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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

Exhibition pays tribute to independence fighters

Installation view of "A Hundred Years Ago in the Cultural Heritage" at the Seodaemun Prison History Hall in central Seoul / Courtesy of Cultural Heritage AdministrationBy Kwon Mee-yooOn the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the March 1 Movement, a crucial turning point in Korea's independence movement as it provided a catalyst for the resistance, an exhibition sheds light on the known and unnamed people who fought for Korea. "A Hundred Years Ago in the Cultural Heritage" is held at Seodaemun Prison History Hall, which was built originally in 1908 during the Korean Empire and was the site of imprisonment for many Korean independence fighters during the 1910-45 Japanese occupation.The exhibit, organized by the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA), features handwritings of renowned independence fighters as well as information on those imprisoned for independence activities.Cultural Heritage Administrator Chung Jae-suk recited Shim Hun's poem "When That Day Comes" and said it has been 74 years since "that day" arrived in Korea. "Many independence fighters guarded the nation with the

Feb 19, 2019By Kwon Mee-yoo
Exhibition pays tribute to independence fighters
Arts & Theater

Korea Galleries Art Fair opens this week

By Kwon Mee-yooChoi Woong-chol, president of the Galleries Association of KoreaThe 37th Korea Galleries Art Fair will run from Feb. 21 to 24 at COEX in southern Seoul, opening up a series of art events to boost the market this year. Organized by the Galleries Association of Korea, 111 galleries will present some 2,000 pieces from 500 artists. The oldest surviving art fair in Korea will try to boost sales with low price tags under 10 million won for most of the works, except for a few highlights including dansaekhwa (Korean monochrome painting) artist Park Seo-bo's recent works.Through the young artist “opencall” program, 12 aspiring artists were chosen to take part in the special exhibit "Paranoid Park."Choi Woong-chol, new president of the Galleries Association of Korea, said the event will be a place to appreciate the diversity of Korean contemporary art as well as the future direction of the fair.The Korea Galleries Art Fair made only 3 billion won in sales last year and Cho aims to expand the fair targeting Asia. "We plan to elevate the fair as an Asia-wide event by i

Feb 18, 2019By Kwon Mee-yoo
Korea Galleries Art Fair opens this week
Travel & Food

World's one and only sesame oil sommelier

Yeonnam Sesame Oil is made with a recipe researched by Lee Hee-jun, the world's one and only sesame oil sommelier. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukLee Hee-jun quantifies sesame oil, pursues globalizationBy Kwon Mee-yooLee Hee-jun, contents director of Yeonnam Bangatgan in Mapo-gu, Seoul, is the only sesame oil sommelier in the world. He visits master sesame oil makers around Korea and quantifies each recipe to preserve and promote it. He also opened Yeonnam Bangatgan, a cafe and food culture space, last year to share the Korean sauce with a wider audience including the younger generation and foreigners.Sesame oil, also called "chamgireum" in Korean, is a popular vegetable oil consumed across the globe, but Korean sesame oil has unique characteristics."There are only three countries that eat aromatic sesame oil ― Korea, Japan and China. Its distinct amber color and smell come from roasting sesame. Other countries in the Middle East, America and Europe consume unroasted, cold-pressed sesame oil," Lee explained during an interview with The Korea Times, Tuesday. Korea is one of the co

Feb 14, 2019By Kwon Mee-yoo
World's one and only sesame oil sommelier
Arts & Theater

Il Lee's artworks acquired by Minneapolis Institute of Art

Artist Il Lee's ballpoint pen drawing "BL-07835" was acquired by the Minneapolis Institute of Art, along with his other drawing "Untitled 978W." / Courtesy of the artist and Art Projects InternationalBy Kwon Mee-yooKorean-American artist Il Lee's artworks have made their way into the permanent collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art in the U.S.According to Art Projects International, the internationally renowned art institution acquired Lee's two paintings "Untitled 978W" (1997-98) and "BL-07835" (2007-08).The 68-year-old artist, born in Seoul, is known for his iconic ballpoint pen drawings. Now living and working in New York, he has pioneered the unique style using the mundane writing instrument for over four decades."Untitled 978W" is one of Lee's large-scale works in black, while "BL-07835" is a more recent work in blue and a smaller scale.He uses ballpoint pens to create irregular forms on canvas. Lee said he does not plan out the shape or composition of his drawings but overlays countless ballpoint pen lines to create depth and movement in an intuitive way.Art editor Tren

Feb 12, 2019By Kwon Mee-yoo
Il Lee's artworks acquired by Minneapolis Institute of Art
Arts & Theater

Min Joung-ki combines Korean landscape with Western style

Artist Min Joung-ki poses for a photo in front of his 2019 painting "Mt. Inwang" at the Kukje Gallery in downtown Seoul. Courtesy of Kukje GalleryBy Kwon Mee-yooArtist Min Joung-ki, 69, spent over four decades of his life painting landscapes and figures. He was recently brought into the spotlight when his work "Mt. Bukhan" appeared as a backdrop for the historic commemorative photo of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in shaking hands during the inter-Korean summit in April 2018. An exhibition at the Kukje Gallery in central Seoul sheds light on the artist who captures everyday landscapes from a sociopolitical perspective.Min is often dubbed as a pioneer of Minjung art, a pro-democracy and populist art movement prevalent in Korea in the 1980s, but the artist has refused to be ruled by narrow definitions.He was born and raised in Seoul, but moved to Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi Province in 1987, and it was around this time his main subject shifted to natural landscapes. In the early 1980s, he was better known for interpreting so-called "barbershop paintings,"

Feb 6, 2019By Kwon Mee-yoo
Min Joung-ki combines Korean landscape with Western style
Arts & Theater

Key exhibitions to see in 2019

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA) opened its Cheongju branch last December. The MMCA Cheongju serves as a gallery, and storage and restoration laboratory space. Courtesy of MMCAFirst Hockney exhibit in Korea to open in March By Kwon Mee-yooLast year, the Korean art market enjoyed a boom ― for the first time, over 200 billion won ($180 million) was siphoned into art auctions. The vitality in the market is likely to expand to the art field in general as museums and galleries are packed with exhibitions of Korean and international artists, coinciding with historic occasions.Argentine artist Leandro Erlich's “Batiment” will be on view at the Seoul Museum of Art in November. Courtesy of SeMAInternational big namesThe most anticipated exhibition in Korea in 2019 would be the most expensive living artist's first-ever solo exhibition here. Hockney is known for his paintings of swimming pools suburban Californian homes in high-keyed colors and his 1972 painting "Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)" fetched a whopping $90.3 million at Christ

Jan 27, 2019By Kwon Mee-yoo
Key exhibitions to see in 2019
K-pop

80 percent of non-Koreans think positively of Korea

By Kwon Mee-yooEight out of 10 people around the world assessed South Korea positively and the first thing they picked to represent the country was "hansik" (Korean food), the Korean Culture and Information Service (KOCIS) announced Tuesday.KOCIS, a subsidiary of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism specializing in international promotion of the country, conducted an online survey on some 8,000 people in 16 countries, asking about Korea's national image.According to the survey, the respondents encounter Korea mostly through contemporary culture such as hallyu or fine art (36.2 percent), followed by economy (18.1 percent), national security (17.8 percent) and cultural heritage (10.7 percent)."The result shows that soft power derived from cultural sources has become Korea's representative brand, instead of the rapid economic growth that once symbolized Korea," KOCIS said in a statement.For the representative image of Korea, food was the most popular choice with 40 percent of votes from the international community, and others included K-pop (22.8 percent), Korean culture (19.1 pe

Jan 25, 2019By Kwon Mee-yoo
80 percent of non-Koreans think positively of Korea
Arts & Theater

Seoul Museum opens new wing

Exterior of Seoul Museum's new wing in Buam-dong, central Seoul / Courtesy of Seoul MuseumModern Korean masterpieces are on view at 'Walking Man' exhibitionBy Kwon Mee-yooSeoul Museum in Buam-dong, north of downtown Seoul, opened a new wing celebrating its seventh anniversary and revealed masterpieces of Korean modern art from Kim Whan-ki and Lee U-fan at the inaugural exhibition.Ahn Byung-gwang, CEO of Union Pharmacy and owner of the museum, took on the challenge of a new career by curating the "Walking Man" exhibit with artworks from the museum's collection. Seoul Museum's collection is based on the CEO's private collection, which began some 36 years ago when Ahn was a 26-year-old salesman inspired by Lee Jung-seob's "Bull."The exhibition features works by Kim Whan-ki and Lee U-fan as well as paintings of Park Seo-bo, Chung Sang-hwa and Kim Tschang-yeul and white porcelain jars by master potter Kwon Young-bae, straight from the museum's treasure trove. Kim Whan-ki's "Hundred Thousand Dots 04-VI-73 #316" is on view at the "Walking Man" exhibition at the Seoul Museum. / Courtesy of S

Jan 23, 2019By Kwon Mee-yoo
Seoul Museum opens new wing
Arts & Theater

Pablo Neruda's poems meet pansori in changgeuk 'Poetry'

A scene from National Changgeuk Company of Korea's "Poetry" / Courtesy of National Theater of KoreaBy Kwon Mee-yooHow would Chilean poet Pablo Neruda's rhyming verses sound in "pansori," a form of traditional Korean narrative singing? "Poetry," a new changgeuk, a type of theater style based on pansori, brings in Neruda's passionate poetry exploring love, loss, hope, life and death sung through pansori vocal techniques.The National Changgeuk Company of Korea (NCCK) picked director Park Ji-hye to work on the third piece of the "Different Angle on Changgeuk" series. Director Park works mainly with Yangson Project, a collaboration between her and actors Son Sang-kyu, Yang Jo-ah and Yang Jong-ook, and has experiences in pansori working with pansori performer Lee Ja-ram in "The Stranger's Song" and "An Ugly Person/Murder."For this new project, playwright and director Park challenged the unexpected blend of pansori with poetry in the form of changgeuk."I think pansori can be combined with a variety of literary genres. Previously in the Different Angle on Changgeuk series, the French childre

Jan 21, 2019By Kwon Mee-yoo
Pablo Neruda's poems meet pansori in changgeuk 'Poetry'
Korean Heritage

Last princess' Hangeul writings return from US

"Jagyeongjeongi" handwritten by Princess Deokon (1822-44) of the 1392-1910 Joseon Kingdom is returned to Korean through efforts of the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation and the National Hangeul Museum. Courtesy of Cultural Heritage Administration By Kwon Mee-yooThe writings of Princess Deokon (1822-44), the last legitimate princess of the 1391-1910 Joseon Kingdom, have been returned to Korea, the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) announced Wednesday. The CHA said it purchased 68 pieces of writing from descendants of Princess Deokon in the United States last November, and returned them to Korea. Most of the writings are open to the public for the first time and are great examples of court writings in the Korean script, Hangeul.Princess Deokon was the daughter of King Sunjo and Queen Sunwon. Princess Deokon is titled "gongju" in Korean, denoting her as the lawful daughter of a king and queen, while a king's daughter by a concubine is referred to as "on

Jan 16, 2019By Kwon Mee-yoo
Last princess' Hangeul writings return from US
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