The Korea Times

Veteran comedian Lee reveals his disease

By Kwon Mee-yoo Veteran comedian Lee Kyung-kyu, 52, revealed he is suffering from a panic disorder while appearing on a popular entertainment program, Sunday. Lee, one of seven presenters on “Qualifications of a Man” that airs on KBS, made the disclosure Sunday when the program conducted a psychological evaluation on them. Lee said that he has been receiving treatment for the disorder as well as taking medication for the past four months, and has been improving. A panic disorder can involve uncontrollable fear, heart palpitations and chest pain. The comedian said many times he has felt as if he would die and sometimes he would walk up 10 floors if he didn’t like the idea of taking the elevator. He attributed his problem to fatigue.

Jan 9, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Arts & Theater

Exhibitions to lure more art fans in 2012

By Kwon Mee-yoo Plenty of art exhibitions are expected to please art lovers this year as many museums and galleries are presenting talented Korean artists working both domestically and overseas along with contemporary international masters. Korean talents Installation artist Suh Do-ho will hold a solo exhibition at Leeum, the Samsung Museum of Art from March to June. He will be the first living Korean artist to ever exhibit in the Leeum. Suh is expected to present new works as it is his first Korean exhibition since 2006. Suh’s signature series on “hanok,” or Korean traditional houses such as “Fallen Star 1/5” and “Home Within Home” is expected to be on display. His works are based on Oriental spirituality and a Korean identity, yet expressed in a modern, universal way. He represented Korea in the 2001 Venice Biennale and now divides his time between New York and Seoul. Lee Bul will come to Artsonje Center in September after having an exhibition at Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, Japan. She rose to stardom after displaying sequin-encrusted rotting fish in her work “Maj

Jan 9, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Opinion

Who is ’crazy?’

Director’s tweet enrages theater lovers By Kwon Mee-yoo The question of whether Twitter is a private or public space still remains debatable but people should think again before tweeting, especially a play director who has two Twitter accounts. Ro Seung-hee, director of the musical “Thrill Me” currently ongoing at Chungmu Art Hall in Seoul, is under fire for her indiscreet tweets. Written and composed by Stephen Dolginoff, the show revolves around two young men who kidnapped and murdered a child in Chicago in the 1920s and their relationship. It is based on a true incident. The subtle portrayal of their mentality and power games has resulted in a flock of fans who have headed to theaters again and again since its York Theatre premiere off-Broadway in 2005. After arriving in Korea in 2007, the musical has had five versions with different directors

Jan 8, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Arts & Theater

Shedding new light on Kim Whan-ki

By Kwon Mee-yoo Kim Whan-ki (1913-74) led the modern abstract art movement in Korea. He drew objects such as mountains, the moon, cranes and white porcelain jars, popular subjects of Korean paintings, using Western techniques. Kim later devoted himself to pointillism, portraying an affection and longing for home country. Some refer to Kim as “the Picasso of Korea,” since he was prolific enough to leave some 3,000 artworks including oil paintings, gouache paintings and drawings. He also disassembled the objects he drew like Picasso did. Kim is one of the first-generation Western-style painters in Korea and it was natural for him to seek a Korean identity in Western style. Kim Young-na, director-general of the National Museum of Korea, in her book “20th Century Korean Art” said he achieved Asian abstractionism based on a communion with nature. A retrospective exhibition at Gallery Hyundai sheds new light on the modern abstract artist through Feb. 26. About 60 representative works are on display, including four on display to the public for the first time. Painter w

Jan 5, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Arts & Theater

Raising curtain to abundant year in musicals

By Kwon Mee-yoo The year 2012 is going to be full of musical joy as a long list of touring, licensed and homegrown musical productions — from the longest-running musical in the world to a theater version of Korean wave drama — wait to be staged. Touring productions coming to Korea One of the musicals receiving the highest expectations for 2012 is “Wicked,” which will come to Blue Square in Hannam-dong from May to October. The Broadway extravaganza explores what happened before Dorothy entered the Land of Oz and the relationships between the Wicked Witch of the West, Glinda the Good and the Wizard of Oz. Theatergoers will be greeted by a giant dragon and clockwork mechanics above and around the proscenium, a green-skinned witch and a bubbly blonde witch as well as whimsical costumes in presenting the emerald city of Oz. The Australian tour will come to Korea after stopping at Singapore. An English production of the sung-through French-Canadian musical “Notre Dame de Paris” will come to the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts from Jan. 19 to Feb. 26. It is c

Jan 2, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Korean Heritage

Year of Black Dragon

By Kwon Mee-yoo, Noh Hyun-gi The animal has a head resembling a camel, eyes of a rabbit, the nose of a pig, ears like an ox, antlers similar to a buck, a snake-like neck, fists as fierce as those of a tiger, the sharp talons of a hawk and scales no different from a carp. There are long whiskers decorating the mouth and a bump in the middle of the head, which allow the animal to fly in the air. In this manner the mythical dragon creature is described in “Boncho Gangmok” (Classified Records of Chinese Medical Botany) originally published in 1596. Ahead, the year 2012 is the Year of the Dragon, or the Year of Im-jin, according to Chinese astrology, when good fortune is expected to kick off and ascend into the sky as dragons do. Year of the Black Dragon The dragon is the fifth sign and the only fanciful animal in the Chinese zodiac. “The dragon is a cultural being, not a biological animal. It is the most prestigious being with ultimate authority,” said Cheon Jin-gi, director general of the National Folk Museum. “Though mythical, the dragon is a familiar animal. There is a say

Dec 30, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo

Arts & Theater

Homegrown musicals advance with diversity

The year 2011 has been another prosperous one for Korea’s musical industry. New works from Broadway and the West End, such as “Next to Normal” and “Zorro,” were staged here, while local creators presented a wide range of shows. According to Interpark, the largest local ticket reservation site, the size of Korea’s musical market was around 250 billion won this year, a 20 percent jump from 2010. “Mamma Mia!” was the most watched musical of the year, closely followed by “Zorro” and “Jekyll and Hyde.” “Mamma Mia!” is one of the best loved musicals by Koreans and currently on stage at the D-Cube Arts Center. “Zorro” is the hottest new work combining the Gypsy Kings’ music and fabulous swordsmanship and magic by such celebrated actors as Cho Seung-woo and Park Geon-hyeong. The West End hit is currently onstage at the Samsung Electronics Musical Hall. "Jekyll and Hyde" set a new record by drawing 350,000 audience members during its nine-month run, the highest number ever achieved in that time period. Homegrown works Local producers and creative staff have continued to

Dec 25, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo

Arts & Theater

Nat’l Museum introduces Japanese Buddhist art

By Kwon Mee-yoo The essence of Japanese Buddhist art is being introduced to Korea through a special exhibition held by the National Museum of Korea in Yongsan, Seoul. The event, titled “Japanese Buddhist Art from the Lake Biwa District — Aspiring for Rebirth in the Buddhist Paradise,” highlights the exquisite relics of the neighboring Asian country’s Buddhist art, featuring 94 artifacts. The collection includes four national treasures. Upon entering the museum space, “Eight Views of Omi” presents the landscape of Lake Biwa, Shiga Prefecture in central Japan. It is the largest freshwater lake in Japan at about 673 square kilometers, similar to the size of Seoul. Omi is an old name for Shiga Prefecture and the painting on display has four scenic sites among the eight. “Though Lake Biwa is an unfamiliar name for most Koreans, there is a route along the lake used by ‘tongsinsa,’ or the emissary dispatched to Japan during the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910) as seen in the lower right side of this ‘Lake View’ painting from Sufuku-ji,” Ryu Seung-jin, the museum’s Asian art curat

Dec 21, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo

Arts & Theater

Nature meets science in Laarman’s furniture

By Kwon Mee-yoo Chairs resembling the shape of bones, a bridge-shaped table and tables with tree-shaped legs; these are all created by Joris Laarman, 32, a young designer from the Netherlands. Twenty-three pieces of Laarman’s representative and new works are being exhibited at Kukje Gallery in Sagan-dong, Seoul, for his first solo exhibition here. Fluid yet complicated lines of his furniture might conjure up images of science fiction movies, but Laarman’s futuristic design is practical for its original purpose as well. Each artwork might look similar, but they all have different lines and shapes. “Bone Chair,” which was exhibited at the Museum of Modern Arts’s (MoMA) “Design and the Elastic Mind” in 2008, is not made from bones. However, it is a result of watching the growing process of bones combined with state-of-the-art technology. The Dutch designer calls his studio a “lab.” The Joris Laarman Lab, with seven engineers and 3D technicians, is the home of such digitally crafted works. Laarman uses computer programs to create an algorithm based on the original

Dec 19, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo

Books

Suzy Lee explores beyond borders in books

By Kwon Mee-yoo A girl, in the left page of a picture book, plays on the beach by the water’s edge. The waves from the right page cannot penetrate the left page, as the binding line works as a border between reality and fantasy. The girl sticks out her tongue expecting that the mountainous waves will never flow over to her side. But over the next pages, the waves pass over the line and sweep her away. As the waves hit two pages together, fantasy blends with reality and the girl changes. This is part of what happens in Suzy Lee’s illustrated book “Wave.” Lee is known for a series of wordless picture books — “Mirror,” “Wave” and “Shadow” — using the innate physical property of books as major characteristics of her work. The binding line in the center of two facing pages of the book, the square-shape of paper and custom of reading from left to right are all closely related to her themes, content and structure. In “Mirror,” the binding line works as a mirror of a girl, but the same line separates the real world and shadows in “Shadow.” She exercises her imagination e

Dec 16, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo

Kwon Mee-yoo

Read more

Veteran comedian Lee reveals his disease

Exhibitions to lure more art fans in 2012

Who is ’crazy?’

Shedding new light on Kim Whan-ki

Raising curtain to abundant year in musicals

Year of Black Dragon

Homegrown musicals advance with diversity

Nat’l Museum introduces Japanese Buddhist art

Nature meets science in Laarman’s furniture

Suzy Lee explores beyond borders in books

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