The Korea Times

Galleries protest high-rise building plan in Insa-dong

By Kwon Mee-yooShop owners in Insa-dong are protesting plans by the Seoul Metropolitan Government to allow high-rise buildings to be constructed in the area, which they say will ruin the traditional street culture found in the district.The area near Gyeongbok Palace has long been distinctive for its concentration of art galleries, restaurants and traditional craft shops.To exploit the increasing influx of Asian tourists in the city, municipal authorities have been looking to redevelop Insa-dong to maximize its commercial potential and create synergy with neighboring leisure destinations such as Jongno.The street is currently protected as a “culture district,” which means that no building can have more than four floors. Businesses that are not related to art, traditional crafts or cuisine have also faced tougher restrictions in opening shops.Plans currently debated at Seoul City Hall’s culture district deliberation committee include loosening the restrictions to allow investors to build structures up to 60 meters high, buildings of approximately 19 stories.City offic

Mar 16, 2014By Kwon Mee-yoo

Galleries protest high-rise building plan in Insa-dong

Arts & Theater

Open call for 2014 Korean Artist Project

Korean Artist Project (KAP), an online platform for cutting-edge contemporary art, said it began recruiting artists to participate in this year’s project.Organized by the Korean Art Museum Association (KAMA), KAP established in 2011 and has so far displayed the works of 63 artists through its virtual gallery on the Internet.Until last year, the KAP had asked curators of private art museums to submit the artists they believed as worthy. Organizers hope that the more open process of participation will allow them to access artistic talent more broadly.The KAP provides English information on select Korean artists and it has been bridging Korean artists and overseas institutions interested in Korean contemporary art. The project participated in the Korea Brand & Entertainment Expo 2013, drawing attention from curators in the United Kingdom.The application is due March 31. For more information, visit www.koreanartistproject.com.

Mar 11, 2014By Kwon Mee-yoo

Arts & Theater

Kim Sun-young picked as new heroine of 'Wicked'

Kim Sun-youngBy Kwon Mee-yooThe Korean production of the smash hit musical "Wicked’’ found its new green witch in veteran actress Kim Sun-young.Kim, 40, will replace Oak Joo-hyun in the lead role of Elphaba starting in May, the musical’s producers said Tuesday. Wicked is based on the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel on the origins of Elphaba, the “Wicked Witch of the West” in L. Frank Baum’s “Wizard of Oz,” and has been a worldwide hit since it had its debut on Broadway in 2003.It arrived in Seoul in November last year and quickly became one of the hottest tickets in town.Kim says she was drawn to the production because of Elphaba’s character."She is alienated by others because of her green skin, but she keeps fighting for what she sees as right,’’ she said.Kim is one of the most in-demand actresses on the Korean musical scene, shining in major roles in works such as "Evita,’’ "Elisabeth’’ and "Jekyll and Hyde.’’She will alternate in the role with Park Hye-na, who has been playing the role

Mar 11, 2014By Kwon Mee-yoo

Kim Sun-young picked as new heroine of 'Wicked'

Arts & Theater

Comedy portrays Darwinism at workplace

“Jungle Life” portrays Korea’s highly-hierarchical office culture with sarcasm. The show runs through March 30 at KT&G SangSang Art Hall in southern Seoul. / Courtesy of Wa Musical GroundBy Kwon Mee-yooFor Koreans, the planet’s most overworked corporate drones driven by the fear of losing their jobs or retirement funds, the new musical “Jungle Life” is funny because it hurts.The Korean musical is a smart and hilarious portrayal of the country’s workplace Darwinism without becoming too dark or melodramatic. Many in the audience may find that this hypnotic and rollicking trip resonates with their real lives outside of the theater.The musical begins with a cleaning lady circling a large wastebasket, dancing and singing to exotic rhythms as she cleans the floors and cubicles of an office in the Jungle Food Corporation.The office is run by Hong Ho-ran, the company executive in charge of business planning, who in this make-believe jungle, is portrayed as a tiger.Newbie Pi Dong-hee, a former athlete on the company’s corporate track-and-fie

Mar 11, 2014By Kwon Mee-yoo

Arts & Theater

Remembering video art pioneer

Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall will house large-scale, site-specific artworks as apart of “The Hyundai Commission,” starting 2015. / Courtesy of Tate ModernTate Modern plans Paik Nam-june exhibition this year Tate director Nicholas SerotaBy Kwon Mee-yooThe Tate Modern, London’s influential modern art museum, will hold a special exhibition later this year of the definitive works of the late Paik Nam-june, the Korean artist revered as the father of video art.The display is a project in partnership with Korea car maker Hyundai Motor, which in January announced an unprecedented 11-year commitment to funding the space, starting with the Paik exhibit.In a news conference in Seoul, Friday, Tate director Sir Nicholas Serota expressed hopes that the museum’s partnership with Hyundai will help it broaden the range of international works displayed in its spaces, including The Hyundai Commission in the Turbine Hall.“We look forward to working together with Hyundai, exploring the most innovative and creative ideas from around the world,” he said.The

Mar 7, 2014By Kwon Mee-yoo

Arts & Theater

A love story that blurs boundaries

“Kiss & Cry,” a performance that combines dance, film and literature, will be staged at the LG Arts Center in southern Seoul on March 6-9./ Courtesy of LG Arts CenterMichele Anne De Mey, left, and Jaco Van DormaelBy Kwon Mee-yooThe LG Arts Center, which is earning a reputation for experimental shows, will open its new season with an imaginative work that combines dance, film and literature.“Kiss & Cry,” which will be staged at the southern Seoul venue from March 6 to 9, is a creation of Belgian movie director Jaco Van Domael and his wife Michele Anne De Mey, a reputed choreographer.Exploiting the latest advantage in multimedia and stage technologies, the couple blurs the boundaries of traditional genres in dramatizing a story about a woman and her old loves, based on a short story of the same title by Belgian author Thomas Gunzig.The result is perhaps the most stunning visual experience performed at LG since the 2007 staging of Robert Lepage’s “Andersen Project.”Upon entering the theater, the audience will face a large screen erected

Mar 2, 2014By Kwon Mee-yoo

Lifestyle

Bukchon meets video art

Derek Kreckler’s “Littoral” / Courtesy of MAAPBy Kwon Mee-yooIf it wasn’t for the dusty air of the last couple of days, we would have been a little more confident in saying it’s finally warm enough for a stroll down Seoul’s best galleries.One such destination is Samcheong-dong, the upscale northern Seoul neighborhood that doubles as a cluster for posh restaurants and art galleries. Australian group Media Art Asia Pacific (MAAP) has chosen the area as the venue for its latest experiments in video and environmental art.MAAP’s “LANDSEASKY: revisiting spatiality in video art” exhibition is an ambitious project that covers six different Samcheong-dong galleries and aims to explore how media art and installments “interact” with its surroundings.Lauren Brincat’s “This Time Tomorrow, Tempelhof”While the art works are displayed in one of the oldest areas of Seoul, they represent attempts at finding modern expressions for the land, sky and sea. MAAP explains that the concept was to recreate a “horizon&rdq

Feb 25, 2014By Kwon Mee-yoo

Arts & Theater

Putting modern spin on 'pansori'

Lee Ja-ram, second from left, a young artist generating interest for her contemporary interpretation of “pansori,” the traditional narrative song genre, practices with bandmates at a studio at the Doosan Art Center in Seoul. / Korea Times photo by Kwon Mee-yooBy Kwon Mee-yooLee Ja-ram is called a prodigy of "pansori," a traditional narrative song performed by a singer and drummer. While the form is centuries old, the 35-year-old never shies away from pushing its boundaries.Lee, who surprised the world with her pansori rendition of Bertolt Brecht classics, is back at it again. This time she is the artistic director and composer behind a pansori re-imagining of the short stories of author Chu Yo-sup.The show, titled "Chu Yo-sup's Ugly Woman/Murder" will be staged at Doosan Art Center's Space 111 later this week. Based on two separate stories, it is highly anticipated because it brings a modern edge not only to pansori but also Korean literature.The stars of the show will be pansori singers Lee Seung-hee, who is featured in the story “Murder” and Kim So-jin,

Feb 18, 2014By Kwon Mee-yoo

Arts & Theater

Reaching new dramatic heights

Kim Yun-cheol, new artistic director of the National Theater Company of Korea, speaks during a press conference at Theater Pan in Seogye-dong, central Seoul, Monday. / YonhapNational drama company director talks international relevanceBy Kwon Mee-yooWhen the Park Geun-hye government named Kim Yun-cheol as artistic director of the National Theater Company of Korea (NTCK) earlier this month, officials probably did not think they’d made a controversial hire. But the appointment irked some thespians, who claimed Kim was the wrong man because he was a critic, not an artist.That might be an unfair assessment of the 65-year-old, who was an actor and director before a vocal cord injury forced him to pursue a career as a drama theorist and critic.But Kim isn’t going out of his way to talk about his younger days, apparently because he sees no need to be apologetic.In an introductory news conference in Seoul, Monday, Kim said he firmly believes his experience as a critic will help him steer NTCK, which has a reputation for being earnest but unimaginative in its efforts to connect wi

Feb 17, 2014By Kwon Mee-yoo

Arts & Theater

Generating buzz

In left photo, Lim Jin-woong, auditioning for Svec in the Korean production of the musical “Once,” plays drums, accompanied by the show’s musical supervisor Martin Lowe’s piano in a rehearsal room of D-Cube Arts Center in Seoul earlier this month.  /  Courtesy of Seensee CompanyMusical journey of ‘Once’ comes to Korea in DecemberKang Su-jung plays the accordion during her audition. Director John TiffanyBy Kwon Mee-yooIf you walked into the D-Cube Arts Center in Seoul last week, you may have thought you’d walked onto the set of Superstar K or another idol competition show.Scores of talented musicians were there, performing before evaluators, such as one woman with bobbed-hair playing an accordion as red as her scarf.But they weren’t playing for a chance to be judged by the likes of Park Jin-young or Simon Cowell. No, they were hoping to be selected to star in the Korean version of the hit Broadway musical “Once.”“Once” — based on the 2006 film of the same name — is coming to Korea i

Feb 16, 2014By Kwon Mee-yoo

Kwon Mee-yoo

Read more

Galleries protest high-rise building plan in Insa-dong

Open call for 2014 Korean Artist Project

Kim Sun-young picked as new heroine of 'Wicked'

Comedy portrays Darwinism at workplace

Remembering video art pioneer

A love story that blurs boundaries

Bukchon meets video art

Putting modern spin on 'pansori'

Reaching new dramatic heights

Generating buzz

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