Lifestyle - The Korea Times

Young and imaginative

“Rituals 085 — Return & Separation” by Je Baak is composed of finely grounded 1,000-won bills.                                             / Courtesy of National Museum of Contemporary ArtContemporary art museum highlights works of innovative new artists By Kwon Mee-yooThe National Museum of Contemporary Art (NMOCA) is featuring the works of nine promising artists who have vowed to give the country’s art scene a creative jolt.The museum’s ``New Visions New Voices’’ exhibition, which began in 1981, has previously unearthed influential artists like Lee Bul, Suh Dong-ho and Koo Bohn-chang and continues to be committed to developing new talent in paintings, installation art and photography.While it’s obviously too early to forecast the future for this year’s crop, the early impression of their works currently displayed at the museums indicates potential. The works are intellectual, imaginative and often provocati

Mar 22, 2013

Around Town

Clubs The OctagonNonhyeon-dongNear the New Hilltop Hotel in Nonhyeon-dong, this club is notable for its stylish interior and elite clientele. The venue offers a club stage, lounge bar and dining area to satisfy any night out after work or on the weekend. Near exit 4 of Hakdong Station on subway line 7. For more information, call (02) 516-8847. Club VolumeItaewon-dong Offering a venue for specially-themed weekly events and world-class DJs, Club Volume is located in the Crown Hotel near Noksapyeong Station. Club Volume was listed by Time magazine among the “10 things to do in 24 hours in Seoul.” For more information, call 1544-2635. Once in a Blue MoonApgujeong-dong Once in a Blue Moon is one of the best known and well established jazz clubs in the city. It features live jazz sets from two different bands every night, usually starting at 7:30 p.m. It is located between the Hakdong intersection and the Galleria department stores in the posh district of Apgujeong-dong. For more information, call (02) 549-5490 or visit www.onceinabluemoon.co.kr. C

Mar 21, 2013

Around Town

 Classical Concerts Munich PhilharmonicSeoul Arts Center*April 21-22 Led by conductor Lorin Maazel, the orchestra has performed since 1893 under prominent directors including Gustav Mahler, Oswald Kabasta, Eugen Jochum and Sergiu Celibidache. Maazel has previously conducted world famous orchestras such as the Cleveland Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and New York Philharmonic. The orchestra will perform Beethoven’s “Coriolan Overture” on the first day, Tchaikovsky’s “Overture-Fantasy on Romeo and Juliet,” Beethoven’s “Piano Concerto No. 4” and Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring” will be performed on the second day. Tickets cost 70,000 to 350,000 won. For more information, call (02) 599-5743 or visit www.sac.or.kr. ‘Falstaff’Seoul Arts Center*Through March 24 Celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Guiseppe Verdi, the Korea National Opera Company will perform “Falstaff,” the Italian composer’s final piece bef

Mar 21, 2013

British school play feels painfully Korean

A scene from the Alan Bennett play “History Boys”                                                                       / Courtesy of Noname Theatre CompanyBy Kwon Mee-yooWesterners, most notably U.S. President Barack Obama, speak glowingly about the enthusiasm Korean parents have for educating their children and credit this for the country’s economic prosperity.However, it’s much harder to find a Korean who is happy about a severely hierarchical system that confines students to an exam hell and drains their imagination by bashing them about a uniform set of values. For Korean theatergoers, the local version of the Alan Bennett smash-hit school play, "The History Boys,’’ currently being performed at the Doosan Art Center in central Seoul, is a drink that is both refreshing and bitter.The play, which could loosely be described as a more intellectual, provocative and less cloyin

Mar 20, 2013

British school play feels painfully Korean

Around Town

Clubs The OctagonNonhyeon-dong Near the New Hilltop Hotel in Nonhyeon-dong, this club is notable for its stylish interior and elite clientele. The venue offers a club stage, lounge bar and dining area to satisfy any night out after work or on the weekend. Near exit 4 of Hakdong Station on subway line 7. For more information, call (02) 516-8847. Club VolumeItaewon-dong Offering a venue for specially-themed weekly events and world-class DJs, Club Volume is located in the Crown Hotel near Noksapyeong Station. Club Volume was listed by Time magazine among the “10 things to do in 24 hours in Seoul.” For more information, call 1544-2635. Once in a Blue MoonApgujeong-dong Once in a Blue Moon is one of the best known and well established jazz clubs in the city. It features live jazz sets from two different bands every night, usually starting at 7:30 p.m. It is located between the Hakdong intersection and the Galleria department stores in the posh district of Apgujeong-dong. For more information, call (02) 549-5490 or visit www.onceinabluemoon.co.kr.&

Mar 14, 2013

Around Town

Classical Concerts Munich PhilharmonicSeoul Arts Center*April 21-22 The Munich Philharmonic, led by conductor Lorin Maazel, will perform at southern Seoul on April 21. The orchestra has performed since 1893 under prominent directors including Gustav Mahler, Oswald Kabasta, Eugen Jochum and Sergiu Celibidache. Maazel has previously conducted at world famous orchestras such as Cleveland Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and New York Philharmonic. The orchestra will perform Beethoven’s “Coriolan Overture” on the first day. Tchaikovsky’s “Overture-Fantasy on Romeo and Juliet,” Beethoven’s “Piano Concerto No. 4” and Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring” will be performed on the second day. Tickets cost 70,000 to 350,000 won. For more information, call (02) 599-5743 or visit www.sac.or.kr. ‘Falstaff’Seoul Arts Center*March 21-24 Celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Guiseppe Verdi, the Korea National Opera Company will perform “Fals

Mar 14, 2013

Amway helps Multicultural Orchestra

Rho Won-ho, center, executive director of Amway Korea, poses with members of the Multicultural Orchestra after donating on March 9 musical instruments to the orchestra in the southwestern city of Gwangju.                                                                                             / Courtesy of Amway KoreaDirect-selling firm makes big donation with instrumentsBy Kim Ji-sooDrums, cymbals, horns, trumpets, saxophones and synthesizers.A total amount of 47.5 million won ($43,245) worth of such musical instruments arrived at the practice room of the Multiculture Orchestra in Gwangju, South Jeolla Province, on March 9.Amway Korea, a leader in direct selling in Korea, donated 35 types of musical instruments to the family-based orchestra.The Multiculture Orchestra was founded in 2010 with about 80 members from mixed culture marriage families who

Mar 14, 2013

Mungyeong to host tea bowl festival

Participants try pottery-making at last year’s Mungyeong Traditional Chasabal Festival. This year’s festival will run for nine days starting April 27 in Mungyeong, North Gyeongsang Province.                                       / Courtesy of Mungyeong Traditional Chasabal Festival’s                                                                                                         organizing committeeA festival meant to promote Korea’s traditional tea bowls or “chasabal” will kick off in Mungyeong, North Gyeongsang Province, April 27, for a nine-day run under the theme “Harmony of clay, fire and wind.”The annual Mungyeong Traditional Chasabal Festival has been recognized as the

Mar 14, 2013By Kim Ji-soo

Love and movies

“The Truth That Seems to be a Lie,” Yun Sung-ji “Untitled,”Damien HirstBy Kwon Mee-yooIt’s spring and love is in the air, or so they say. For those in the mood, there could be much worse things to do than visiting the Seoul Museum in Buam-dong for its ``Love Actually’’ exhibition, which opens today and delightfully explores the subject of love through a unique juxtaposition of paintings, installments and movies.Yi Joo-heon, the director of the museum, said the exhibition was intended to be light-hearted and visitor-friendly. However, the exhibition’s imaginative works confirm that approachability shouldn’t be confused with a lack of intelligence and the museum’s smart use of media equipment and other technologies add to the experience for visitors. Yi’s basic idea was to pick six curators and have them explore the theme of love in movies and come up with an arrangement of art work to represent that. The curators, each responsible for the exhibition’s six different sub-themes, chose to work their collect

Mar 13, 2013

National opera company to stage Verdi's comedy

A scene from Act 2 of “Falstaff.”                                                        / Courtesy of KNO  Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi wrote “Falstaff” when he was 80 years old.By Do Je-haeA major theme in the world of classical music this year is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Giuseppe Verdi, the iconic Italian opera composer. Some of his works, such as "La Traviata" or "Rigoletto" are indispensable in the opera repertoire.This anniversary year has opera companies around the world featuring some of the composer’s lesser-known works. The Korea National Opera (KNO) is starting its 2013 season with "Falstaff," Verdi's final work before his death in January 1901.“Verdi left behind 28 operas, and ‘Falstaff’ is one of the two comedies. Written in 1893, the work is a testament to what a brilliant composer he still was at age 80,” said Chun Hye-jin, a KNO pu

Mar 12, 2013

Arts & Theater

Arts & Theater

Young and imaginative

Around Town

Around Town

British school play feels painfully Korean

Around Town

Around Town

Amway helps Multicultural Orchestra

Mungyeong to host tea bowl festival

Love and movies

National opera company to stage Verdi's comedy

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