Company of Korea (NTCK) / Courtesy of NTCKThe National Theater Company of Korea (NTCK) has opened a streaming service platform, Online Theater, to reach out to a broader audience including the disabled. Its artistic director said Monday that NTCK aims to mimic the U.K.'s National Theater Live, which broadcasts via satellite live performances of its productions to cinemas and arts centers around the world.The platform opened at 2:00 p.m. showcasing five plays performed between 2020 and 2021 including “Faust Ending,” “The Tragedy of X,” “The Orphan of Zhao: Seeds of Revenge” and “Scapin.” They all include subtitles, while some, such as “Scapin,” provide voice explanations for the blind and

Nov 1, 2021By Park Ji-won
State-run theater company launches online streaming platform
Arts & Theater

Korea's oldest combat techniques text to become national treasure

Pages from “Muyejebo,” Korea's oldest text of combat techniques published in 1598 / Courtesy of Cultural Heritage AdministrationPages from “Muyejebo,” Korea's oldest text of combat techniques published in 1598 / Courtesy of Cultural Heritage AdministrationBy Park Ji-wonKorea's oldest-known fighting arts manual, titled “Muyejebo,” published in 1598 to train soldiers of the 1392-1910 Joseon Kingdom in armed combat techniques, is among seven cultural heritage items to be newly added to the list of state-recognized treasures, the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) said Friday.The CHA said “Muyejebo” is a manual published by Hangyo of Hunryeondogam, Joseon's military training office, under King Seonjo's order following the 1592-98 Japanese invasions of Korea, as a training guide designed for Korea's warriors. The author describes six close-range combat skills and ways to make weapons, many of which were compiled from “Jixiao Xinshu” a military manual of the Chinese Ming Dynasty, with illustrations.It specifically shows how to

Oct 30, 2021By Park Ji-won
Korea's oldest combat techniques text to become national treasure
Music

Cellist Han Jae-min wins third prize at Geneva International Music Competition

Cellist Han Jae-min / Courtesy of Pie PlansBy Park Ji-wonCellist Han Jae-min, 15, has won third prize at the 75th Geneva International Music Competition, Switzerland, Thursday (CET). It was the first time for a Korean cellist to win an award in the competition in about 50 years, since cellist Chung Myung-wha won first prize in 1971, the Kumho Cultural Foundation said.Founded in 1939, the international competition has been held for musicians under the age of 29 for various instruments including cello, oboe, piano, flute, and voice. Also a string quartet category and a composers' category have been categories of the competition. This year, the competition for the categories of cello and oboe were held. The competition for the same category is held every four years. In addition to the third prize, Han was also awarded the special Rose-Marie Huguenin prize.Japanese cellist Michiaki Ueno, 25, and Canadian Bryan Cheng, 24, won the first and second prizes, respectively. Han played Elgar's “Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85,” accompanied by the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, co

Oct 29, 2021By Park Ji-won
Cellist Han Jae-min wins third prize at Geneva International Music Competition
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