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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

'Typojanchi' explores letters, objects

Visitors have a look around the "Sundries" section of the 2019 Typojanchi: International Typography Biennale at Culture Station Seoul 284. Courtesy of TypojanchiBy Kwon Mee-yooIn celebration of Hangeul Day, which falls on Oct. 9, Typojanchi: International Typography Biennale opened its sixth edition to explore the relationship between typography and objects.Typography is defined as "the art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible, readable, and appealing when displayed."Artistic directors Jin Dal-rae and Park Woo-hyuk said they wanted to shed light on disassembly and assembly in the composition of typography in relation to letters and objects in this year's biennale themed “Typography and Object.”"Previous editions of the biennale combined typography with themes such as city and body. This year, we shifted interest to something around us ― objects," Park said. "The objects are inevitable elements of our life and we thought the public could relate to typography better with such familiar objects."The sixth edition of Typojanchi features 193 works of

Oct 8, 2019By Kwon Mee-yoo
'Typojanchi' explores letters, objects
Arts & Theater

Oldest metal type controversy reignites

Chung Jae-suk, second from right, chief of the Cultural Heritage Administration, and lawmakers look at "Jeungdogaja," a set of metal movable type, during a National Assembly audit of the culture agency, Monday. YonhapLawmaker calls for re-examining of 'Jeungdogaja'By Kwon Mee-yoo"Jeungdogaja," a set of metal movable type which was declared in 2017 not to be the oldest in the world, has been brought to attention once again during a National Assembly audit session on the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA), Monday.The 101 pieces of metal movable type became known to the public in 2010 by Kyungpook National University bibliography professor Nam Kwon-hee. Professor Nam and antique dealer Kim Jong-chun insisted that the set of metal type was used to print "Nammyeong Cheonhwa Sangsong Jeungdoga," a Buddhist book published around 1239 during the 918-1392 Goryeo Kingdom. If approved as authentic, it would have surpassed "Jikji," the oldest known metal type made in 1377, by over 100 years. In 2011, Kim's wife applied for cultural property status of the metalloid type to the CHA. However, a

Oct 7, 2019By Kwon Mee-yoo
Oldest metal type controversy reignites
Arts & Theater

Blue-eyed Mongryong dances in ballet 'Chunhyang'

Vladimir Shklyarov of Mariinsky Ballet takes on the lead role of Mongryong in the Universal Ballet Company's original ballet "The Love of Chunhyang" through Sunday. Courtesy of UBC/2019-10-03(코리아타임스)By Kwon Mee-yooVladimir Shklyarov of the Mariinsky Ballet has the lead role of Mongryong in the Universal Ballet Company's original ballet "The Love of Chunhyang" through Sunday.Shklyarov, who visited Korea for a gala performance with the UBC last year, said he gladly accepted playing the Korean heartthrob when the company offered him the role. "The Love of Chunhyang" is a ballet adaptation of Korea's most famous love story, “Chunhyang,” a courtesan's daughter who falls in love with Mongryong who is a noble. "Though it portrays a Korean folktale and sentiment, I think Chunhyang is a new, sophisticated ballet of high quality," Shklyarov said during a press conference at the Universal Art Center, Tuesday. The 34-year-old dancer is an all-rounder, proficient at classical ballet as well as drama and modern works. His repertoire includes classics such as Duke Albrecht in "Giselle"

Oct 4, 2019By Kwon Mee-yoo
Blue-eyed Mongryong dances in ballet 'Chunhyang'
Travel & Food

Korean Empire's royal cuisine shows King Gojong's dreams, frustrations

On Sept. 20, 1905, King Gojong hosted a luncheon for Alice Roosevelt, which served 17 dishes with three different condiments. The Cultural Heritage Administration reenacted the royal banquet food with Shinsegae Chosun Hotel for “The Emperor's Dining Table of the Daehan Empire” exhibition at the Daehan Empire Historical Museum in Deoksu Palace. Courtesy of Cultural Heritage AdministrationBy Kwon Mee-yooAlice Roosevelt, the eldest child of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, was one of the most famous national figures of the early 20th century. She made a goodwill trip to East Asia in 1905 with an 83-member diplomatic delegation and stopped by the Korean Empire, which lasted from 1897 to 1910 when Joseon Kingdom struggled to survive amid opening of ports and contact with Western culture. In her memoir "Crowded Hours: Reminiscences of Alice Roosevelt Longworth," she described her visit to the Korean Empire, including a royal banquet she attended at Deoksu Palace. Despite recognizing that “Korea, reluctant and helpless, was sliding into the grasp of Japan," King Gojong t

Oct 3, 2019By Kwon Mee-yoo
Korean Empire's royal cuisine shows King Gojong's dreams, frustrations
  • Architects connect past, future at Deoksu Palace
Arts & Theater

Architects connect past, future at Deoksu Palace

Korean architect group OBBA presents “Daehan Yeonhyang," a 21-century whimsical interpretation of a court feast, in front of Junghwajeon Hall of Deoksu Palace in central Seoul. This is part of "Architecture and Heritage: Unearthing Future," a collaborative outdoor exhibition by the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea and the Deoksugung Palace Management Office. Courtesy of MMCABy Kwon Mee-yooThe year 2019 marks the 100th anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement as well as the death of King Gojong, the last king of the Joseon Kingdom and the first emperor of the short-lived Daehan Empire. Deoksu Palace in central Seoul is where King Gojong proclaimed the founding of the Daehan Empire and offers much evidence of his efforts to modernize the city structure. Deoksu Palace has a mix of Korean traditional and Western architecture, reflecting the wave of modernization that hit Korea in the late 19th century. In commemoration of the palace's history, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA) invited five Asian architect groups to reimagi

Oct 3, 2019By Kwon Mee-yoo
Architects connect past, future at Deoksu Palace
  • Korean Empire's royal cuisine shows King Gojong's dreams, frustrations
Arts & Theater

Korean queer musical '13 Fruitcakes' heads to Edinburgh

A scene from new queer musical "13 Fruitcakes," which will be staged during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe next year / Courtesy of Singing Actors Repertory Company By Kwon Mee-yoo“13 Fruitcakes,” a Korean musical paying tribute to renowned LGBTQ+ figures and their impact in history, will head to Edinburgh Festival Fringe next year, following its premiere in New York in June. Written and directed by Ahn Byung-koo of the Singing Actors Repertory Company, "13 Fruitcakes" is a series of experimental musical vignettes filled with symbolic movements traveling along the history of queer figures.Composer Lee Gi-hieh, who has written music for queer poet's works including Oscar Wilde, Walt Whitman, Arthur Rimbaud and Federico Garcia Lorca, wrote the song cycle. The show is also accompanied with electronic music by the Los Angeles Laptop Collective.The show is narrated by Orlando, a character inspired by Virginia Woolf's novel "Orlando: A Biography” and played by Korean drag p

Sep 30, 2019By Kwon Mee-yoo
Korean queer musical '13 Fruitcakes' heads to Edinburgh
Arts & Theater

MMCA Cheongju features craftworks at open storage

Cody Choi's neon sign work "Venetian Rhapsody: The Power of Bluff," which was on display at the Korean Pavilion of the 2017 Venice Biennale, is currently installed at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA), Cheongju. Courtesy of MMCACody Choi's neon work from Venice also on displayBy Kwon Mee-yooKitschy, colorful neon signs greet visitors at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA), Cheongju, the fourth branch of the contemporary art museum in the North Chungcheong Province city some 110 kilometers south of Seoul. A motel sign and images of dragons, tigers and a peacock seem oddly familiar as they are borrowed from actual landmarks such as the Holiday Motel in Las Vegas, the Peacock Loop Diner in St. Louis and the Golden Dragon Casino in Macao.This artwork is Cody Choi's "Venetian Rhapsody: The Power of Bluff.” It was originally installed outside the Korean Pavilion during the 2017 Venice Biennale when Choi represented the country with Lee Wan. The artist thought of Venice as the center of power and money of the art world, dominated by cultur

Sep 30, 2019By Kwon Mee-yoo
MMCA Cheongju features craftworks at open storage
Arts & Theater

Suh Seung-won's geometric abstract on view in New York

Artist Suh Seung-won poses for a photo in front of his works at Tina Kim Gallery in New York. / Courtesy of Tina Kim GalleryBy Kwon Mee-yooArtist Suh Seung-won, 77, is considered one of the early members of the Dansaekhwa (Korean monochrome) movement and the founder of the theoretical basis for Korean modernism. He has pursued his "Simultaneity" series throughout his career, exploring interactions between geometric patterns and backgrounds.Titled "Early Works: 1960s to 1980s," an exhibit showcasing how Suh's rigid geometric forms evolved in "Simultaneity" is currently on view at the Tina Kim Gallery in New York through Oct. 12.For Suh, “Simultaneity enables the unseen to be seen, ensuring that what is happening in the world of nirvana or beyond dark could be represented through me.”Earlier this year, Suh's work was showcased at the Korea Society in Manhattan from January to April. That exhibition featured Suh's more recent pieces that the New York Times described saying, "They're too square to read as clouds, despite the unmistakable glints of blue peeking through, so the

Sep 24, 2019By Kwon Mee-yoo
Suh Seung-won's geometric abstract on view in New York
Arts & Theater

US galleries, CHA create online platform for Goryeo Buddhist paintings

"Water-Moon Avalokitesvara (Suwol Gwaneum bosal)" from the mid-14th century Goryeo period / Courtesy of the Freer and Sackler Galleries of the Smithsonian Institution16 Buddhist paintings in US are showcased By Kwon Mee-yooBuddhist paintings from the 918-1392 Goryeo Kingdom are considered some of the world's most delicate religious artworks. Currently, about 160 Goryeo Buddhist paintings are extant across the globe and the Freer and Sackler Galleries of the Smithsonian Institution joined hands with the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) to present those in the United States in detail at a dedicated website.The Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery together form the Smithsonian's national museums of Asian art, housing the largest Asian art research library in the U.S.The Freer and Sackler Galleries developed a digital catalogue "Goryeo Buddhist Painting: A Closer Look," featuring high resolution images and comprehensive information on 16 Goryeo Buddhist paintings in the collection of eight American museums with funding from the CHA.Chase F. Robinson, director of t

Sep 23, 2019By Kwon Mee-yoo
US galleries, CHA create online platform for Goryeo Buddhist paintings
Arts & Theater

Multidisciplinary 'Dorian Gray' pictures 21st century artists

From left, Lee Ja-ram as Eugene, Kim Joo-won as Jade and Kim Tae-han as Oscar in a total theater “The Picture of Dorian Gray” / Courtesy of Page1By Kwon Mee-yoo"The Picture of Dorian Gray," an 1890 novel by Oscar Wilde, was controversial from the onset as it revolves around moral deterioration by means of aestheticism. However, the scandalous novel inspired many artists and writers of subsequent generations, even halfway around the world in Korea.A multidisciplinary total theater version of “The Picture of Dorian Gray” raised its curtain in Seoul earlier this month, Wilde wrote: "There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book," in the preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray and for this total theater piece, there is no such thing as winning everyone's favor. This experimental project has drawn one of the most polarizing responses from theatergoers this year.This multidisciplinary “Dorian Gray" is dubbed a collaborative project as it features creators from various fields and the elements such as music, dance and video art are balanced as well as actin

Sep 22, 2019By Kwon Mee-yoo
Multidisciplinary 'Dorian Gray' pictures 21st century artists
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