The Korea Times

Friendlier face graces National Museum

By Kwon Mee-yoo The National Museum of Korea is busy revamping exhibition design and organizing educational programs to be more accessible and easier on the eye for Korean and international visitors. At the forefront of these efforts is Kim Young-na, the director of the museum. After taking the position in February 2011, Kim has been working hard to take care of the museum’s internal and external affairs while making trips to benchmark. “I went to Cheongju National Museum yesterday and visited an excavation site of an iron-making site in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, dating back to the 2nd century,” Kim said at a recent interview with The Korea Times. The museum has more than 150,000 artifacts in its collection, but the displays are somewhat dull and not engaging enough to the design-savvy younger generation. As an art historian with a background in archeology, Kim thinks it is important to view artifacts in context. “Our displays might be a little bit old-fashioned compared to the top museums in the world,” the director said. “Most of the artifacts were displayed

Jul 3, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

People & Events

Miss Korea runner-up Lee exhibits photos for pageant’s 56th anniversary

By Kwon Mee-yoo Lee Semina, the second runner-up in the 2011 Miss Korea beauty pageant is holding a photography exhibition at the Convention Center of Grand Hilton Seoul from Wednesday to commemorate the event and encourage this year’s contestants. Lee Sang-seok, president of The Hankook Ilbo and the candidates of the 2012 Miss Korea will attend the opening. The exhibit features 29 photographic works to celebrate the holding of the 56th Miss Korea competition, the largest beauty pageant in Korea. She also aims to honor the memory of the late Park Young-Seok, a Korean mountaineer who went missing on Annapurna last October — most of the photos were taken during her trek to the mountain. Major works in the exhibition include “Today,” “Thank You,” “Man of the Mountain” and “The Way Home.” “Today” features religious artifact which people use in Nepal to hope for safe day whereas The Way Home” was taken while climbing down from the Annapurna base camp. Lee is a student at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), studying physics. She won Miss G

Jul 3, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Arts & Theater

KF takes Korean music on tour

By Kwon Mee-yoo The Korea Foundation (KF) will take the essence of Korean music and share it with audiences in Central America and the Caribbean. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties with the Dominican Republic and El Salvador, the Korea Foundation will host joint performances by Noreum Machi and Gorilla Crew throughout next week. Noreum Machi is a Korean percussion group that engages in traditional music with a modern twist. Established in 1993 by artistic director Kim Ju-hong, the band shot to stardom after playing in the soundtrack in the hit movie “King and the Clown” (2005). At this occasion Noreum Machi will present “Binari” (Blessing) and “Pan Gut.” Gorilla Crew is one of the top b-boy teams in Korea and is known for dynamic choreography and excellent breakdance skills. The team premiered “B-boy and Ballerina,” a popular non-verbal performance here. They will present hip-hop music and popping dance, which is an original funk style of dance that came from streets in California during the 1960s-70s. There will also be a joint perf

Jul 2, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Korean Heritage

Yeowoorak Fest jazzes up Korean traditional music

Korean traditional music ensemble Jeong Ga Ak Hoe presents "Wangmorae," or "Coarse Sand," on July 12 and 13./ Courtesy of National Theater of KoreaYang suggests fusion of gukak, theater and literature By Kwon Mee-yoo The 2012 Yeowoorak Festival, a feast of Korean traditional music with a twist of jazz, literature and even theater, kicks off Tuesday at the National Theater of Korea (NTOK) and will run through July 21. The Yeowoorak Festival began in 2010 so Korean classical musicians could take a step closer to the public. Reflecting the increasing diversity of Korean traditional music, the number of participating performers has more than tripled from the initial four to 13 this year. Ahn Ho-sang, president of NTOK, said the festival aims to make Korean traditional music more familiar and approachable. “The 2012 Yeowoorak Festival will be a place to meet young musicians, who will lead the Korean music scene for the next two to three decades,” Ahn said. The 19-day listening pleasures feature a variety of “gukak,” or Korean traditional music

Jul 1, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

People & Events

Park Eun-hee to head D-Cube Arts Center

By Kwon Mee-yoo Park Eun-hee, 60, was named as the new president of D-Cube Arts Center in Sindorim, Seoul. She studied at Manhattan School of Music and Seoul National University and worked actively as a pianist, performing with noted orchestras such as Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra. Park established chamber orchestra Korea Festival Ensemble in 1986 and has worked as its music director since then. She will take the D-Cube Arts Center post on July 1 and act as president as well as an artistic director for the theater. Having opened in September, D-Cube Arts Center is the largest theater in southwestern Seoul, with a 1,242-seat musical theater and a 500-seat multi-purpose hall. The musical "Chicago" is currently playing there.

Jun 28, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Arts & Theater

Imprints of Gonzalez-Torres' search for eternity

By Kwon Mee-yoo Two round wall clocks, two rectangular mirrors and two pillows on an empty bed — the two identical shapes evoke a sense of similarity, but they can never be the same. The first retrospective of Felix Gonzalez-Torres (1957-1996) in Asia, an artist who explored the fear of death and sought eternity, “Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Double” is going on show at Plateau in central Seoul. Gonzalez-Torres was born in Cuba and grew up in Spain and Puerto Rico before moving to New York City in 1979. He was an immigrant, homosexual and AIDS patient, but instead of remaining as a minority, he used the mainstream to establish his world of art. Though he passed away at the early age of 38, his influence on contemporary art is eminent. This exhibit features 44 of Gonzalez-Torres’ works, which are minimal and reflect his private life. “Untitled” (North) greets visitors in the lobby, opposite Auguste Rodin’s “The Gates of Hell.” It is composed of strings of incandescent light bulbs and glows warmly in the middle of the gallery. The piece reminds one of finite human life, ju

Jun 27, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Books

Choe publishes book on Korean tea culture

By Kwon Mee-yoo Ceramic artist Choe Chong-kan has published “The Transmission of Korean Tea Culture to Japan.” The book is a history of Korean tea culture and discusses the beginnings of the tea ceremony in Japan. According to Choe, a monk called Musangseonsa from the Silla Kingdom (57 B.C.-935 A.D.) created the Zen tea ceremony, considered an important part of Zen practice, while in China during the Tang Dynasty (618-906). The author goes on to say that later in the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910), Kim Si-seup developed it as the Choam tea ceremony, which was introduced to Japan in the 15th century and influenced the start of the Japanese tea culture. “That is why tea bowls produced in the southern region of Korea during the 16th century often appear in the Wavi Tea Society of Japan,” he said in the book. “I have thus elucidated a new diffusion and a major communication route of Korean tea culture towards Japan.” The first part of the book describes the origin and development of Korean tea culture and continues to the diffusion of the Korean tea culture to East Asia.

Jun 26, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Arts & Theater

Yi portrays desperateness in 'Poongwallju'

By Kwon Mee-yoo Actor Yi Youll has a handsome, chiseled face with fair skin and mischievous yet sorrowful eyes. He plays Yeol, the first-rate male courtesan, in a new musical “Poongwallju,” which raised its curtain in May in Daehangno, Seoul’s small theater district. Yi’s Yeol has a sense of innocence like a little boy but he could be cold-blooded at the same time. No wonder the queen falls for him. The title literally means the owner of the wind and moon, which comes from the title of the leader of Hwarang, a group of elite male youths in the Silla Kingdom (57 B.C.-935 A.D.). In this musical, they serve noblewomen in a fictional place called Unru. Yeol is the most popular one among them and Queen Jinseong regularly seeks his company. He was satisfied with his life there as long as he could live with his friend Sadam. But his destiny takes an unexpected turn when the queen becomes pregnant with his child and wants him to be her prince consort. Though Jinseong is the 51st ruler of Silla Kingdom, the musical is totally fictional. The musical, written by Jeong Min-a and com

Jun 25, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Travel & Food

Handmade specialty ice cream cool down Seoul

By Kwon Mee-yoo Outside the daytime temperatures soar and the pursuit for more sophisticated gourmet treats by Seoulites has now reached ice cream. Specialty ice cream shops are popping up in various neighborhoods, while dessert cafes offer unique handmade ice creams to match other bakery items. Fell+Cole Opened last July, Fell+Cole features a variety of ice cream flavors from ordinary Just Boring Vanilla to interesting Java the Hut, which combines coffee and Guinness beer. Steady sellers at the gastronomic ice cream parlor include Strawberry Red Wine with Szechuan Pepper, Honey Lavender, and Burnt Caramel with Smoked Sea Salt. Hokey Porky, an ice cream with candied bacon, and Perilla Leaves are also signature flavors offered at Fell+Cole. After having lived in Hawaii and San Francisco, Ho-june “Tristan” Choi introduced a new concept of specialty ice cream in Korea. He had no previous experience making ice-cream before he decided to open an ice cream shop in Seoul, but three months of practice and an instinctive knack for flavors made him a pro “ice creamista.”

Jun 21, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Arts & Theater

'La Mancha' brings tale of Don Quixote

By Kwon Mee-yoo Sunflower fields, windmills, off-his-rocker knight Don Quixote and his squire Sancho Panza are returning to Seoul in “Man of La Mancha” at the Charlotte Theater in Jamsil, southern Seoul. The classic Broadway show is a proven hit in Korea with its philosophical message and beautiful music. The story takes place in the late 16th century in Spain, telling the tale of Don Quixote as a play within a play told by Miguel de Cervantes in a dungeon. It premiered here in 2005 and top actors including Cho Seung-woo, Ryu Jung-han and Jung Sung-hwa played the part of Cervantes/Don Quixote. Three new actors — Hwang Jung-min, Seo Bum-seok and Hong Kwang-ho — will share the joint role this time. Hwang is a veteran actor on the big and small screen as well as in the theater and his previous stage credits including “Nine” (2008) and Robbie Hart of “The Wedding Singer” (2009). His familiar yet acute image goes well with the author Servantes and mad knight Don Quixote. At the press preview of the musical on Monday, Hwang performed “Man of La Mancha,” in w

Jun 20, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Kwon Mee-yoo

Read more

Friendlier face graces National Museum

Miss Korea runner-up Lee exhibits photos for pageant’s 56th anniversary

KF takes Korean music on tour

Yeowoorak Fest jazzes up Korean traditional music

Park Eun-hee to head D-Cube Arts Center

Imprints of Gonzalez-Torres' search for eternity

Choe publishes book on Korean tea culture

Yi portrays desperateness in 'Poongwallju'

Handmade specialty ice cream cool down Seoul

'La Mancha' brings tale of Don Quixote

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