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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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Shows & Dramas

Local TV documentaries awarded in NY

By Kwon Mee-yoo Korean broadcasters scooped five awards at the 54th New York Festivals International Television and Film Awards, last Friday. MBC’s “Tears of the Amazon — Tristes Tropiques” earned a silver world medal in the Cultural Issues section, while SBS’ “Story of Seung-il — What It Means to Live” won silver in the Family Programs section. “Tears of the Amazon” received rave reviews in Korea when it aired last year, portraying the basic energy and dynamic life of the region. “I am glad that the documentary was recognized not only in Korea but overseas,” Jung Sung-hoo, chief producer of the program, said after attending the award ceremony. Another documentary from MBC, “Lion Queen,” was given a finalist certificate in the Nature & Wildlife section. “Story of Seung-il” documented the life of former professional basketball coach Park Seung-il, who has been fighting against Lou Gehrig’s disease for eight years. It filmed Park for a year, showing how patients of the rare, incurable disease live. The program also won Best Documentary Program at the 2

Apr 19, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
Shows & Dramas

Hallyu stars beckon fans from France

By Kwon Mee-yoo Hallyu, or the Korean wave, has reached Europe and 55 fans of K-pop from France are visiting Korea for two weeks to meet their favorite stars. They are from the Korean Connection, a French organization enamored of Korean culture, especially K-pop. Most of the members are in their late teens or 20s, but some of them are older. Maxime Paquet, 30, leader of the group said the visit is really exciting. “This trip is a dream-come-true for many of us. We actually saw Korean singers we like!” Paquet said. Last Friday, they went to KBS to watch “Music Bank,” a K-pop music show program. The program featured top singers such as Girls Day, CNBLUE, 4Minute, ZE:A, U-Kiss and Tony An among others. “After the show, we met U-Kiss,” he said. Paquet started learning Korean about three years ago and a video clip of Big Bang a friend showed him led him to plunge into the music. “I was bored of American and British music. When I heard K-pop, I felt totally different. The melodies were beautiful and Korean singers sing very well,” he said. “Their look and style is w

Apr 19, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
People & Events

Jang Keun-suk named most influential Korean artist in Asia

By Kwon Mee-yoo Actor Jang Keun-suk, 24, won "Most Influential Korean Artist in Asia" at the 15th China Music Award and Asian Influential Awards (CMA) held in Chengdu, China, Friday. "I am grateful for just attending such an honorable event and even happier to receive an award as big as this," Jang said. "I thank everyone who always loves me and supports me and I will do my best to become a better person." He made the speech in Korean, English and Chinese after receiving the award. Other artists from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, such as Jackie Chan, Pan Wilber, Kang Moon and Leehom Wang, also attended the award ceremony. Jang gave a powerful performance as the only overseas participant of the event. CMA is one of the most prestigious music awards in China with a 14 year history, dubbed "the Grammys of China." Korean stars who previously received the CMA include Jang Woo-hyuk, Lee Byung-hun and Kim Tae-hee. Jang announced he has signed a contract with HS Media in Shanghai, the next day. He will release his first album in Japan on April 27 and will tour Asia i

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

Streets of Ansan become fantasy world

By Kwon Mee-yoo Streets of Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, will turn into a paradise of artistic and unique performances from May 5 to 8. The Ansan Street Arts Festival (ASAF) will see participation from 43 troupes from 11 countries to transform the local streets into a giant stage. Among them, official invitees are 11 groups from overseas and nine domestic ones. Another 17 will participate in the fringe section and six university troupes will showcase their artistic potential. The main events will take place at Ansan 25’ Square, a new landmark that opened last December. All events are free. “We will make this festival an international carnival of street arts, beyond a local festival,” Kim In-sook, general director of Ansan Arts Center, said. The art center is organizing the festival with support from Ansan City. “Theatre Nomad: Old Song’s Odyssey” will open up the festival on May 5. This performance is a collaboration of Snuff Puppets, an Australian puppet theater company, and Korean performance group Tuida. Kim Jong-seok, artistic director of the festival and professor

Apr 15, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
People & Events

Singer Kim Wan-sun faked retirement

By Kwon Mee-yoo Singer Kim Wan-sun, 41, said on MBC talk show "The Knee-Drop Guru," Wednesday, that her retirement announced in 1992 was a lie, plotted by Han Baek-hee, her aunt and agent. "My aunt Han wanted to promote me as a singer of Asia, not Korea. She decided to announce my 'retirement' to shock the audience before going abroad,” Kim confessed on the talk show. "I knew the truth and didn't want to make the announcement. That's why I cried when I made the announcement." She said Han did not pay her for 13 years. "From my make-up to costumes, everything was arranged by my aunt and she chose my music as well," Kim said. She said of her aunt, "She always gave me fierce looks when I came back off the stage and that might be the cause of the rumors that she is not my real aunt," Kim said on the show. "She always stood next to me and I couldn't talk privately with other singers; I had no friends at all then." After making her debut in 1986 with the album "Tonight," Kim was called "the dancing queen of the K-pop renaissance era." She dominated the female artist scene in

Apr 14, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
K-pop

F(x) to return with Pinocchio next week

By Kwon Mee-yoo Girl band f(x) is ready to rock the K-pop scene again with its first studio album "Pinocchio," to be released next Wednesday. Five teaser photos of members Victoria, Amber, Luna, Sulli and Krystal have been released successively. Krystal’s photo was first made public last Thursday with the orange-haired member showing off her fierce eyes. Amber, known for her boyish style, dyed her hair blonde for the photo. She took a break in the United States after injuring her ankle last year and disappeared from the Korean entertainment scene, unlike other members. Sulli boasts her cuteness in the red-tone photo. She is currently hosting "Inkigayo" on SBS, a music chart program on Sundays. Chinese member Victoria sheds feminine beauty in the cut. She was busy starring in variety shows such as MBC's "Just Married" and "Invincible Youth" on KBS. Luna wears retro-style sunglasses in her photo. She recently marked her musical debut by portraying the lovely Elle Woods in the musical "Legally Blonde." The group made its debut in 2009, with their singles "LA chA

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

Lena Park comes A Little Closer in May

By Kwon Mee-yoo Lena Park will look to get closer to her fans in concerts at the LG Art Center in southern Seoul, from May 17 to 22. Park is known for her powerful, appealing voice coming from such a small frame. She will perform hit songs such as "In Dreams," "P.S. I Love You" and "You Mean Everything to Me," arranged especially for the series titled “A Little Closer.” "The title means that Park will show her unique charms which can only be seen in a live performance," Moon Su-mi of T Entertainment, Park's agency, said. "She set up the concept of the concert, chose the songs to sing and arranged them." Also known as Park Jung-hyun in Korea, she made her debut in Korea with her first album "Piece" in 1998. She has released seven studio albums, including "10 Ways to Say I Love You" in 2009 ― her last work ― and many singles. Park is currently starring in MBC's hit, but troubled reality competition "I Am a Singer" as one of the contestants. The program featured seven top singers including Baek Ji-young, Yoon Do-hyun and Kim Bum-soo to contend for the best singer in Korea

Apr 12, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
Trends

Retro Korean industrial designs hit NY

Exhibition spotlights sociopolitics of 1960s-‘80s economic boom By Kwon Mee-yoo Iconic designs of Korea from the 1960s to ’80s are on display at the Korea Society Gallery in New York, before making their way to other major American cities. Organized by the Korea Craft and Design Foundation (KCDF), the “Korea Design Heritage” exhibition introduces local items manufactured during the turbulent

Apr 10, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
People & Events

Lee Eun-mi tied knot in Jan.

By Kwon Mee-yoo Singer Lee Eun-mi, 45, revealed that she married in January, Lee's management agency Neobiz announced Wednesday through a press release. "Lee married to a businessman in Santa Barbara, Calif. on Jan. 12," the agency said. "The newlyweds set up their home in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul." The agency said Lee and her husband, whose business is based in the United States, has been friends for some 20 years. "I am sorry to break the news so late, but my spouse is an ordinary entrepreneur and I wanted to keep it quiet for him," she said in the press release. "He has been supporting my life through music." Debuted in 1992, Lee released six studio albums. She is well-known for hit songs including "I Have a Lover." Currently, she appears as a mentor at "MBC Star Audition," a survival reality show.

Apr 8, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
Books

Weekender The memory of movable type stays alive

By Kwon Mee-yoo PAJU, Gyeonggi Province — It is like stepping back in time — the Movable Type Workshop in Paju Book City, Gyeonggi Province, resembles a small museum of type-printing but all the machines are still in use. “This is the only place in Korea for printing with movable type,” Park Kun-han, 70, poet and executive editor of the workshop, told The Korea Times. He first came up with the idea to restore the movable type printing system in 2002 and teamed up with friends, including Park Han-su, president of Ten Moon Publishing and Chung Byoung-kyoo, president of Chung Design, which founded the workshop in November 2007. “It is true that movable type printing is low in profitability compared to modern offset printing. Offset printing can print some 20,000 copies a minute, while movable type can do only 1,000 copies in the same time,” he said. “However, I thought we should maintain the metal movable type system since Korea is the country that first invented woodblock printing and metal movable type,” he said. Process of printing Movable t

Apr 7, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
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