Lifestyle - The Korea Times

Yi portrays desperateness in 'Poongwallju'

By Kwon Mee-yoo Actor Yi Youll has a handsome, chiseled face with fair skin and mischievous yet sorrowful eyes. He plays Yeol, the first-rate male courtesan, in a new musical “Poongwallju,” which raised its curtain in May in Daehangno, Seoul’s small theater district. Yi’s Yeol has a sense of innocence like a little boy but he could be cold-blooded at the same time. No wonder the queen falls for him. The title literally means the owner of the wind and moon, which comes from the title of the leader of Hwarang, a group of elite male youths in the Silla Kingdom (57 B.C.-935 A.D.). In this musical, they serve noblewomen in a fictional place called Unru. Yeol is the most popular one among them and Queen Jinseong regularly seeks his company. He was satisfied with his life there as long as he could live with his friend Sadam. But his destiny takes an unexpected turn when the queen becomes pregnant with his child and wants him to be her prince consort. Though Jinseong is the 51st ruler of Silla Kingdom, the musical is totally fictional. The musical, written by Jeong Min-a and com

Jun 25, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Conference on culture and development to be held

The culture ministry will jointly host a series of round table conferences on culture and development with the Korean National Commission for UNESCO, with the first scheduled to be held in Seoul on Friday. The first conference, at the Millennium Hilton Hotel, will address the role of cultural diversity for sustainable development, organizers said Thursday. Lee O-young, a former culture minister, will deliver the keynote speech, followed by presentations by three experts on the theme of "Cases of Regional Development via Utilization of Culture," then general discussion, they said. The second and third conferences will be held on Sept. 21 and Dec. 7, also in Seoul. The conferences are organized under a recommendation in the United Nations resolution on Culture and Development, which was adopted at the 66th U.N. General Assembly in 2011 to establish measures for sustainable development from a cultural perspective. The Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity adopted by UNESCO in 2001 also stipulates that culture is an essential element of sustainable development.

Jun 21, 2012

Clubs

Clubs The Octagon Nonhyeon-dong Located near the New Hilltop Hotel in Nonhyeon-dong, this venue offers a club stage, lounge bar and dining area in a hip and modern setting. Take exit 4 at Hakdong Station on subway line 7. Call (02) 516-8847 for more information. Club Volume Itaewon Located in the Crown Hotel near Noksapyeong Station, Club Volume is the finest venue for themed weekly events and world-class DJs. Club Volume was listed by Time magazine among the “10 things to do in 24 hours in Seoul.” For more information, call 1544-2635. Le Nuit Blanche Cheongdam-dong Formerly Club Answer, Le Nuit Blanche is a high class restaurant, theater and club. Located in front of the Hotel Prima in Cheongdam-dong, Le Nuit Blanche offers Cirque du Soleil-type performances. World-class DJs from all over the world perform at the club. For more information, call (02) 514-4311. W.E. Listen Samcheong-dong This cafe reinterprets traditional Korean desserts. The menu not only offers American-style coffee but also sweet potato, sweet bean latte, a “hotteok” pancake

Jun 21, 2012By Do Je-hae

Classical music

Classical Concerts Maksim Mrvica Concert Seoul Arts Center* July 6 Maksim Mrvica, a Croatian pianist nicknamed “The Piano Player,” is also a composer. Mrvica rose to fame immediately after the release of his first album and has since become a leading electric pianist of his generation. Some of his best known compositions are “The Bumblebee” and “Crotian Rhapsody.” Tickets cost 55,000 to 121,000 won. For more information, call (02) 6292- 9370. Great Mountains Music Festival & School Alpensia Concert Hall July 26 - Aug. 5 The Great Mountains Music Festival & School will be held in the midst of nature in the mountainous province of Gangwon. Two renowned artists — cellist Chung Myung-hwa and her sister violinist Chung Kyung-hwa — serve as artistic directors of this renowned chamber music festivals in Korea. This year, the annual festival will explore the relationship between dance and music. Tickets cost 40,000 to 250,000 won. For more information, call (02) 725-3394. Gidon Kremer & Kremerata Baltica Seoul Arts Center* Oct. 16 Gidon Kreme

Jun 21, 2012By Do Je-hae

'La Mancha' brings tale of Don Quixote

By Kwon Mee-yoo Sunflower fields, windmills, off-his-rocker knight Don Quixote and his squire Sancho Panza are returning to Seoul in “Man of La Mancha” at the Charlotte Theater in Jamsil, southern Seoul. The classic Broadway show is a proven hit in Korea with its philosophical message and beautiful music. The story takes place in the late 16th century in Spain, telling the tale of Don Quixote as a play within a play told by Miguel de Cervantes in a dungeon. It premiered here in 2005 and top actors including Cho Seung-woo, Ryu Jung-han and Jung Sung-hwa played the part of Cervantes/Don Quixote. Three new actors — Hwang Jung-min, Seo Bum-seok and Hong Kwang-ho — will share the joint role this time. Hwang is a veteran actor on the big and small screen as well as in the theater and his previous stage credits including “Nine” (2008) and Robbie Hart of “The Wedding Singer” (2009). His familiar yet acute image goes well with the author Servantes and mad knight Don Quixote. At the press preview of the musical on Monday, Hwang performed “Man of La Mancha,” in w

Jun 20, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

American Ballet Theatre to perform in Seoul

By Rachel Lee The American Ballet Theatre (ABT), a star-studded company of ballet dancers, will bring a classic production to Korea in July. Based in New York, the ABT announced that it will return next month to perform “Giselle” at the Opera House of Seoul Arts Centre in Seoul. Along with The Royal Ballet in London and the Paris Opera Ballet, the ABT, founded in 1940, is one of the three leading ballet companies in the world. It is known for its artistry, popularity as well as successfully producing performances in a variety of styles. The ABT’s Korean soloist Hee Seo will grace the stage along with two other noted principals Julie Kent and Paloma Herrera. Seo is the first Korean ballerina to debut at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in the role of Giselle, which received praise and great reviews around the world. “Regardless of location and repertoire, I always strive for the best,” said the Korean dancer on Monday. She began her ballet career in her home city, Seoul, at the most recognized arts school, the Sun-hwa Arts Middle school. She gained a f

Jun 20, 2012

Only ballpoint pen to draw Lee's world

By Kwon Mee-yoo Born in Korea but now based in Brooklyn, New York, artist Il Lee is known for using ballpoint pens to create fine art. Visitors can enter his world of scribbles that contrast light and dark in a solo exhibit titled “Il Lee and the Line of Duration” at Gallery Hyundai in Sagan-dong, central Seoul. For some three decades, hovering over deed and concept, Lee has described his artistic universe using only ballpoint pens. Lee’s abstract works derived from endless efforts to achieve uniqueness. The ballpoint pen is a daily object but it becomes so powerful when Lee uses it to depict a dark mass on the canvas. Previously he has held several exhibitions in the United States, including “Il Lee: Ballpoint Abstraction” at the San Jose Museum of Art in California and “Il Lee: Ballpoint Drawings” at the Queens Museum of Art in Queens, New York, both in 2007. His works were also included in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York’s “Abstraction in Korean Art” in 2010 and this March four of his pieces became part of the Met’s permanent collection. The Seoul sh

Jun 19, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Exhibition combines art and dance

By Kwon Mee-yoo Two very different yet interesting exhibitions are going on at the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea (NMOCA) in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province. The museum has come up with an exhibition reviewing the work and life of a veteran Korean artist and the other exploring performance art. Though the idea of the two exhibits seems poles apart, they have one thing in common — they display artists’ challenging spirit and reflection on society. MOVE “MOVE: Art and Dance since 1960s,” held at the Circular Gallery and Gallery 1, is beyond the ordinary museum experience, where viewers just appreciate artworks from a distance. Instead, it invites spectators to become part of the exhibit and it is completed with their participation. It was originally curated by the Hayward Gallery in London in 2010 and traveled to Haus der Kunst in Munich and Dusseldorf’s Kunstsammlung in 2011. The Korean exhibition is reinterpreted in a cultural context and several artists created new works. Stephanie Rosenthal, chief curator of the Hayward Gallery, said the exhibition is a

Jun 17, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Hangeul Romanization needs fixing

Experts shun it, users confused, government sits on hands By Do Je-hae The current Romanization system for Hangeul (Korean script) has been in use for more than 10 years, but people still find it confusing. Moreover, Hangeul experts shun it and prefer using an older system. Although the government knows this, it refutes calls to fix the system, citing a variety of reasons. Seoul has, so far, paid little or no attention to voices that criticize the scheme originally introduced by the culture ministry during Kim Dae-jung’s administration (1998-2003). Despite governmental promotion of the Romanization system, the older McCune-Reischauer system, adopted at the beginning of the 20th century, still maintains its position as the preferred method of Romanizing Korean in some key areas of academia and publishing. The Korea Times contacted several foreign experts on Korea about the issue. Most were still use the older system and are in favor of some form of revision. “I do not use the new Romanization system at all, and prefer the old one — that is, McCune-Reisch

Jun 14, 2012By Do Je-hae

classical music

Classical Concerts Legendary I Musici 60th Seoul Arts Center* June 15 I Musici is an Italian chamber orchestra first formed in Rome in 1952. To mark its 60th anniversary, I Musici will tour the world, highlighting their best for the audience. The chamber consists of 6 violins, 2 violas, 2 cellos, and one double bass. They mainly perform works from the Baroque period, particularly Antonio Vivaldi and Tomaso Albinoni. Tickets cost 60,000 to 140,000 won. For more information, call (02) 580-1300. Gidon Kremer & Kremerata Baltica Seoul Arts Center* Oct. 16 Gidon Kremer, a Latvian violinist and conductor, will perform with Kremerata Baltica, a chamber orchestra he founded that consists of young musicians from Baltic countries. The chamber orchestra won a Grammy Award in 2002 in Classical Music for recording Mozart.” They are returning to Korea after three years for a performance that will be a mixture of contemporary musical melodies and classical repertoire. Tickets cost 50,000 to 150,000 won. For more information, call (02) 580-1300. Dancing Through the Centur