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Kwon Mee-yoo

Korea Times Politics & City Reporter

Often found at theaters and museums, Kwon Mee-yoo has covered a wide range of cultural fields from K-pop and dramas to theater and fine art for over a decade. Now as K-Culture Desk editor, she tries to connect Korean culture with global readers through fresh perspectives.

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Arts & Theater

Social distancing pits performing artists against Seoul mayor

A healthcare worker conducts disinfection operations at the Dream Theater in central Seoul in this Feb. 6 file photo. YonhapBy Kwon Mee-yooAll sectors are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the cultural sector is one of the industries that has been hit the hardest. While theater is an artistic activity, it also is an economic activity for actors and their support crew.According to the Korea Performing Arts Box Office Information System (KOPIS), total sales for March dropped sharply to 8.7 billion won as of Monday from 40.4 billion won in January, which is usually the slowest month. Most state-run theaters have closed, canceled or postponed scheduled performances. However, some shows decided to go on as the livelihoods of actors and crews are at stake.The musical "Laundry," one of the long-running Korean musicals at Seoul's small theater district, Daehangno, closed their 23rd production early due to the recent COVID-19 outbreak. It canceled all performances in March and April, but planned to stage one last show on Saturday as a goodbye. On Friday, the show's production company CH

Mar 30, 2020By Kwon Mee-yoo
Social distancing pits performing artists against Seoul mayor
Entertainment

Photographer Park Young-sook traces 'witches' on Jeju Island

By Kwon Mee-yoo Park Young-sook, 79, is one of the earliest feminist artists in Korea. In spite of her age, the artist continues to refresh her artistic desire, finding challenges that she has never done before. At her latest exhibition "Tears of a Shadow" at Arario Gallery Seoul, Park unveiled a namesake series of photos taken in Gotjawal Forest on Jeju Island, in which she eliminated human figures for the first time. Park is best known for her portrait work including the "Mad Women Project," in which she questions social suppression of the female body and identifies an irrational sexual power structure. She has been raising political issues on women's rights since the 1980s, but she decided to remove people from her pictures this time. "This is the first time for me not to take pictures of people. However, this series is not landscape pictures either. I hope the viewers would agree on that,” Park said during a press preview at the gallery, Wednesday. "Tears of a Shadow" captures a variety of objects in the undisturbed forest and the artist said she tried to capture traces of witch

Mar 29, 2020By Kwon Mee-yoo
Photographer Park Young-sook traces 'witches' on Jeju Island
Music

Yun Ho-gen, director of National Opera, steps down

Reinstated artistic director bids normalization in farewellBy Kwon Mee-yooYun Ho-gen / Korea Times fileYun Ho-gen, one of the Korea National Opera (KNO)'s artistic directors who recently returned to his post upon a court's order, voluntarily resigned to prevent further confusion within the organization. Yun had a farewell ceremony Tuesday and said he would return to the life of an artist. "I am very sorry that the status of the opera is damaged by conflicts of interest. I sincerely hope that the KNO can return to normalcy soon and strive only for presenting the best performance for audiences," Yun said at the ceremony.Yun, former artistic director of KNO, was dismissed by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in May 2019 over allegations of unfair hiring practices in 2018. However, Yun denied the allegations and filed a lawsuit against the ministry.The Seoul Administrative Court ruled in favor of Yun on March 6, which nullified the culture ministry's dismissal and returned Yun to his position as the KNO's head. The court's decision put the KNO in an awkward situation as Park Hy

Mar 25, 2020By Kwon Mee-yoo
Yun Ho-gen, director of National Opera, steps down
Arts & Theater

Deoksu Palace introduces AR service

A screen captured from “AR Deoksugung” / Courtesy of Cultural Heritage AdministrationBy Kwon Mee-yooDeoksu Palace, one of the royal palaces of 1392-1910 Joseon Kingdom, in the heart of Seoul, will be available for a handy visit through an augmented reality (AR) service. The Deoksugung Palace Management Office and SK Telecom co-developed "AR Deoksugung,” the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) announced Tuesday. The service is part of SK Telecom's "Jump AR" app which provides realistic and immersive content to explore the 12 palace buildings and the grounds covering over 61,200 square meters. The palace is best known for its mix of Korean traditional and Western architecture, reflecting the wave of modernization that hit Korea in the late 19th century."AR Deoksugung" consists of three programs. “AR Map” allows users to take a look around three-dimensional recreations of the palace. Viewers can tour around the palace along recommended routes and read descriptions of each structure. "AR Photo Zone" is for those who actually visit the palace. Currently, t

Mar 24, 2020By Kwon Mee-yoo
Deoksu Palace introduces AR service
Arts & Theater

Park Soo Keun Museum acquires 'Two Women and Tree'

Park Soo-keun's "Two Women and a Tree" / Courtesy of Park Soo Keun MuseumBy Kwon Mee-yoo"Two Women and a Tree," one of the major works of late artist Park Soo-keun (1914-65), was acquired by the Park Soo Keun Museum in Yanggu, Gangwon Province.The museum announced Sunday that it purchased the 27 x 19.5-centimeter oil painting on hardboard from the 1950s, part of Park's renowned "Tree" series.Park's "Tree" painting series features a bare tree, one woman carrying a baby on her back and another with a basket on her head. Currently, six paintings of similar composition are known to exist. Museums typically acquire artworks through auctions, but this painting was purchased through an art gallery. The painting was owned by a private collector for 42 years since 1978 and the owner offered the museum an opportunity to purchase it first.The Park Soo Keun Museum requested authenticity and value appraisal two times by the appraisal committee of the Galleries Association of Korea and the Korea Art Authentication and Appraisal Research Center, respectively, and purchased the artwork for 787 milli

Mar 23, 2020By Kwon Mee-yoo
Park Soo Keun Museum acquires 'Two Women and Tree'
Arts & Theater

Artists look back on history of democracy in 'Better Man'

Choi Ha-neyl's "Korean Dream," featuring five sculptures symbolizing underrepresented groups in Korean politics ― transgender, single mother, gay, refugee and migrant worker group, is on display at "The Better Man 1948-2020: Pick Your Representative for the National Assembly" exhibit at the Ilmin Museum of Art in central Seoul. Courtesy of Ilmin Museum of ArtBy Kwon Mee-yooAmid the COVID-19 crisis that is still impacting the nation, the April 15 parliamentary election is approaching. A new art exhibition starting Tuesday sheds light on the significance of elections in Korea's modern history. "The Better Man 1948-2020: Pick Your Representative for the National Assembly," co-organized by the Ilmin Museum of Art and the National Election Commission (NEC), looks back on Korea's 72-year history of elections and how voting shaped personal and national fate with some 400 archive pieces from the NEC and works of 21 contemporary artists reinterpreting the importance of elections. The history of elections in modern Korea goes along with the development of democracy here. Beginning with the May

Mar 22, 2020By Kwon Mee-yoo
Artists look back on history of democracy in 'Better Man'
Arts & Theater

Auction house takes measures against COVID-19

Kim Whan-ki's "March of April" (1961) / Courtesy of Seoul AuctionBy Kwon Mee-yooAs COVID-19 is shaking up the world's art market, many art fairs and exhibitions are being canceled or rescheduled. Despite the low number of people going to museums and art fairs, Korean auction houses decided to continue their spring auctions, with some online extras. Seoul Auction will put up 127 art pieces, collectively worth around 10 billion won, for their 155th auction at the Seoul Auction Gangnam Center on March 24, which was postponed from the original date of March 11. The auction house is taking extra care to prevent the spread of COVID-19 by offering an e-book version of the auction catalogue and a virtual reality preview exhibition for those who want to take a closer look at auction lots but cannot attend the preview event. The highlight of this auction will be a special section featuring paintings of people by Korean master painters."March of April" (1961) by Kim Whan-ki, the most expensive Korean artist, is not one of the artist's signature abstract dot paintings, but a more figurative one.

Mar 18, 2020By Kwon Mee-yoo
Auction house takes measures against COVID-19
Arts & Theater

Online exhibition connects four artists around world

Introduction to online exhibition "The Peaceful warriors in Museum" / Courtesy of BLUE C&SBy Kwon Mee-yooThe coronavirus outbreak brought disruption to cultural sites such as museums and theaters. Out of the confinement, the online exhibition "The Peaceful Warriors in Museum" brings together four artists in four different metropolises of the world, all who fight fiercely for recognition in their professional field.Curator and art historian Cho Eun-jung, who organized the exhibit, said the exhibition is constructed in the time of COVID-19. Defying the isolation of international and local travel bans, Cho invited four artists ― Kim Hong-shik from Seoul, Park Yoo-ah from New York, Shin Mee-kyoung from London and Yun Ai-young from Paris ― to take part in this online exhibition."I always go to art museums and galleries because that's my job. However, I was sick in bed with a cold and couldn't leave the house even for hospital, let alone museums," Cho said in a phone interview with The Korea Times. "As I had more time to think about myself and my work, I pondered over how we appreciate

Mar 16, 2020By Kwon Mee-yoo
Online exhibition connects four artists around world
Arts & Theater

Kim Hong-joo pursues principle of painting

Installation view of Kim Hong-joo's exhibition “Forms That Cannot Be Forms” at The Great Collection in southern Seoul. Courtesy of The Great CollectionBy Kwon Mee-yooVeteran artist Kim Hong-joo continues to renew his enthusiasm over art and pursues the essence of painting displayed through previously unseen works now on view in “Forms That Cannot Be Forms,” an inaugural exhibition of The Great Collection in southern Seoul.Three paintings and a sculpture are on display and they share certain similarities even though delivered in different mediums as Kim pursues "a sculpture-like painting" and "a painting-like sculpture."Best known for his paintings of flowers, Kim's latest works have evolved into more abstract shapes without specific forms.The 75-year-old artist still spends most of his day at a studio atop the hillside neighborhood of Pyeongchang-dong, continuously making strokes with a slender brush or chipping away at block of wood. "Previously, I depicted flowers with a slender brush. I still use a similar painting method, but the likeness dwindled away, le

Mar 15, 2020By Kwon Mee-yoo
Kim Hong-joo pursues principle of painting
Books

Book clubs deliver curated selections to doorstep

Choi Ina Books / Courtesy of Choi Ina BooksBy Kwon Mee-yooweekender p15) Choi Ina Books/2020-03-12(코리아타임스)In an age when the reading population continues to decline and those who purchase books head to convenient online bookstores, small brick-and-mortar bookshops are striving to engage local customers with a distinctive selections of books. As the COVID-19 outbreak has forced Koreans to keep a “social distance” to prevent spread of the disease, book club services at unique bookstores could be a safe way to explore uncharted territory in reading.Choi Ina Books, a bookstore in southern Seoul, was founded by Choi Ina, a former executive of Cheil Worldwide, one of the largest advertising companies in Korea. In addition to a spacious bookshop and cafe suitable for browsing and reading books, Choi Ina Books also operates a book club, offering recommended books from experts and bringing new perspectives to reading habits. "When I opened a bookstore, I thought a lot about when people look for books. I concluded that people seek books when they have problems in their life or feel

Mar 12, 2020By Kwon Mee-yoo
Book clubs deliver curated selections to doorstep
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