my timesThe Korea Times

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.

Go to Email

Read more

Travel & Food

2014 holiday theater guide

The Korean cast of “Once the Musical” performs “Gold” at CJ Towol Theater of Seoul Arts Center in southern Seoul. The musical has a unique atmosphere as all actors plays instruments while singing, dancing and acting. / Courtesy of Seensee CompanyBy Kwon Mee-yooThere is no better time than the end of the year to visit the theater, a magical space with limitless imagination and spectacle. A plethora of theatrical events, from new Broadway musicals to equestrian shows, await audiences in Seoul.Hot from BroadwaySeoul has become a lucrative market for the theater industry, with some of Broadway’s hit musicals making a beeline for the city this season.“Kinky Boots,” which won Best Musical and Best Score at last year’s Tony Awards, just arrived at Seoul’s Chungmu Art Hall. Based on the 2005 film of the same title, the musical tells the tale of two men — young show factory owner Charlie and drag queen Lola.Pop music icon Cyndi Lauper’s music and lyrics successfully portrayed Charlie’s attempt to save a shoe factory by ma

Dec 11, 2014By Kwon Mee-yoo
2014 holiday theater guide
K-pop

Goodwin prepares 'sonic painting' for audiences

Musical "Once" sound designer Clive Goodwin / Courtesy of Seensee Company‘Once’ sound designer brings Irish pub onto musical stageBy Kwon Mee-yooIrish indie film “Once” has been one of Korean’s favorite movies since its local premiere in 2007. The music of Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova — including the famous “Falling Slowly” — was played virtually all over the place. The story of a male musician (Guy) and a Czech immigrant (Girl) understanding each other through music set in Dublin, Ireland is undistinguished, but acoustic and sincere music breathed a new life into the tale.A musical production of “Once” was recently brought to Korean audience at CJ Towol Theater of Seoul Arts Center in southern Seoul. The show is currently in previews and Clive Goodwin, the Tony Award-winning sound designer behind “Once,” was busy putting final touches to the show’s sound system.In “Once,” all actors play musical instruments while acting, singing and dancing as director John Tiffany wanted to create an

Dec 10, 2014By Kwon Mee-yoo
Goodwin prepares 'sonic painting' for audiences
Travel & Food

Evolution of Korean painting

Artist Yoo Geun-taek poses in front of his painting “Landscape” at OCIMuseum in central Seoul. / Courtesy of OCI MuseumThis is the fifth in a series of interviews with notable artists recommended by the Korean Artist Project, an online platform promoting Korean art. — ED.By Kwon Mee-yooWhen people think of Korean painting, it generally relates to traditional ink-and-wash paintings of grand landscapes. However, Korean painter Yoo Geun-taek explores more intimate subjects while retaining the essentials of Oriental painting techniques.The 49-year-old was at the center of Korean painting's struggle on its path to modernization and to find a successor to the traditional ink-and-wash painting in the 1980s and '90s. Yoo took the path of experimentation and explored new themes, subject matter, materials and expression.Yoo Geun-taek finds subject matter for his painting from his surroundings. “Forest” (2014) depicts a forest near his house.Yoo seeks to broaden the boundary of Oriental painting. Traditionally, this was centered on ideality. However, Yoo thought th

Nov 27, 2014By Kwon Mee-yoo
Evolution of Korean painting
Arts & Theater

Chunhyang in red mini dress

Min Eun-kyeong, front, plays Chunhyang in “changgeuk” (Korean traditional opera) “Different Chunhyang,” directed by Andrei Serban andstaged at Daloreum Theater of National Theater of Korea in central Seoul. / Courtesy of National Changgeuk Company of KoreaBy Kwon Mee-yooAll of Korea knows the tale of Chunhyang, a chaste woman who endured imprisonment to defend her love. This love story seeks modern transformation through a blue-eyed director who saw a dignified woman who fought for social justice in Chunhyang.The National Changgeuk Company of Korea (NCCK)’s “Different Chunhyang” is directed by Andrei Serban, a Romanian-born American theater director. The 71-year-old director put a modern spin to the story by bringing them to the 21st century and focuses on Chunhyang’s struggle against the immorality.“Changgeuk” is Korean traditional opera, budded off from “pansori,” Korean traditional one-person opera. “Chunhyang-ga” is one of the remaining five pansori pieces in Korea and the most popular one among t

Nov 26, 2014By Kwon Mee-yoo
Chunhyang in red mini dress
Arts & Theater

A peek into architect's mind

Architect Cho Min-suk of Mass Studies holds modules for constrcution model on display at “Before/After Mass Studies Does Architecture” at Plateau.By Kwon Mee-yooArchitect Cho Min-suk who works at Mass Studies is cited as a person who has lifted the level of Korean architecture. He was commissioned to organize the Korean Pavilion at the 2014 Venice Architecture Biennale and conceived of "Crow's Eye View: The Korean Peninsula," which reflects the history of architecture of South and North Korea and which earned the Gold Lion Award. This was the first time that Korea has won the top prize at the prestigious architectural event and Cho was at the center of it.The architect now reveals his innermost thoughts and ideas as well as architectural finished products of 12 years at an exhibition titled "Before/After Mass Studies Does Architecture" at Plateau, Samsung Museum of Art in central Seoul.An exhibit of architectural works held at a major fine art museum reflects increased concern over the contemporariness of architecture, which constitutes urban environment.Architecture is a

Nov 23, 2014By Kwon Mee-yoo
A peek into architect's mind
People & Events

Kim-Chandler duo wins 45th Translation Awards

Kim Han-jo, right, president of Korea Exchange Bank, awards the grand prize winners of the 45th Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards, Kim Jin-ah, center, and Seth Chandler, at a ceremony held at the Lotte Hotel in downtown Seoul, Thursday. Kim and Chandler translated Kim Sum’s novel “On Slowness.”/ Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulBy Kwon Mee-yooThe team of Kim Jin-ah and Seth Chandler received the grand prize at the 45th Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards for their work on the novel "On Slowness" by Kim Sum, at a ceremony at the Lotte Hotel in central Seoul, Thursday.Organized by The Korea Times and sponsored by the Korea Exchange Bank, the translation awards have produced a slew of top-notch translators, while spreading Korean literature to the world since their establishment in 1970.This year, Amber Hyun-jung Kim received a Commendation Award in Fiction for her translation of an excerpt from Park Hyeong-seo's novel "Nana Before Dawn." Frederick Ronald Bottley and Jeong Mi-gyeong shared a Commendation Award for their co-translation of "Monsoon" b

Nov 20, 2014By Kwon Mee-yoo
Arts & Theater

Ahn Jung-geun musical 'Hero' invited to China

Yun Ho-jin, center, producer and director of “Hero,” speaks during a press conference announcing forthcoming performances of the epic musical in China, last Monday. On the left is actor Kang Tae-eul, playing the role of Ahn Jung-geun, and on the right is Park Dong-woo, set designer of “Hero.” / Courtesy of Acom InternationalBy Kwon Mee-yooThe producer of the Korean musical “Hero,” which charts the life of independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun (1879-1910), has been invited to stage the show in Harbin, China. It will be put on stage beginning in December, after the 105th anniversary of the independence activist’s death, which fell on Oct. 26.Acom International, the production company of the musical, said “Hero” will be staged four times at the Children’s Palace Art Center Theatre in Harbin on Dec. 20 and 21. The 900-seat theater is one of the most well furbished theaters in the Chinese city.The show was premiered at Seoul’s LG Arts Center in 2009 and was then taken to New York in 2011, successfully completing

Nov 9, 2014By Kwon Mee-yoo
Ahn Jung-geun musical 'Hero' invited to China
Shows & Dramas

Raising quality of education crucial to spreading Hangeul

Song Hyang-keun, president of the King Sejong Institute Foundation, poses with a character from the institue’s new folktale cartoon series. / Courtesy of Lee Soo-jinBy Kwon Mee-yooThe King Sejong Institute Foundation (KSIF), which oversees the King Sejong Institutes (KSI), is busier than ever, as demand for Korean language education overseas is on the rise.The KSI is the educational facility for Korean language and culture and there are 130 such facilities in 54 countries from the United States and China to Nepal and Zimbabwe as of 2014.Established in 2012, the KSIF supports the Korean language institutes worldwide by providing curriculum and textbooks as well as training Korean language instructors.The first King Sejong Institute opened in Ulan Bator, capital of Mongolia in 2007. “There were 13 King Sejong Institutes to begin with and the number grew tenfold now. Now we seek substantiality in promoting Korean language and culture through the institutes,” said Song Hyang-keun, president of KSIF, during a recent interview with The Korea Times. “The KSI pro

Nov 3, 2014By Kwon Mee-yoo
Raising quality of education crucial to spreading Hangeul
Travel & Food

Photo tells tales

Insight into human nature behind whimsical photosThis is the fourth in a series of interviews with notable artists recommended by the Korean Artist Project, an online platform promoting Korean art. —  ED.By Kwon Mee-yoo Artist Won Seoung-wonA man swims in a sea within his room. A girl stands next to her pink bed, but her room has been filled with overgrown plants. Monkeys and trees have invaded a construction site of an apartment.These photos seem fancy and whimsical with eccentric points. However, when examined closely, there is a sense of foreignness — everything is out of traditional perspective and the world is distorted. But the photos maintain an aesthetic beauty and tell a story at the same time. The viewers have no choice but to appraise the photo to find the narrative in it.These are photographic collages of artist Won Seoung-won — also stylized as Won Seoung Won — who blends reality and fantasy in a delicate, elaborate way.Won Seoung-won’s “The Ark of Obsession” (2013) is a photographic collage that uses an island of house

Oct 23, 2014By Kwon Mee-yoo
Photo tells tales
Arts & Theater

MMCA director Chung relieved of post

MMCA director Chung Hyung-minChung Hyung-min, director of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA), has been fired after allegedly favoring a former student and an ex-colleague in being hired for curator positions at the museum.The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said they dismissed Chung, 62, from her position­ Thursday, as the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) requested an investigation into Chung's corruption in the recruitment process. She may face additional disciplinary action when the investigation results are released.The BAI found last week that Chung allegedly intervened in the hiring process for curators at the museum in October 2013. She lobbied the document screening judges and manipulated the score cards of both her former student and a former junior staff member in order for them to pass the application phase. Chung also later interviewed the candidates, favoring her acquaintances.This is the first time a director from the museum was laid off and investigated since its opening in 1969.The MMCA's Seoul branch is due to celebrate its first

Oct 17, 2014By Kwon Mee-yoo
MMCA director Chung relieved of post
previous page
128129130131132
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.