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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.

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Arts & Theater

’Korea has respect for design’

By Kwon Mee-yoo Paola Antonelli, 48, senior curator at the Department of Architecture and Design at the famed Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, has an open mind for talented designers and keen eyes for finding good design. “It was great as always,” she said recalling her four-day visit to Seoul on the day of her departure, Thursday. It was her fourth visit to the city at the invitation of Hyundai Card. When she first came here in 2008, she was here to create the “Humble Masterpieces” exhibit at Hangaram Design Museum, Seoul Arts Center. “On the first day, I walked from Jongno 3-ga to 5-ga and then walked by the site where the new Museum of Contemporary Art building is going to be and went to a few galleries there,” she said. Namdaemun Market was another favorite of Antonelli. “I also went to Namdaemun because I had a colleague who had never been to Seoul before and wanted to show her the market. It’s always interesting to see the market,” she said. “I loved the part with pillows, comforters and blankets, because that’s so Korean — Koreans used them to s

Nov 18, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
Films

Stray cats find a niche

Film, cafe seek to break biases By Kwon Mee-yoo A 27-year-old woman who quit her job to open a cafe, a poet who travelled for 15 years and a television commercial director — there seems to be no intersection among the three people’s lives, but affection toward stray cats created a bond. And they have set out to break prejudice against cats on the street. Lee Yong-han, the poet who published photo essays on stray cats including “Bye Kitty, and Thank You” and “Be Bright Cats” collaborated with commercial film director Yun Ki-hyoung in the new movie “Dancing Cat,” while Lee Jung-hee, 27, is busy adding finishing touches to her new cafe “Dreaming of Stray Cats” near Jonggak Station on subway line No. 1, which will open later this month. Lee Yong-han’s “Bye Kitty, and Thank You,” published in 2009, made many people think again about cats on the street and Yun was one of them. As described in the movie, Yun came across the book in a library and started to think about making a documentary based on Lee’s book. “Thoughts on the book and cats kept recurring to me and I co

Nov 16, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
K-pop

First record fair due in Seoul Saturday

By Kwon Mee-yoo The first ever Record and CD Fair in Seoul will be held at Platoon Kunsthalle in Nonhyeon-dong, southern Seoul, Saturday, with a variety of vinyl records and compact discs available for sale and for viewing. On the first and second floor of the venue, some 40 local labels will set up booths to sell vinyl records and CDs - from rare limited edition albums and imported ones to local indie band albums. Participating labels include Luova Factory, Beatball Records, Leaplay Music, Pastel Music and record shops such as Purple Record and LP Love will also participate in the fair. Some out-of-print records and limited editions will be available at the first Seoul Record Fair. Khiov Music & Packaging, a company producing LP miniatures, will display their mini vinyl replica CDs along with the original vinyl records by artists such as Bob Dylan and Miles Davis. A series of performances celebrating the event continues throughout the day. Singer-songwriter Lee Jung-sun will perform folk and blues with band Lowdown 30. A special exhibit will feature Lee’s albums, both o

Nov 15, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
Arts & Theater

Artist Lee Ufan returns with ’Dialogue’ series

By Kwon Mee-yoo Artist Lee Ufan returns to Korea with new works in his “Dialogue” exhibition held in a new annex at Gallery Hyundai in Sagan-dong, central Seoul, from today. In his first exhibition after a major retrospective “Lee Ufan: Marking Infinity” at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York from June to September, Lee presents works that are simple and understandable to viewers. Upon entering the gallery, visitors will encounter Lee’s straightforward yet strong dots that seem to talk to them. The exhibition is rather simple and small in scale. There are seven large oil paintings and four small water color and oil works hung on white walls on the first and second floors of the gallery. Lee’s “Dialogue” series might look like simple strokes, but it is a result of his constant anguish over art, and elaborate calculations, balancing the double-sidedness of inside and outside. Lee applies coats of paint over and over to achieve color and texture and it might take weeks or even months as he waits for the previous coat to dry. At a press preview of the exhibit M

Nov 14, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
People & Events

Kim Byung-man discontinues hit comedy ’Expert’

By Kwon Mee-yoo After some four years of making the nation laugh by mimicking all kinds of gurus in the KBS "Gag Concert" program, Comedian Kim Byung-man, will close his “Expert” sketch. "I don't think I'm quitting 'Expert,' but I think it is time to come up with something new," Kim said before the final recording of the show, Wednesday. "I've been thinking about this for a while, but support from the viewers made me continue the show beyond expectations." "Expert" started in December 2007 and presents a sarcastic mockery of a ‘professional’ who appears on the television show for his professed 16 year of expertise, but fails to present anything worthwhile. Kim played some 250 characters that were “masters” ― from handstand and tightrope expert to a person who lived 16 years holding the same posture or someone who cannot taste any flavor. Two comedians Ryu Dam and Noh Woo-jin accompanied Kim, playing the TV show host and the best pupil of the expert, respectively. The last episode of "Expert," which will be aired Sunday, will feature Kim as an expert of the unicycle.

Nov 10, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
Shows & Dramas

Queens of musical are coming

‘200-Pound Beauty,’ ‘Evita,’ ‘Elizabeth’ to go on stage By Kwon Mee-yoo Musical divas are preparing to dominate local theater scene this winter, portraying strong women from an Austrian Empress to an Argentine First Lady to a backup singer reborn after plastic surgery. "200-Pound Beauty," a Korean musical based on the 2007 movie of the same name, will raise its first on Dec. 6 at the Grand Theater of Chungmu Art Hall in central Seoul. The musical premiered in 2008 and now returns with a revamped music number and set. Actor-turned-director Lim Chul-hyung will direct the show, adding more fun to the musical. It tells a story of an overweight backup singer whose life totally changes after a makeover through plastic surgery. She falls in love with music producer Sang-jun who recognizes her talent but does not see her as a woman. Singer Bada, also known as Choi Sung-hee, girl band Kara's Park Gyu-ri and musical actress Jeon Hye-sun will play the lead role of Han-byeol, who later becomes top singer Jenny. Choi successfully played the role in the 2008 premiere, holding

Nov 8, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
Arts & Theater

Young producer brings fun, fresh musicals

This is the fifth in a series of interviews with the heads of Korea’s top theatrical companies. — ED. By Kwon Mee-yoo “Have Fun With Shownote!” This line greets visitors to the Daehangno office of Shownote, the theatrical company that staged “Hedwig” and “Le Passe-Muraille” in Seoul. “Most art forms, including movies, books and music, have some kind of medium to reach the audience. However, performance art meets the audience one-to-one,” Kim Young-wook, 40, producer and chief executive officer of Shownote, said in an interview with The Korea Times. “I think such an analogous encounter is the charm of theater in this digitalized era.” Kim studied physical education at Korea University and was an aspiring sports medicine intern at a medical center in Seoul. However, he could not imagine a future there and moved to a sports agency, working with players such as soccer star Ahn Jung-hwan. The company had a division dealing with concerts and performances and Kim participated in those projects too, which later led him to work on the Korean production of “Beauty and th

Nov 7, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
Arts & Theater

Connecting Korea, Germany through art

By Kwon Mee-yoo Maya Stiller, a visiting German researcher on Korean art, praised the natural elegance and practicality of Korean design, saying it is gaining more interest in Germany, as interest in Koreanology heightens. “Chinese art strives for perfection, while Japanese tends to be decorative. However, Korean art has a balance between practicality and refinement,” the researcher said. She gave an example of Korean ceramics, saying, “When you hold a Korean celadon, the haptic experience of holding it in your hand makes you feel that it was actually used in daily life.” Stiller is participating in a workshop hosted by the Korea Foundation. The foundation has been operating annual workshops for Korean art curators overseas for 13 years. This year’s was held from Oct. 24 to today, focusing on Korean ceramics in East Asia and their influence and development. “I have taught Korean art history, but I learned a lot of new things at this workshop, especially about international relations,” Stiller said. She excitedly explained how China influenced Goryeo celadon from nort

Nov 2, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
K-pop

Mnet Asian awards heads to Singapore

By Kwon Mee-yoo Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMAs) 2011, one of the largest music awards in Korea, heads to Singapore this year. Hosted by music cable channel Mnet, the 13th music awards will be held at Singapore Indoor Stadium on Nov. 29. Top singers TVXQ, B2ST, Big Bang, Super Junior and 2PM will vie for the best male group award, while Brown Eyed Girls, Girls’ Generation, Kara, 2NE1 and f(x) compete in the best female group section. Kim Hyun-joong, Park Jae-beom, Jang Woo-hyuk, HyunA and G.NA are nominated for the best dance performance by a solo singer. Kim Sung-soo, chief executive officer of CJ E&M, said at a press conference held Tuesday that the MAMA 2011 aims to be an international music festival. "K-pop is leading a new 'hallyu,' or Korean wave, and more broadcasters are hosting overseas concerts after last year's MAMAs in Macau," Kim said. "We hope to communicate seamlessly with Asia through music and create a large single music market. We aim to raise the MAMAs to 'the Grammys of the East.'" The awards began in 1999 under the name of Mnet Music Video Awards a

Nov 1, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
People & Events

42nd Translation Award Grand Prize: ’A Way of Remembrance’

Authored by Jung Young-moon Translated by Jung Ye-won Perhaps in the beginning I wanted to tell a story about frogs. I think it was when I was spending a lot of time in the mosquito net, after having been harassed by mosquitoes all summer long and being more harassed by them as they became more and more vicious at the end of summer, that I came to have a desire to tell a story about frogs. The mosquito net, white, was fixed to the ceiling above the bed, enveloping the bed in a rectangular shape. This summer seemed particularly long, but perhaps it wasn’t especially long, considering that every summer had seemed particularly long. Perhaps the same could be said about how this summer seemed particularly hot, with a particularly great number of mosquitoes. It was true, however, that I killed more mosquitoes this summer than I had any other summer. The mosquitoes that bit me mercilessly stirred up within me a vague hostility that wasn’t especially directed towards them, but failing to find another target to which to return the hostility, I had no choice but to return it to t

Oct 31, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
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