The Korea Times

Penguin Books only

Shelves of Paperback bookstore in Itaewon, Seoul, are filled with vintage Penguin Books collected by owner Lee Hee-song. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukPaperback bookstore is treasure trove for vintage book loversBy Kwon Mee-yooA shelf of vintage orange Penguin Books always catches one's eyes when visiting used bookstores. A second-hand bookshop filled solely with Penguin Books would be a dream of a bibliophile.Paperback, a new bookstore that opened in February located near Itaewon-dong's Gyeongidan Street, is a dream-come-true for booklovers as this shop only features vintage Penguin Books, its imprints Pelican Books and Puffin Books, and other gift items using the iconic Penguin book cover design.Lee Hee-song, owner of Paperback, said it took about two years for him to collect enough books and find a bricks-and-mortar space, bringing his idea of a Penguin Books-only bookshop to fruition. This is not Lee's first bookshop. He previously ran Pinokio Books, a bookstore specializing in picture books, before opening Paperback. Before opening Pinokio Books in 2013, he was a white-collar

Mar 12, 2020By Kwon Mee-yoo

Book clubs deliver curated selections to doorstep

Arts & Theater

Um Ki-joon to return as 'Werther'

Um Ki-joon as Werther in the 2015 production of the Korean musical "Werther" / Courtesy of CJ ENMBy Kwon Mee-yooVeteran actor Um Ki-joon will return in his acclaimed role of Werther in the 20th anniversary production of the Korean musical "Werther" in August.Premiering back in 2000, the musical based on Goethe's novel "The Sorrows of Young Werther," revolves around a young, sensitive artist, Werther, and his unrequited love for Charlotte. The returning musical is directed by Cho Kwang-hwa.Um played the highly coveted role for many seasons, first portraying the tempestuous character in 2002 and then reviving his portrayal of Werther's destructive love for Charlotte in 2003, 2006, 2013 and 2015. Upon his return for the 20th anniversary production, Um vowed to give his passion unsparingly to the role. "Playing Werther makes my heart flutter every night. I played Werther in the early days of my career as a musical actor and I am filled with emotions as I return to this much-loved role," Um said in a statement.Werther is best known for its lyrical chamber music style numbers, played by an

Mar 10, 2020By Kwon Mee-yoo

Entertainment

Theater turns to live streaming amid coronavirus outbreak

Dance “Hit & Run” is live streamed through V Live. Captured from V LiveBy Kwon Mee-yooThe recent outbreak of COVID-19 in Korea is having a big impact upon the theatergoing experience. As people avoid going to theaters to reduce possible contact with those infected, live entertainment companies are striving to ensure a safe viewing environment for audiences through options such as live-streaming.According to the Korea performing Arts Box Office Information System (KOPIS), the total sale of tickets for live theater performances in Korea stood at 20.6 billion won ($17.3 million) in February, which is just over half of January's 40.2 billion won in sales. The spread of the coronavirus is forcing members of the public to try and maintain a safe distance from each other ― impossible in a theater. Many theaters and production companies are canceling performances, or offering ticketholders the option to cancel for free if they no longer want to attend.The productions that are choosing to continue are seeing significant drops in audience numbers, and are thus looking for other

Mar 8, 2020By Kwon Mee-yoo

Theater turns to live streaming amid coronavirus outbreak

Arts & Theater

Musical 'Marie Curie' pays tribute to trailblazing scientist

Lisa as Marie Curie in a scene from the musical "Marie Curie" / Courtesy of Live Contents GroupBy Kwon Mee-yooScientist Marie Sklodowska Curie (1867-1934) was a woman who believed that science has great beauty. The life of the Polish-French scientist who discovered polonium and radium and pioneered research on radioactivity is staged in the new musical "Marie Curie" at Chungmu Arts Center's Middle Theater Black in central Seoul."I am among those who think that science has great beauty. A scientist in his laboratory is not only a technician: he is also a child placed before natural phenomena which impress him like a fairy tale," Curie once said. Instead of approaching her life in biographical style, the musical focuses on a slice of her life around her discovery of new elements polonium and radium and its two-faced impacts ― cancer treatment and radium poisoning. Curie also had to struggle with prejudices against women and immigrants throughout her career.For a more dramatic plot, some fictional characters ― including Marie's friend Anne and entrepreneur Ruben ― were put into the show

Mar 8, 2020By Kwon Mee-yoo

Arts & Theater

Song Bo-ra tackles 'Hamlet' through pansori

Song Bo-ra in a scene from "Pansori Hamlet" / Courtesy of TarooBy Kwon Mee-yoo“Pansori” (Korean traditional narrative music) performer Song Bo-ra is Hamlet, Ophelia, Claudius, Polonius, Laertes and Gertrude in a revamped version of “Pansori Hamlet” by Taroo, staged at the Yeonwoo Theater in central Seoul from Friday to Sunday. Song is a member of Taroo, formerly the Korean Traditional Musical Collective Taroo, which has a wide repertoire of contemporary pansori performances based on Korean traditional stories and Western tales under its belt. “Pansori Hamlet,” one of Taroo's major productions, premiered in 2012 with support from the Doosan Art Lab. The original production, developed and staged for over seven years, was created for four actors taking turns playing roles in Shakespeare's masterpiece. This year, it was reborn as the one-hander “Pansori Hamlet ― Song Bo-ra,” returning to the original format of pansori, in which a sorikkun (singer) conveys the story playing all the oles, accompanied by a “gosu” (drummer).Though s

Mar 6, 2020By Kwon Mee-yoo

Song Bo-ra tackles 'Hamlet' through pansori

Arts & Theater

Female Judas rocks in 'Jesus Christ Superstar' concert

Cha Ji-yeon, center, performs during a concert version of the rock musical "Jesus Christ Superstar" at the LG Arts Center in southern Seoul, Saturday. / Courtesy of Blue StageBy Kwon Mee-yoo“Jesus Christ Superstar” (JCS) is one of the few musicals that has maintained a cult following for over 50 years. A concert version of “JCS” revived the pulsing rock-music-fuelled story of Jesus to entertain Seoul last weekend amid the COVID-19 outbreak. For the first time in Korea, a female Judas belted out explosive rock songs, betrayed Jesus and suffered from the decision. The 1970 rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber has been staged around the world for decades, sometimes with unconventional approaches.Lloyd Webber ― arguably the world's most famous theater composer ― and lyricist Tim Rice were young and nameless when they created "JCS". They not only brought rock 'n' roll music to musical theater, but also introduced a new take on the biblical tale by telling the story from Judas Iscariot's point of view."JCS" is set in the last week of Jesus' life, leading up to his cruc

Mar 3, 2020By Kwon Mee-yoo

Female Judas rocks in 'Jesus Christ Superstar' concert

Arts & Theater

Yang Hae-gue named 2020 MMCA Hyundai Motor Series artist

Yang Hae-gue's “Silo of Silence ― Clicked Core,” which was presented at KINDL ― Centre for Contemporary Art in Berlin in 2017, will be part of the artist's solo exhibition at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA), Seoul from August as Yang was named the artist for the MMCA Hyundai Motor Series 2020. / Courtesy of MMCABy Kwon Mee-yooSeoul- and Berlin-based artist Yang Hae-gue has been selected as the seventh artist to present new work for the MMCA Hyundai Motor Series 2020 at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA), Seoul from August. The MMCA announced Wednesday that Yang will present a selection of new and recent works centering on ideas such as narrative, abstraction, domesticity and migration from Aug. 29 to Jan. 17, 2021."Yang's oeuvre is lauded for its powerful aesthetics as well as an intellectual depth that ventures beyond simplistic or didactic readings," MMCA director Youn Bum-mo said in a statement.Yang is known for adding multiple layers of meaning in her work which cover the narratives of different diasporas with various m

Mar 1, 2020By Kwon Mee-yoo

Yang Hae-gue named 2020 MMCA Hyundai Motor Series artist

Arts & Theater

Dedication materials in Buddhist image on view at Smithsonian

Ven. Gyeongam demonstrates the Korean "bulbokjang," or dedicating sacred materials to Buddhist image, ritual at Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, DC on Feb. 22. / Courtesy of the Preservation Society of the Traditional Bulbokjang CeremonyBy Kwon Mee-yooA gilded wooden statue of "Gwaneum," the bodhisattva of compassion and mercy crafted during 918-1392 Goryeo Kingdom, and its sacred devotional materials are on view at the "Sacred Dedication: A Korean Buddhist Masterpiece" exhibition at the Smithsonian's Freer|Sackler, giving a glimpse into Korea's "Bulbokjang" (dedication of materials in Buddhist statues) tradition. The Bulbokjang ritual, or the Buddhist image consecration ritual, refers to a religious ceremony of installing dedication materials into the hollow cavity of a Buddhist sculpture, transforming the material image into a divine being for religious worship.The Buddhist custom has been handed down in Korea since the Goryeo era and is unique to Korean Buddhism. It was listed as National Intangible Cultural Heritage no. 139 in 2019.Dong-A University professor Jeong Eun-woo sai

Feb 26, 2020By Kwon Mee-yoo

Dedication materials in Buddhist image on view at Smithsonian

Arts & Theater

Public museums shut down, cancel performances due to coronavirus

Culture minister Park Yang-woo, right, visits a small theater in Daehangno, central Seoul, to check up disinfection measures against COVID-19, last Friday. Yonhap By Kwon Mee-yooOn Sunday Korea raised its alert for COVID-19 (nCoV-2019) to its highest level, forcing public museums to temporarily close down and major theaters to look for more strategic measures to prevent further spreading. Museums and theaters have been hit hard by the outbreak as both are considered coronavirus hotbeds, bringing crowds of unspecified individuals together.According to the Korean Performing Arts Box Office Information system (KOPIS), the weekly reservation counts showed a sharp decrease from 440,000 in the fourth week of January to 310,000 cases in the second week of February. Major theaters are equipped with thermal cameras and hand sanitizers and require audiences to wear masks during the performance, but stronger measures are coming as the COVID-19 situation worsens. The first to

Feb 24, 2020By Kwon Mee-yoo

Public museums shut down, cancel performances due to coronavirus

Arts & Theater

Joseon's national, royal seals returned from US

An official from the Cultural Heritage Administration touches the Royal Seal of King Hyojong, next to “Daegunjubo” national seal, at the National Palace Museum of Korea in Seoul, Wednesday. The two seals were donated by Korean-American Lee Dae-soo. YonhapEnglish name inscribed on 'Daegunjubo'By Kwon Mee-yooTwo seals of the 1392-1910 Joseon Kingdom ― "Daegunjubo," a national seal created in 1882, and the Royal Seal of King Hyojong, made in 1740 ― were returned from the United States, the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) said Wednesday.Daegunjubo is “guksae,” an official seal of the state crafted under King Gojong's reign to present Joseon as a sovereign state. The Royal Seal of Hyojong is “eobo,” a ceremonial seal created during his great-grandson King Yeongjo's rule to commemorate King Hyojong's achievements.Daegunjubo is a 7.9-centimeter-high, 12.7-centimeter-long silver seal with a turtle-shaped handle. It was crafted in 1882 on the order of King Gojong for diplomatic purposes as documented in historical records such as "Gojong Sillok" (Ann

Feb 19, 2020By Kwon Mee-yoo

Kwon Mee-yoo

Read more

Penguin Books only

Um Ki-joon to return as 'Werther'

Theater turns to live streaming amid coronavirus outbreak

Musical 'Marie Curie' pays tribute to trailblazing scientist

Song Bo-ra tackles 'Hamlet' through pansori

Female Judas rocks in 'Jesus Christ Superstar' concert

Yang Hae-gue named 2020 MMCA Hyundai Motor Series artist

Dedication materials in Buddhist image on view at Smithsonian

Public museums shut down, cancel performances due to coronavirus

Joseon's national, royal seals returned from US

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