Lifestyle - The Korea Times

Meditation museum seeks harmony with nature

By Chung Ah-young When millions of cows and pigs were buried alive to prevent the further spread of foot-and-mouth disease, drawing strong backlash from animal advocates and environmentalists from home and abroad, people realized how they have treated animals as just meat rather than living creatures. The Seon Museum operated by the meditation school Suseonjae is spearheading a move against the ruthless measure and emphasized the importance of harmony between human beings and nature. For about one month from Jan. 31 to Feb. 20, in the corner of the exhibition hall, the museum offered a separate section to commemorate dead animals. “It is a pity to see the lives of the animals were taken by the standards of human beings. It is the ugly side of modern society that thinks of lives lightly and instead heavily relies on materialistic and industrial values,” Cho Jung-shin, director of the museum’s Bukchon center, told The Korea Times. The museum was established by Suseonjae in December last year to help people love themselves and prevent suicides through meditation and lif

Feb 23, 2011

Cast change in National Ballets Giselle

There has been a change in the cast for the Korea National Ballet Company’s (KNBC) production of “Giselle,” which opens Thursday at Seoul Arts Center. Mathias Heymann, a principal dancer at the Paris National Opera Ballet, will replace Mathieu Ganio, who was set to perform as a guest dancer in the Sunday performance and the March 1 gala show. Ganio is unable to appear due to injury, the KNBC said. The upcoming production marks “Giselle’s” comeback to the local stage after nine years. The KNBC will stage the Paris National Opera Ballet version by its associate artistic director Patrice Bart. It will revive the sweeping drama and periodic details of late 19th-century Romanticism. The ballet is about a young aristocrat Albrecht, who, disguised as a commoner, seduces the lovely peasant maiden Giselle. When Giselle discovers that her beloved is an engaged nobleman, she dies of despair in the forest. Yet her spirit lingers and haunts passersby until Albrecht appears. When other virgin ghosts try to harm Albrecht, Giselle saves him. “Giselle” runs from Thursday through Sunda

Feb 22, 2011

Glimpse of Korean, Japanese art at Cleveland Museum

By Chung Ah-young The Cleveland Museum of Art will hold an exhibition offering a look into the artwork of Korea and Japan inspired by Chinese poetry. The exhibition, titled “The Lure of Painted Poetry: Japanese and Korean Art,” will display 80 objects from the museum’s preeminent Asian collection, dating from the 14th to the 21st centuries, from March 27 to Aug. 28. The event is designed to present Japanese and Korean artists’ endeavors to combine visual art and poetry as they reinterpreted the themes of classical Chinese poetry through a variety of visual media such as calligraphy, painting and decorative arts. The fusion of art and poetry is a theme Japanese and Korean artists have explored for centuries. The exhibition will feature artworks from the Muromachi, Momoyama and Edo periods of Japan (1392-1867), the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910) as well as contemporary objects. Korean and Japanese artists alike indulged in the pursuit of knowledge and refinement reflected in Chinese poems, which portrayed their spiritual utopia and liberation from a mundane life. They inte

Feb 21, 2011

Behind the work of Uli Sigg: a collector and historian

By Ines Min Imagine: 2,100 works by 350 artists, collected over the course of more than 30 years, following personal visits to more than 1,500 studios. The famed collection of Uli Sigg, though impressive in its statistics, is noted for its attitude. The Swiss native owns the single largest collection of contemporary Chinese art — not to amass a valuable fortune, but to record the history of the youthful art scene as a historian. “I really didn’t know anything about China because it had been inaccessible to the outside world,” Sigg, 65, told reporters Friday at the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Deoksu Palace, referring to when he first arrived in the Asian country in 1980. “I was always being observed, never alone, and could not see much of the Chinese reality. ...I felt I had to have another access.” Finding his outlet in the barely budding industry of contemporary art, Sigg moved from collecting Western artworks from his college days to acquiring works of Chinese artists for a hobby, as a businessman in China’s first international venture. His knowled

Feb 20, 2011

Clubs, art exhibitions and sports games

Clubs Underlounge Seoul Hongdae or Hongik University Area This is the local club of a hip Japanese chain that’s also in Shanghai. Located in the famous clubbing area, Hongdae, it’s all flashy with loud music and lights. Spacious, with a supersized crystal ball hanging over your head, DJs from near and far make music while you can hang out at the bar or classy private rooms. Located near the main entrance of Hongik Univ. Call (02) 325-5715 or visit www.underlounge.kr. Club M2 Hongdae M2 features top DJs from home and abroad. The dance floor and the DJ are in the center of the club, which attracts a trendy crowd along with models and celebrities. Packed on the weekends. Check www.ohoo.net. Cafe Mou Sinsa-dong This cafe has a rich ethnic interior that mixes inspirations that its owner got from travels to such places as Morocco and France. Its menu is limited, but features desserts. It’s located at the edge of Dosan Park. 650-9 Park View Building, Sinsa-dong, Gangnam, near the Cine City Theater in Apgujeongdong. Call (02) 3444-6069. Club Heaven Yeoksam-d

Feb 17, 2011

Concerts, museums and theater

Classical Concerts Seoul Philharmonic’s Masterpiece Series I Concert Hall, Seoul Arts Center* (see ‘venues’ on right for more information) Feb. 24 Jukka-Pekka Saraste, associate conductor of both the Oslo Philharmonic and WDR Sinfonieorchester Koln, will conduct the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra for Sibelius’ “Pohjola’s Daughter,” Prokofiev’s “Romeo & Juliet (Suite)” and Tchaikovsky’s “Symphony No. 5.” Tickets cost 10,000 to 60,000 won. Call 1588-1210 for more information. KBS Symphony Orchestra’s Master Series I KBS Hall & Concert Hall, Seoul Arts Center* Feb. 24-25 Under the baton of Jonathan Schiffman, the KBS Symphony Orchestra will hold concerts at the KBS Hall on Feb. 24 and at the Seoul Arts Center the following day. Up-and-coming violinist Stefan Jackiw will perform Mendelssohn’s “Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64.” Tickets cost 20,000 to 55,000 won. For more information call (02) 781-2241. Prenatal Education Concert With Narrations Concert Hall, Seoul Arts Center Feb. 20 A special concert will offer soothing classical music for families expecting a ba

Feb 17, 2011

Five boys grow up with Billy Elliot

By Kwon Mee-yoo “And then I feel a change like a fire deep inside,” a boy started singing as four others joined in. “Something bursting me wide open impossible to hide. And suddenly I’m flying, flying like a bird.” These boys — Kim Se-yong, 13; Lee Ji-myeong, 13; Jung Jin-ho, 12; Park Jun-hyeong, 11; and Lim Sun-u, 11 — alternate the role of Billy Elliot in the Korean production of the musical “Billy Elliot,” currently at LG Art Center in southern Seoul since August 2010. The part they sang was from “Electricity,” a song Billy sings after auditioning for the Royal Ballet School, expressing what he feels like when dancing. The five boys gathered for an interview with The Korea Times at Billy School last week. They chattered like birds, but when talking about their performances, their eyes twinkled earnestly with a professional edge. They all started ballet at different points. Kim began when he was around 4, as he took dance sports, and Lim learned to correct his posture but soon became interested in its charm despite his friends’ teasing. Park fell in

Feb 14, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo

Private collector bares all in exhibition, sale

By Agnes Yu Take a peek and maybe even buy, as a husband and wife team of private collectors is offering a unique chance to not only appreciate, but also acquire works from their own stores. Kariem Hamed and his wife Yoshiko Matsumoto are featuring select pieces from their private collection in a week-long special exhibition at Gallery Through in Itaewon, Seoul. The exhibit is an overview of the famous Western artwork and furniture the couple has amassed since 1999, providing Korean collectors, the general public and the expat community a taste of modern aestheticism — with an added opportunity to start their own treasure trove. Some of the works on display are affordable opportunities for the small-time buyer, while other pieces are from such art world giants as Andy Warhol, Takashi Murakami, Damien Hirst, Helmut Newton and Picasso. One noteworthy inclusion is the set of Henri Toulouse-Lautrec prints more than half a century old, still in pristine condition and vividly depicting the entertaining Paris of the artist’s time. Works by Terry Rodgers, who paint

Feb 11, 2011

Clubs, art exhibitions and sports games

Clubs Underlounge Seoul Hongdae or Hongik University Area This is the local club of a hip Japanese chain that’s also in Shanghai. Located in the famous clubbing area, Hongdae, it’s all flashy with loud music and lights. Spacious, with a supersized crystal ball hanging over your head, DJs from near and far make music while you can hang out at the bar or classy private rooms. Located near the main entrance of Hongik Univ. Call (02) 325-5715 or visit www.underlounge.kr. Club M2 Hongdae M2 features top DJs from home and abroad. The dance floor and the DJ are in the center of the club, which attracts a trendy crowd along with models and celebrities. Packed on the weekends. Check www.ohoo.net. Cafe Mou Sinsa-dong This cafe has a rich ethnic interior that mixes inspirations that its owner got from travels to such places as Morocco and France. Its menu is limited, but features desserts. It’s located at the edge of Dosan Park. 650-9 Park View Building, Sinsa-dong, Gangnam, near the Cine City Theater in Apgujeongdong. Call (02) 3444-6069. Club Heaven Yeoksam-d

Feb 10, 2011

Concerts, museums and theater

Classical Concerts Opera ‘La Boheme’ Towol Theater, Seoul Arts Center* (See ‘venues’ on right for more information) Through Feb. 13 The Incheon Opera Group is staging “La Boheme,” one of Puccini’s signature works along with “Tosca” and “Madame Butterfly.” The Inseim Philharmonic Orchestra, under the conductor of the Cairo Symphony Orchestra, Marcello Mottadelli, and I Piccoli Junior Chorus enliven the colorful story about the poor yet passion-filled lives of artists in 1930s Paris. Tickets cost 30,000 to 100,000 won. For more, call (02) 2659-4100. My Love, My Valentine Chamber Hall, Sejong Center For Performing Arts* Feb. 13 The classical crossover artist Vimutti will hold a special Valentine’s Day concert with Prima Ensemble. The vocalist will sing his own lyrics to romantic melodies such as Chopin’s Nocturne No. 2 and Satie’s “Je te veux.” Call (02) 581-5404 for more information. Rose Jang Recital Concert Hall, Seoul Arts Center* Feb. 17 Rose Jang will hold a concert featuring what she calls “nouveau classics,” a more expansive interpretation of popera that

Feb 10, 2011

Arts & Theater

Arts & Theater

Meditation museum seeks harmony with nature

Cast change in National Ballets Giselle

Glimpse of Korean, Japanese art at Cleveland Museum

Behind the work of Uli Sigg: a collector and historian

Clubs, art exhibitions and sports games

Concerts, museums and theater

Five boys grow up with Billy Elliot

Private collector bares all in exhibition, sale

Clubs, art exhibitions and sports games

Concerts, museums and theater

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