The Korea Times

MMCA director under fire for hiring acquaintances

Chung Hyung-min, director of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary ArtBy Kwon Mee-yooChung Hyung-min, director of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA), is facing criticism over her selection of new staff members.According to the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) Friday, which has been looking into the recruitment of curators at state-run museums since June, Chung allegedly intervened in the hiring process of curators in October 2013. She knew a former student and a former junior staff member had applied for the open positions and lobbied the document screening judges. The MMCA's personnel affairs staffer said Chung talked to the judges privately and manipulated score cards to allow her acquaintances pass the application phase.Chung also took part in the interview, spending more time with the candidates in question. Both the former student and former colleague were hired as curators at the MMCA last November.The BAI reported the inspection result to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the body governing the art museum.Chung denied the alle

Oct 12, 2014By Kwon Mee-yoo

MMCA director under fire for hiring acquaintances

Arts & Theater

Marriage of Buddhism and modern dance

A scene from the Korea National Contemporary Dance Company’s repertoire “Bul-ssang”    /  Courtesy of Korea National Contemporary Dance CompanyBy Kwon Mee-yooMasked dancers run through gilded Buddhist statues on stage and roll over with them. The dancers also pile up plastic baskets on stage and knock them down, as if symbolizing Koreans accepting and consuming new culture rapidly.This is the Korea National Contemporary Dance Company (KNCDC)’s “Bul-ssang,” which will be staged on Friday and Saturday at Main Hall Hae of National Theater of Korea on Mount Nam.“Bul-ssang” is a repertoire of the KNCDC, created by artistic director Ahn Ae-soon. Ahn is a prominent dancer and choreographer in Korea, known for her sense of rhythm and knack of creating dynamic space.Premiered in 2009 at LG Arts Center, the dance piece is a fine example of collaboration of contemporary dacne, live DJing, visual art and video works. Ahn was inspired by Buddha Bar, a Paris-born restaurant that incorporates large statues of Buddha as a main theme of i

Oct 7, 2014By Kwon Mee-yoo

Travel & Food

Art museum breathes new life into Jeju

Indian artist Subodh Gupta’s "What does the vessel contain, that the riverdoes not" is installed at Arario Museum Tapdong Cinema in Jeju City./ Courtesy of Arario MuseumDerelict cinema, motel in Jeju reborn as collector's art troveBy Kwon Mee-yooJEJU ― A new art museum stands vivid red in old downtown of Jeju city. This is Arario Museum Tapdong Cinema, a new project of self-made multimillionaire and art collector Kim Chang-il.Kim is an art collector of some 30 years. His collection includes 3,700 pieces, ranging from the world's most expensive artists to emerging Asian talents. Most of the collection has been kept in a private storage in Okcheon, North Chungcheong Province, but those are now seeing the light of day at Arario Museum in Space in Seoul and three additional museums in Jeju.The 63-year-old entrepreneur, collector, gallerist and artist purchased abandoned buildings in Jeju and transformed them into art museums, breathing a new life into the old town center.Kohei Nawa’s “Deer Family” is displayed on the first floor of Arario Museum Tapdong Cinem

Oct 2, 2014By Kwon Mee-yoo

Arts & Theater

Art exhibit bridges South Korea, North Korea and China

North Korean painter Chung Young-man’s “Mount Geumgang” / Courtesy of Korean Art Exchange AssociationBy Kwon Mee-yooArtists from South and North Korea and China gathered for an exhibition with the slogan “Take the Peace! Keep in Touch!” at the Ara Art Center, Insa-dong, central Seoul.Hosted by the Korean Art Exchange Association, the exhibit aims to promote peace and harmonious coexistence amid the news of political tension between the two Koreas surfacing once again, which coincides with the 61st anniversary of the Korean Armistice Agreement this year.The exhibition, featuring the works of 72 South Korean, 32 North Korean and 15 Chinese artists, emphasize peace, reconciliation and coexistence between the three nations that were all affected by the Korean War.This exhibition provides a unique opportunity for the two Koreas and China to communicate through the language of art and to exchange distinct styles. The ethnic Korean artists in China worked as matchmakers between the North and South.Kim Key-man, an organizer of the exhibit and visiting professor

Sep 19, 2014By Kwon Mee-yoo

Art exhibit bridges South Korea, North Korea and China

Travel & Food

Alchemist of everyday life

Choi Jeong-hwa’s “The Free Time of Flowers”Choi Jeong-hwa creates art for everyoneBy Kwon Mee-yooRed and green baskets weaved into towers stand in front of Culture Station Seoul 284, the former Seoul Station building, now transformed into an art museum. Passers-by look at the sculpture with curiosity because it is made of familiar everyday objects, while the location is used in a manner that goes far beyond their expectations.This is Choi Jeong-hwa’s “The Everyday Happy Together of Flowers,” which is an introduction to a colorful feast of unique objects and unexpected surprises at Choi’s exhibit “Natural Color, Multiple Flower Show,” which requires plastic caps and lids as admission.“You Are Flowers,” an inflatable robot that keeps collapsing, incorporates a view of Seoul into a part of the artwork. / Courtesy of Culture Station Seoul 284Choi can be labeled in multiple ways — installation artist, art director, interior designer and collector. Reflecting such versatility, instead of using the space as a white cube

Sep 18, 2014By Kwon Mee-yoo

Books

Looking for next Shin Kyung-sook

The cover of Korean novelist Kim Ae-ran’s “Ma vie Palpitante,” which is a French translation of “My Palpitating Life”/ Courtesy of Editions Phlippe PicquierNovelist Kim Ae-ranBy Kwon Mee-yooA new generation of Korean writers is dazzling the international literary market as more Korean works are translated into foreign languages.Kim Ae-ran, the author of the story that inspired the film “My Brilliant Life,” is enjoying popularity in France.Kim’s 2005 short story collection “Run, Papa, run” was translated into French and published by Decrescenzo Editeurs as two books: “Cours papa, cours!” in 2012 and “Ma vie dans la superette” (“I Go to the Convenience Store”) in 2013.The latter won the Prix de l’Inapercu in June, which honors literary works that the public has overlooked. Nils C. Ahl, a literary critic for Le Monde newspaper, said, “Even if the background of this novel is Korea, this work does not make readers feel isolated by foreign culture.” The review states that the w

Sep 14, 2014By Kwon Mee-yoo

Arts & Theater

Korea's best art collections

Choi Jeong-hwa’s “Alchemy” adds colorful twist to Mario Botta’s signature rotunda of Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art in Hannam-dong, Seoul. / Courtesy of LeeumLeeum, Arario Museum feature wide range of international and local masterpiecesBy Kwon Mee-yooWho collects what is a matter of great importance in contemporary art and people often wonder what is inside the top collectors’ storage.Hong Ra-hee and Kim Chang-il, the two the most prominent art collectors in Korea, unveiled their proudest possessions to the public, which range from internationally renowned artists Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin to leading Korean artists Paik Nam-june and Lee U-fan, at their respective museums. Leeum’s 10th anniversaryLeeum, Samsung Museum of Art celebrates its 10th anniversary with "Beyond and Between,” a special exhibition embracing all three buildings of the private art museum in Itaewon.Hong, the director of Leeum and wife of Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-hee, has been considered as the most influential figures in Korean art scene. Hong sets direct

Sep 5, 2014By Kwon Mee-yoo

Arts & Theater

Between innocence and madness

From top, Kim Su-yong playing Woyzeck, Kim So-hyang (Marie) and Kim Pub-lae (Drum Major) / Courtesy of Acom International and LG Arts CenterMusical rendition of ‘Woyzeck’ to open in October  Chris BroderickBy Kwon Mee-yoo"Woyzeck," an unfinished stage play written by German author Georg Buchner, will get a new adaptation at Seoul's LG Arts Center in October.Regarded as the first modern play, the "Woyzeck" explores social conditions such as poverty and experiments and how it tests the human limits. The 1837 play has been adapted for many movies, operas and plays and even choreographed for ballet, but no commercial producers thought of transforming it into a musical yet.Despite the dark subject matter, Yun Ho-jin, producer and director of prominent Korean musicals "The Last Empress" and "Hero," found the possibility of musical adaptation in the gruesome tale of the soldier Woyzeck. Yun brought his two previous shows onto the stage of prestigious Lincoln Center in New York, but this time he wanted to stage something more universal and the story of "Woyzeck" ca

Aug 31, 2014By Kwon Mee-yoo

South Korea

KBS unionists vote to go on strike

By Kwon Mee-yooThe KBS branch of the National Union of Mediaworkers voted to strike Friday evening, calling for the resignation of the company's president Gil Hwan-young.Nearly 94 percent of the union members, or 992 out of 1,131 members, voted in favor of industrial action. The KBS branch of the union, mainly composed of journalists and producers, organized an emergency meeting after the vote result came out around 9 p.m. to decide the exact date of the walkout."The majority of the union members agreed to strike and it is possible to start next week. We will cooperate with other unions at KBS for a common front," a union official told Yonhap News.KBS unionists have claimed that Gil tried to interfere in news reporting in favor of President Park Geun-hye administration's handling of the Sewol ferry disaster, which claimed hundreds of lives.The KBS Union, the other labor union of the state-run broadcaster with about 2,500 members in mostly engineering position, will hold a similar vote up until next Tuesday.Not only the two KBS unions but also its associations are joining hands to ous

May 23, 2014By Kwon Mee-yoo

Lifestyle

Step into action

By Kwon Mee-yooNEW YORK — Live theater performances can provide audiences with unforgettable joy and thrills, but sometimes the onstage action can feel remote because of the distance between the seats and the stage. But a new type of theatrical experience invites audiences to become part of the performance. Audiences are encouraged to interact with actors, to make their theatrical experience more enjoyable and more engaged. Sleep No More: Macbeth in noir “Sleep No More,” which arrived in New York in 2011, started a new trend of immersive theater. Produced by British troupe Punchdrunk, “Sleep No More” is based loosely on Shakespeare’s “Macbeth,” but it is not like a traditional performance of Shakepeare’s play”.Set in the 100,000-square-foot fictitious McKittrick Hotel in Chelsea, the performance invites the audiences into a dark, film noir mood of the 1930s. Some 25 performers act out or perform dances inspired by the play.Ruthie Ann Miles, center, portrays Filipina First Lady Imelda Marcos in an immersive producti

May 22, 2014By Kwon Mee-yoo

Kwon Mee-yoo

Read more

MMCA director under fire for hiring acquaintances

Marriage of Buddhism and modern dance

Art museum breathes new life into Jeju

Art exhibit bridges South Korea, North Korea and China

Alchemist of everyday life

Looking for next Shin Kyung-sook

Korea's best art collections

Between innocence and madness

KBS unionists vote to go on strike

Step into action

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