Marvel VP offers advice on dealing with digital age By Baek Byung-yeul C.B. Cebulski, vice president of Creator & Content Development at American entertainment company Marvel Entertainment says storytelling is the most important factor in today’s digital era.“Marvel has always prided itself on storytelling. Great characters, great creators and great technologies equal great stories,” Cebulski said at the International Content Conference DICON at the Coex Convention Center in southern Seoul, Wednesday.Organized by state-run Korea Creative Content Agency, this year’s DICON, which was held from Tuesday and Wednesday, invited 54 international experts in creating film, comics, drama, music and video game from nine countries. The conference focused on on four key themes ― big data, wearables, streaming and transmedia storytelling.In his keynote speech, the vice president explained their global success came from “reflecting the real world.” “If you look at DC Comics, our rival, stories are set in Gotham City (fictional American city appearing in comic books of the DC Comics) and maNov 19, 2014
Using wood, silk to produce traditional sound Go Heung-gon, 63, Important Intangible Cultural Asset No. 42 in traditional music instrument making, put together the “haegeum” or two-stringed traditional instrument in this file photo. / Courtesy of Go Heung-gonBy Kim Ji-sooGo Heung-gon was busy winding silk threads to make a batch of 12 that he would need for the “gayageum” or 12-stringed Korean zither. He worked constantly, even as he answered the phone, received guests and talked at his workshop in Seocho-dong, southern Seoul.When more nylon-wrapped steel and brass strings are used in modern-day gayageum, Go keeps on to the traditional method.“The (silk) strings are responsible for the clear sound,” he said.Because he worked non-stop, one is naturally drawn to watch his hands that have done this task for 40-plus years; and you notice one hand is just as big as his face. When you mention this, he goes, “Ah...because I guess I did so much work with my hands,” chuckling a bit.Go works on the strings for the “gayageum” or a 12-string Korean zither in this file photo. TNov 16, 2014By Kim Ji-soo
Passing on 'samhae yakju' court wine Kwon Hee-ja, No. 8 master of “samhae” rice wine makes a batch of raw alcohol in this file photo. She will hold a demonstration of how to make the samhae yakju at the Seoul History Museum Saturday. / Courtesy of Kwon Hee-jaMaster Kwon Hee-ja of clear rice wine to demonstrate on Nov. 15By Kim Ji-sooThe popularity of traditional Korean liquor such as “makgeolli” or soju has prompted interest in Korean traditional drinks. So much so, that Kwon Hee-ja now has more seekers — both Korean and foreign — coming to learn the secret of her family’s beverage, samhae yajku.It’s a good thing because Kwon doesn’t mass produce the family’s 500-year-long secret to brewing the clear rice wine, although word of mouth about its elegant taste got around and the government followed on this ahead of the 1988 Seoul Olympics. She hasn’t branched out like artisans in other traditional drinks because it requires a permit and the personnel to do it on a large scale.Since she was designated as a cultural asset for the Seoul Metropolitan GovernNov 12, 2014By Kim Ji-soo
'Misaeng' soars in ratings Actors from tvN’s “Misaeng” including Yim Si-wan, second from left, pose at a set of the drama in downtown Seoul on Nov. 4. / Courtesy of CJ E&MWebtoon-based TV drama gains explosive response from office workers By Baek Byung-yeul Can “Misaeng” repeat glory of smash-hit cable drama “Reply 1994”?“Misaeng,” a cable network tvN’s Friday-Saturday drama is becoming immensely popular. The drama, which revolves around precarious intern workers at a trading company, soars in TV ratings, hitting over 5 percent of viewers’ rating from its latest episode aired last week.The impressive number surely evokes last year’s “Reply 1994,” which hit 11.9 percent in its last episode, the highest viewers’ ratings ever among cable TV programs.Based on cartoonist Yoon Tae-ho’s online cartoon series, the 20-part drama version of “Misaeng,” which can be translated as an incomplete life, tells the story of Jang Geu-rae, a 26-year-old man who tries to adjust to life as an office workerNov 11, 2014
Lights, camera, cook! Actor Lee Seo-jin, left, and 2PM’s Ok Taec-yeon prepare meals in backwoods town in tvN’s “Three Meals a Day.” / Courtesy of tvNFood becomes main menu for TV shows By Baek Byung-yeulFood and dining are increasingly featured on a number of television shows. In particular, viewers have fallen in love with the simple cooking of two actors in a remote mountain village in the show “Three Meals a Day”.Star producer and director Na Young-seok, best known for travel shows like “1 Night, 2 Days” and “Grandpas over Flowers,” launched the show last month and has received an explosive response.In the program, Na forces two city dwellers — actor Lee Seo-jin, who was featured in “Grandpas,” and Ok Taec-yeon of boy band 2PM — to stay in the backwoods town of Jeongseon, Gangwon Province for three days a week where they cook three meals a day.Lee and Ok struggle to cultivate and find ingredients from their vegetable garden and cook without proper recipes to prepare breakfast, lunch and dinner in Korean style.Nov 9, 2014
'Hallyu' industry worried about China taking talent Stars of Korean drama “My Lovely Girl,” including Rain, left, Krystal, third from left, and L, first from right, pose during a press event prior to the drama being broadcast. The drama, with a cast of K-pop stars, has been sold to China, with transmission rights costing $200,000 per episode. / Korea Times fileEntertainment firms seek new business models of collaborationBy Kim Ji-sooThe Korean drama “My Lovely Girl,” starring Rain and several other K-pop stars including f(x)’s Krystal and L and Hoya of Infinite, hit the airwaves in September to Korean fans’ concern that the drama had more pop stars than actors.However, the drama, which is a thinly veiled portrayal of the K-pop scene and talent agencies, is a big hit in China. It has been viewed 100 million times in China in early October.Previously, transmission rights for the drama were sold at a record $200,000 per episode via Youku-Tudou, topping the price for “My Love from the Star,” which was also a runaway hit in China in the first half of this year. The transmiNov 9, 2014
Jang Na-ra headlines new MBC drama Jang Na-ra Shin Ha-kyunBy Baek Byung-yeulSinger and actress Jang Na-ra, 33, who was lauded for her performance in “Fated to Love You” last summer, came back in another offbeat romance comedy drama “Mr. Back” this Wednesday.In MBC TV’s 16-part drama for the Wednesday-Thursday night slots, Jang stars as Eun Ha-soo, an intern who falls in love with a business tycoon Choi Go-bong (played by actor Shin Ha-kyun) in his 70s, who magically transforms into a young man in his 30s all at once.“Mr. Back” is based on a novel “Old Man,” which was serialized on Kakao Page, a content service platform of mobile messenger Kakao Talk for six months from April to October this year.In a meeting with reporters, Jang said her character is a little bit different from the conventional candy girl she had played.“Eun Ha-soo is different from previous roles that I had played. She looks noisy and senseless, but actually is a warm-hearted person who is reliable and becomes a faithful supporter of the company chairman Choi,” Jang said at the MBNov 5, 2014
Noble, street food mix in Hollywood Korean “ssambap” or rice wrapped in vegetables in small-sized “onggi” or traditional Korean earthenware are flanked by spoons with plums prepared in molecular gastronomy method.By Vivian HanHOLLYWOOD — I have two wonderful friends in the United States. Nam Sujin is a composer who has produced music for “Spiderman 2,” “Spiderman 3,” “Grudge” and other popular movies. She is one of the leading movie music composers in Hollywood. YoungSong Martin is one of most popular event designers who has worked for celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey and Michelle Obama. She is a big name in Hollywood and was the creator of the wedding scene in the wood for “Twilight: Breaking Dawn.”Last year, Nam created an event she calls “Hollywood’s Music Night.” She decided to set it up because of the many young talented performers in Hollywood who don’t have the opportunity to meet famous composers to showcase their talent. This year’s event was more special because our dear friend Martin, CEO of WildfloweNov 5, 2014By Kim Ji-soo
'K-cartoon can penerate global audience' Korea Manhwa Museum features a collection of over 250,000 comic books from domestic and overseas artists. / Korea Times fileOh Jae-rok, president of the Korea Manhwa Contents AgencyBy Baek Byung-yeul“Manhwa” (Korean word for comics) is a popular medium that has been growing amid many changes during the past century here.Though there was a time when parents and school teachers discouraged students from reading manhwa due to concerns that it might interfere with school, cartoonists had enjoyed an explosive popularity in 80s and 90s.Changing its platform from conventional paper book to digital comic book thanks to the high-speed networks and mobile Internet devices, online manhwa, called “webtoon” has proliferated since the beginning of this century.Korea’s webtoon business is expected to triple to 295 billion won ($272 million) next year, compared to 100 billion won in 2012, according to a report from the KT Economic Research Institute. Now, it is common to see people watching their diminutive smartphone screen to read manhwa in a bus or a subway.AmidNov 3, 2014
Raising quality of education crucial to spreading Hangeul Song Hyang-keun, president of the King Sejong Institute Foundation, poses with a character from the institue’s new folktale cartoon series. / Courtesy of Lee Soo-jinBy Kwon Mee-yooThe King Sejong Institute Foundation (KSIF), which oversees the King Sejong Institutes (KSI), is busier than ever, as demand for Korean language education overseas is on the rise.The KSI is the educational facility for Korean language and culture and there are 130 such facilities in 54 countries from the United States and China to Nepal and Zimbabwe as of 2014.Established in 2012, the KSIF supports the Korean language institutes worldwide by providing curriculum and textbooks as well as training Korean language instructors.The first King Sejong Institute opened in Ulan Bator, capital of Mongolia in 2007. “There were 13 King Sejong Institutes to begin with and the number grew tenfold now. Now we seek substantiality in promoting Korean language and culture through the institutes,” said Song Hyang-keun, president of KSIF, during a recent interview with The Korea Times. “The KSI proNov 3, 2014By Kwon Mee-yoo
