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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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People & Events

Photojournalist Cho wins YIPP Award

By Kwon Mee-yoo Cho Young-ho, 39, a photojournalist of the Hankook Ilbo, a sister paper of The Korea Times, won a Gold Prize in the Environmental Protection, Measures against Climate Change category at the 2011 Yonhap International Press Photo Awards (YIPPA), Tuesday. Cho's "Greenland's Seal Hunt," a series of nine photos captured the process of a seal hunt in a traditional Inuit way. Cho was the only Korean among the YIPPA winners. Cho said Greenland is one of the many countries greatly harmed by global warming. "I captured the Inuit's traditional seal hunting which might disappear due to global warming," he said. Hosted by Yonhap News Agency in support of the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), YIPPA is the first international photography contest hosted in Korea. The contest aims to promote eight MDGs, including the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, promoting gender equality and reducing child mortality. More than 1,900 photographic works by photojournalists and freelancers from 71 countries were entered in the competition.

Jul 20, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
K-pop

Rock festivals to sizzle up summer

By Kwon Mee-yoo Two rock festivals are ready to rock the summer with the hottest bands from overseas and Korea. Instead of giving rock fans an agonizing choice of which one to go to by holding them on the same weekend, the festivals are on different dates to provide more diverse lineups this year. As the events offer more variety, not only rock enthusiasts but also youngsters attend, as a summer escape. Jisan Valley Rock Festival Jisan Valley Rock Festival (JVRF) will feature 74 artists on four unique stages at the Jisan Forest Resort in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province from July 29 to 31. Jisan’s headliners are all British bands. Electronica duo Chemical Brothers (July 29), indie rock band Arctic Monkeys (July 30) and alternative rock band Suede (July 31) will lead the Big Top Stage which can house more than 20,000 audience members. The Chemical Brothers return to Korea for the second time after the 2007 Pentaport Rock Festival. The Arctic Monkeys and Suede will visit Korea for the first time. The Arctic Monkeys is one of the hottest bands in the United Kingdom rig

Jul 19, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
Arts & Theater

Theater man returns to basics

This is the second in a series of interviews of heads of Korea's top theatrical companies. ― ED. By Kwon Mee-yoo “Forest Fire” changed the life of Park Myung-sung, 48, president and chief producer of Seensee Company. He first saw the realist play by late Korean playwright Cha Bum-suk when he was in high school. It made him fall in love with theater. In 2007, he turned it into a new musical “Dancing Shadows.” He spent 5 billion won but suffered a 2.5 billion won loss when it received harsh reviews. But that hasn’t stopped Park. From acting to producing Born in Haenam, the southernmost town of mainland Korea, he called himself a “chonnom,” which means hillbilly in Korean. “Seeing ‘Forest Fire’ changed my life forever. I started to wonder how a play was made and dreamt of becoming a man of the theater,” Park said. After graduating university, he joined theater troupe Dongin and started acting from scratch. "I wasn’t onstage for more than two minutes. I mostly played characters who died or were kicked off the stage,” he said. “At that time, untrained actors were not a

Jul 18, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
Arts & Theater

’Design is design is not design’

The 2011 Biennale questions essence of design By Kwon Mee-yoo Design has become an everyday word, but the meaning of the word is still motley and vague. The 2011 Gwangju Design Biennale will explore the basics of design and the evolution in its paradigm from Sept. 2 to Oct. 23 at Gwangju Biennale Hall and selected locations in the southern city of Gwangju. The theme of the event is “Design is design is not design.” The riddle-like phrase comes from Chinese philosopher Laozi’s classic text “Tao Te Ching,” which opens with the phrase “The way that is the way is not always the way.” “This year’s biennale throws out a basic question — what is the fundamental of design and can it improve the quality of life,” architect Seung H-sang, artistic director of the 2011 biennale, said. Seung added that the 2011 biennale will present a new vision on design, integrating Asian values. “The concept of design in the 21th century has expanded to relationships between people and place from just beautifying objects. In these changes that time has brought to us, we will cover

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

Getting fired opened another door for Varney

By Kwon Mee-yoo Office life seems to be universal across the globe. There is the foul-mouthed but warm-hearted boss, the social climber, the Star Trek geek, the man of no ability, the worker who always says “None of your business” and a temp. Keith Varney’s musical “I Got Fired” brings this “soul-sucking” pyramid found in office cubicles onstage in a rather snappy yet sarcastic way. The production is based on his experience of getting fired. The musical was invited by the Daegu International Musical Festival (DIMF) and staged at the Daegu Opera House from July 7 to 10. At this time last year, Varney submitted his show for the New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) and “panicked till it opened.” But his work won two awards and even flew to Korea. “Having my show changed my life forever. It will never be the same,” Varney told The Korea Times in an interview after the show Sunday. The musical premiered at the 2010 NYMF at the 99-seat TBG Theatre and won the Theater for the American Musical Prize and the DIMF Production Award. “When I got the phone call to say I was inv

Jul 13, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
Arts & Theater

’Zorro’ to hit stage featuring Gypsy Kings

Screen star Cho Seung-woo returns to musical scene as the pulp hero By Kwon Mee-yoo The new musical “Zorro” will bring the pulp magazine hero to the stage in Korea along with fiery flamenco dance and Gipsy Kings’ music in November. The musical boasts a star-studded cast of Cho Seung-woo, Park Geon-hyeong and Kim Joon-hyun as Zorro. Park Jung-su, the executive producer of the show, said he has three criteria in choosing what to invest in — whether it’s profitable, new and entertaining. “‘Zorro’ has all three elements,” he said at a press conference for the musical at the Plaza Hotel in Seoul, Monday. Premiered in 2008 on London’s West End, the musical is set in early 19th century California under Spanish rule. Based on the 2005 novel “Zorro” written by Isabel Allende, which originally comes from the 1919 novella “The Curse of Capistrano,” the musical revolves around the wealthy young man, Don Diego de la Vega of California, whose alter ego is the heroic Zorro, defending the people under oppression of his childhood friend Ramon. John Gertz, president and CEO of Zor

Jul 12, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
K-pop

SHINee earns Gold Album in Japan

Five-member boy band SHINee’s Japanese debut single “Replay” won a Gold Album for the first time as a Korean male group’s debut single, Monday. The Japanese single was released on June 23 and sold more than 91,000 copies in a week. The single has “Replay” and “Hello” in both Japanese and Korean. The group will tour Japan with their “SHINee Japan Debut Premium Reception Tour,” starting from July 22 in Fukuoka to Kobe, Tokyo, Sapporo and Nagoya. The Recording Industry Association of Japan awards Gold Album to those which are sold 100,000 copies. Other Korean groups who got Gold Album from the Japanese association include Big Bang (“Big Bang 2,” 2011) and Kara (“Kara Best 2007-2010,” 2010).

Jul 12, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
K-pop

Taeyang working with Beyonce’s producer

Taeyang of K-pop group Big Bang collaborated with U.S. production group the Underdogs last week. He wrote “Today I’m starting my session with the Underdogs. It’s gonna be awesome!” on his Twitter Thursday. Harvey Mason Jr. of the Underdogs also tweeted, “One record done. On to number 2 with @realtaeyang. Great artist to work with!” The Underdogs is an R&B and pop production duo composed of Mason and Damon Thomas. They produced many hit songs including Beyonce’s “Listen,” Justin Timberlake’s “Still On My Brain” and most recently “Up 2 You” for Chris Brown. However, the group’s agency YG Entertainment did not confirm the group’s outreach to the American market. “Taeyang is contacting the producers he wanted to work with,” an agency official said. Big Bang members are currently focusing on individual projects since Dae-sung turned out to be responsible for a deadly car accident in June.

Jul 12, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
Shows & Dramas

Drama explores inter-Korean love story

By Kwon Mee-yoo True love is often said to be borderless, but the DMZ dividing the North from the South on the Korean peninsula might be a tough one. "Spy MyeongWol," a new KBS drama, bringing together a beautiful North Korean spy who falls in love with a top South Korean “hallyu” or Korean wave, actor starts today. Director Hwang In-hyuk said the drama, "Spy MyeongWol," will be more about the story of a man and woman than the ideological conflict that separates the two Koreas. "We will try to keep the drama balanced. While shooting the drama, I felt that there could be such a man in the South and such a woman from the North, concerned with similar things," Hwang said at a press conference last week. "Our drama will center on individuals, instead of political issues." Han Myeong-wol, a North Korean hallyu squad member, meets South Korean hallyu star Gang-woo in Singapore while on a mission. Actress Han Ye-seul portrays the secret agent. Myeong-wol’s successful life as an undercover spy takes an unexpected turn when she is ordered to get Gang-woo’s autograph, but fail

Jul 10, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
Trends

’Creative design construes retail space’

By Kwon Mee-yoo Incorporating technology, interactivity and design to modern retail space is crucial to its power of attraction, according to an Italian design expert. Alfio Pozzoni, a special projects consultant of Fabrica, was in Seoul last week to impart this message at a seminar hosted by the Seoul Design Foundation Thursday and Friday. Fabrica is a communication research center founded in 1994 by Italian fashion brand Benetton. The name Fabrica comes from Latin word meaning "factory." "When people want to know exactly what Fabrica is, I always say that it is not a university, an agency nor a school. I think Fabrica is an incubator of activity, free from rules,” Pozzoni, said. Pozzoni is currently leading the Benetton Live Windows project, a research endeavor combining technology, interactivity and design in the context of the retail experience. After working as a fashion photographer in the 1970s and '80s he then directed many events and projects with popular brands such as Louis Vuitton, Philip Morris and Prada. He joined Fabrica in 2006 and oversaw exhibit

Jul 10, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
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