my timesThe Korea Times
jwpark

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.

Go to Email

Read more

Music

INTERVIEW How conductor Chin Sol found her niche in game soundtrack concerts

Conductor Chin Sol / Courtesy of FlasicPioneer of live game music concert shares her thoughts on music, businessBy Park Ji-wonPoster for “StarCraft Live Concert: Encore” / Courtesy of FlasicIn August 2019, a rare live classical concert was held at the Sejong Center for The Performing Arts. Titled “StarCraft Live Concert,” conducted by Chin Sol, an orchestra and a band specially formed for the concert played soundtracks works from StarCraft, Blizzard Entertainment's highly popular real-time strategy game released in 1998. They played the theme songs of the game itself and those of its three combatant groups: Terran, Protoss and Zerg.Unlike many other concerts which have a predominantly female audience, the show's audiences were mostly men; Interpark, a ticket reservation market said more than 90 percent of the audience were men, proving the popularity of the game was predominantly among male gamers here. Concertgoers were excited about the familiar, but beautifully “classicized” game music, and have been calling for an encore concert ever since. The

Aug 18, 2021By Park Ji-won
[INTERVIEW] How conductor Chin Sol found her niche in game soundtrack concerts
Trends

'Number of churchgoers may decline by 26.5% after COVID-19 pandemic': survey

gettyimagesbankBy Park Ji-won“I used to go to church with my parents, which could be a nightmare from time to time, as I didn't have an excuse to decline attending. But after the spread of the infectious disease, the church had to shut down several times and opened a streaming session every Sunday,” a 34-year-old churchgoer said. “I believe in God and participate in online services but I don't go to church anymore.”Most Korean Protestants are satisfied with participating in online church services, while their communities think it is inevitable to see a decline in the numbers of worshippers after the pandemic, a recent survey showed.The survey conducted on over 891 pastors and 1,000 churchgoers from June 17 to 30 by the Presbyterian Church of Korea (yesjang), Ministry Data Institute and Christianity Media Forum of Korea showed that 83.2 percent of churchgoers are satisfied with the online sessions, compared to 89.4 percent who said they like attending church offline.“Given the fact that more than 80 percent of churchgoers are satisfied with online service

Aug 16, 2021By Park Ji-won
'Number of churchgoers may decline by 26.5% after COVID-19 pandemic': survey
Arts & Theater

Kim Gui-line, pioneer of monochrome painting, dies at 85

Monochrome painter Kim Gui-line / Courtesy of Gallery HyundaiBy Park Ji-wonMonochrome painter Kim Gui-line, a pioneer of monochrome painting in Korea, has died in Paris, France, Friday, local time. He was 85. Born in 1936 in Kowon, South Hamgyong Province, part of present-day North Korea, Kim studied French at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies and moved to France in 1961 to focus his studies on French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupery.While struggling with language differences and studying art history at Dijon University, he taught himself painting. He held his first solo exhibition in Dijon in 1965. He also attended Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts from 1965 to 1968 and studied under French artist Roger Chastel, earning his BFA at Ecole Nationale Superieure des Arts Decoratifs in 1971. “Untitled” (1967) by Kim Gui-line / Courtesy of Gallery HyundaiHis early works in the 1960s are inspired by his dreams from when he was young. In his works from the mid- to late 1960s, he used five colors ― black, white, red, yellow and green ― commonly used in Korean traditional motifs. &l

Aug 15, 2021By Park Ji-won
Kim Gui-line, pioneer of monochrome painting, dies at 85
Arts & Theater

Ballet explores independence fighter's last moments

The ballet “Ahn Jung Geun, a Dance in the Heaven” is performed at the Seoul Arts Center during a press event, Wednesday. YonhapBy Park Ji-wonPoster for the ballet “Ahn Jung Geun, a Dance in the Heaven” / Courtesy of the Seoul Arts Center“I will dance and shout hurrah when I hear the news of Korea's independence in heaven,” independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun said right before he was executed at Lushun Prison in March 1910 for assassinating Hirobumi Ito ― a former four-term prime minister of Japan and the first resident-general of Korea while it was a protectorate of the Empire of Japan ― at China's Harbin Railway Station in October 1909. Ahn's life and his last moments have been adapted into films, musicals and plays, but there have not been many dance performances about the national hero.The ballet performance “Ahn Jung Geun, a Dance in the Heaven,” which was choreographed in 2015 by Moon Byung-nam, head of M Ballet Company, was inspired by Ahn's last words. The dance, centering on human agony and the hero's growth, will be performed to

Aug 13, 2021By Park Ji-won
Ballet explores independence fighter's last moments
Trends

Traditional Korean herbalists, a unique profession facing extinction

Ryu Hwang-rim, a traditional Korean herbalist, carefully measures and combines herbal ingredients for medicines in his shop, Hwangjungwon Traditional Korean Medicine, in Wonju, Gangwon Province, on Monday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulBy Park Ji-wonReaders who have watched Korean dramas that portray the Joseon era (1392-1910), such as “Dae Jang Geum,” may have seen scenes in which doctors practiced acupuncture and gave sick people herbal medicine.Even now, Korean people, especially those who cannot find cures for their ailments in modern Western medicine, often rely on going to traditional Korean herbal medicine shops ― known as “hanyakbang” in Korean ― to buy herbal medicines such as decoctions (boiled down concentrated extracts), powdered medicines and tablets, to restore their energy and eliminate illnesses.The Japanese colonial government attempted to eradicate the traditional Korean medicine system and introduce the Western medicine system into Korea during the Japanese occupation of Korea (1910-1945), which ended up reducing the number of experts a

Aug 12, 2021By Park Ji-won
Traditional Korean herbalists, a unique profession facing extinction
Arts & Theater

Seoul Arts Center to launch summer classical music festival

Yoo In-taek, president of the Seoul Arts Center, speaks during a press conference for the upcoming 2021 Summer Music Festival, for which up to 13 classical music groups will participate in relay performances at the art complex from Aug. 27 to 29. Courtesy of Seoul Arts CenterBy Park Ji-wonPoster for 2021 Summer Music Festival / Courtesy of Seoul Arts CenterThe Seoul Arts Center (SAC) will launch the 2021 Summer Music Festival, with up to 13 Korean classical music groups participating in relay performances at the art complex from Aug. 27 to 29. Under the theme “New Hope,” the SAC joined hands with the Performing Arts Management Association of Korea to provide more opportunities to pandemic-hit classical musicians so that they can be spotted by international classical music labels.Conductor Lee Seung-won, who is also a tenured professor of viola at the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig in Germany, will open and close the event with the SAC Festival orchestra. A number of Korean performers active overseas in the classical music scene, such as Bavarian Radio Symphony Or

Aug 11, 2021By Park Ji-won
Seoul Arts Center to launch summer classical music festival
Trends

World Heritage Festival set to present value of Korean heritage from Aug. 13

Baekje Historic Areas in Gongju, South Chungcheong Province / Courtesy of Cultural Heritage AdministrationBy Park Ji-wonMany know of the UNESCO World Heritage List, but far fewer are aware of the value of the UNESCO-recognized sites themselves. To showcase the power of the nation's diverse cultural assets and foster awareness of the importance of preserving them, the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) and the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation last year launched the World Heritage Festival, an annual event to promote UNESCO World Heritage-designated cultural and natural assets in Korea. The festival is intended to help domestic tourists and especially foreign visitors to fully enjoy the beauty of Korean culture through cultural events, such as exhibitions, performances and tourism programs at or around the sites.“The World Heritage Festival was launched last year to share the brilliant and universal value of Korea's UNESCO World Heritage Sites with people from all over the world. We have been through difficult times due to COVID-19, but it was worth trying in terms of sprea

Aug 9, 2021By Park Ji-won
World Heritage Festival set to present value of Korean heritage from Aug. 13
Arts & Theater

Play featuring Seoulites' daily lives to be performed in September

The poster for the play, “Ten Million Cities,” by the Seoul Metropolitan Theatre / Seoul Metropolitan Theatre By Park Ji-wonThe play “Ten Million Cities” will spotlight the diversity in Seoul residents' lives, during its run at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts from Sept. 3 to 19. Directed by Park Hae-seong and written by Jeon Sung-hyun, the play focuses on reflecting a wide range of experiences in Seoulites' everyday lives. Therefore, instead of having a lead role and a central storyline, it stages 47 scenes with a variety of characters and situations that can be encountered on a daily basis. The play, run by Seoul Metropolitan Theatre, a theater troupe at the Sejong Center, also features characters that cannot be categorized according to age, gender, nationality or disability, while adding spice to the show via the music of music director and composer Kayip. The scenes, for example, include a resident walking their dog, a customer buying a ticket and peopl

Aug 6, 2021By Park Ji-won
Play featuring Seoulites' daily lives to be performed in September
Arts & Theater

Nat'l Theater to unveil free online lectures on traditional performing arts

Seen is a still image from the National Theater of Korea (NTOK) lecture series “Let's Gugak” on YouTube. Courtesy of NTOKBy Park Ji-wonThe National Theater of Korea (NTOK) will unveil its lecture video series “Let's Gugak II” on YouTube in three foreign languages on Aug. 12, as part of its efforts to promote the Korean traditional performing arts to non-Koreans.As a follow-up to the first “Let's Gugak” series released in January, the NTOK will release a video each Thursday for nine weeks in three different categories of traditional performing arts: samul-janggu (hourglass-shaped drum), pansori (traditional narrative vocal style) and Korean traditional dance. In each video, the members of the NTOK and experts will provide basic and practice videos of each traditional art form with English, Chinese and Japanese subtitles. The first batch of nine videos from January had subtitles in English only. In samul-janggu, viewers can learn how to read a score and about the onomatopoeic words for rhythms as well as how to use drumsticks. In pansori, viewers can

Aug 4, 2021By Park Ji-won
Nat'l Theater to unveil free online lectures on traditional performing arts
Arts & Theater

Forthcoming ChangMu dance festival to explore world hit by COVID-19 pandemic

Seoul Gyobang's “Yul” / Courtesy of ChangMu Performing Arts FestivalBy Park Ji-wonThe 27th ChangMu Performing Arts Festival will present 13 contemporary performances by local dance companies at the ARKO Arts Theater and Gangdong Arts Center from Aug. 25 to 29. Themed, “The width of the world, the depth of the perspective,” the five-day festival aims to explore our feelings on living amid the COVID-19 pandemic through the eyes of performing artists and dance performances.The ChangMu International Performing Arts Festival was launched back in 1993 by the ChangMu Arts Center, with the aim of promoting artistic exchanges among performing artists and performing arts companies from different regions and countries. The dance festival has especially highlighted works by Asian choreographers who combine traditional culture with contemporary styles.The festival has previously introduced choreographed performances from abroad to Korean audiences. However, due to the spread of COVID-19, it decided not to invite international dance companies this year, and instead organize

Aug 3, 2021By Park Ji-won
Forthcoming ChangMu dance festival to explore world hit by COVID-19 pandemic
previous page
2526272829
next page

Top 5 stories

Korea Times
About Us
Introduction
History
Contact Us
Products & Services
Subscribe
E-paper
RSS Service
Content Sales
Site Map
Policy
Code of Ethics
Ombudsman
Privacy Policy
Youth Protection Policy
Terms of Service
Copyright Policy
Family Site
Hankookilbo
Dongwha Group
FacebookXYoutubeInstagram
CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.