Lifestyle - The Korea Times

Foreign, Korean Artists Share Common Ideas

By Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter Art does not know any boundaries, as shown in the exhibition ``Encounter: Dublin, Lisbon, Hong Kong and Seoul.'' Artists from Hong Kong, Portugal, Ireland and Korea are showing artworks where they tackle common social issues in their own distinctive personal styles. Wilson Shieh, Lui Chunkwong, Antonio Julio Duarte and Anthony Haughey are participating in the exhibition at the Korea Foundation Cultural Center (KFCC) gallery, which originally featured 10 Korean contemporary artists. ``The artists from these countries deal with similar themes as their Korean counterparts, and this only shows that issues such as acceptance and refusal, observation and involvement are globally pursued by artists today,'' said Choi Eun-ju, director at the National Museum of Art Deoksu Palace. The exhibit's theme is ``To Have and To Be,'' taken from Erich Fromm's book, and features works dealing with common themes of materialism, capitalism and meditation. Shieh and Duarte both use urban life as a starting point for their art, while Lui and Haughey

Jan 9, 2009

Clubs, Traditional Events & Art Exhibitions

Clubs The Circle Cheongdam-dong Located in the upscale Cheongdam-dong neighborhood, it's notorious for turning you down unless you're dressed chic and sleek. Faithful to its name, it has a round revolving floor ― looking for your ``lost'' table gives clubbers the perfect excuse to sit down with a sexy stranger. Located on Dosan-daero near Hak-dong intersection. Call (02) 546-5933 or visit www.thecircle.co.kr. Club Answer Cheongdam-dong This might be the answer to your nightlife. It offers an intimate partying environment with groovy electronic music by star DJs. You can reserve tables and those on the second floor provide an open view of the dance floor. Or mingling with the hot bartenders at the open bar might be a fine alternative. Located in Cheongdam-dong across the street from Prima Hotel, near the entrance toi Yeongdong-daegyo. Call (02) 548-7115 or visit www.clubanswer.co.kr. Club Evans Hongdae or Hongik University Area This club, located near Hongik University, is great for intimate live performances. The line-up of performers is generally top-notch and

Jan 8, 2009

Concerts, Museums & Theater

Classical Concerts Richard Yongjae O'Neill Baroque Concert with AMK `Mysterioso' Seoul Arts Center Feb. 27 Violist Richard Yongjae O'Neill will hold a Baroque concert with internationally renowned ensemble Alte Musik Koln. O'Neill will switch his original instrument for a traditional baroque viola. Tickets cost from 30,000 won to 100,000 won. For more information, visit www.credia.co.kr or call (02) 751-9606~10. Located near exits 4 and 5 of Nambu Bus Terminal on subway line 3. Kim Won Piano Recital Seoul Arts Center Feb. 21 Pianist Kim Won will offer various classic works including Symphonic Etudes Op.13, and the Three Movements from Petrouchka, considered as being among the most difficult pieces. Tickets cost from 30,000 won to 70,000 won. For more information, visit www.sac.or.kr or call (02) 541-6235. Located near exits 4 and 5 of Nambu Bus Terminal on subway line 3. Big Concert with Seoul Chamber Orchestra Seoul Arts Center Feb. 1 The Seoul Chamber Orchestra, led by Ralf Gothoni, will perform works of Haydn, Sallinen and Rossini, with cellist Arto Noras

Jan 8, 2009

Best Play Series Project Draws Curtain

By Chung Ah-young Staff Reporter The ``Yeongeuk Yeoljeon 2 (A Series of the Best Plays),'' which began on Dec. 7, 2007, finally drew its curtains Monday, reinvigorating the faltering theater scene in Daehangno. For the last 13 months, ten plays were performed under the motto of ``popularization of the theater arts’’ by veteran actor and programmer Cho Jae-hyun, along with Dongsoong Art Center’s Theater Company to save the sagging theater industry with the star-studded cast. Scoring a big success in economically hard times, the project came four years after 2004’s `` Yeongeuk Yeoljeon,’’ which put 14 plays on stage. In the closing ceremony at Dongsoong Art Center, actor Song Young-chang, who starred in the play ``University of Laughs’’ written by Japanese dramatist Koki Mitani, won the award for best acting and the play (University of Laughs) received the best play award judged by participating actors, staff, reporters and audience members. Results of 13-Month Project The project attracted a total of 247,814 people with a 96 percent seat occupation rate, much highe

Jan 6, 2009

Fan Yangs Bubble Show Back in Seoul

By Chung Ah-young Staff Reporter Every winter, children are eager to see various shapes and hues of ``white bubbles’’ as much as snow. And now Canadian bubble artist Fan Yang’s ``White Bubble Show’’ has returned to Korea after fascinating audience members around the world in cities like New York, Las Vegas, Tokyo, Belarus, and Hanoi. Jointly produced by Yang and Neodus HQ, a local performing arts agency, the show, which began Jan. 3 in Seoul, is the eighth the artist has performed here. Since 2004, the show has attracted more than 150,000 people in Korea. It was staged at the Dome Art Hall in Seoul from late 2007 through early last year and attracted about 45,000 paying customers, helping establish it as one of the nation’s favorite family shows. Beginning in Hanoi, Vietnam, in March 2006, the act went on tour to Minsk, Belarus, in May the same year, Off-Broadway theaters in New York in 2007, and, last year, moved on to Las Vegas and Tokyo, Japan, dazzling more than 180,000 people. At New World Stages in New York, in particular, his show is on a 22 month-long run,

Jan 5, 2009

Artist Brings Folk Painting Into Daily Life

By Jane Han Staff Reporter Some say it's shamanistic and others say it's plain ugly, but Kim Hye-joong says ``minhwa'' is neither because there is more to Korean folk painting than tigers and dragons. ``A stereotyped image of minhwa is rooted in people's minds. That is, if they are even familiar with the form of art," said Kim, a noted minhwa artist who has held shows in Korea, Europe and the U.S. for over 20 years. Kim, who is recognized for modernizing and diversifying the 17th century form, sat down with The Korea Times after her recent show, ``The Beauty of Korea Painting in Blue and White Porcelain,'' to discuss how she envisions minhwa becoming more relatable and approachable to the general public. ``Simply put, minhwa is a painting full of everyday life. It could carry an image of a woman washing clothes by the river, a little boy playing in a sand pile or a couple getting married,'' said the artist, who stressed that often people generalize minhwa as art dealing with just freakish-looking tigers. Korean folk art, which consists of mythical figures, animals, f

Jan 4, 2009

Ancient Site of Goryeo Palace Unveiled

By Chung Ah-young Staff Reporter The ancient site of an old royal palace, Manwoldae in Kaesong, North Korea, has been excavated in a joint archeological survey. Archaeologists from South and North Korea jointly conducted the two-month survey in November and December to unearth the ruins from the Goryeo Kingdom (918-1392), according to the Cultural Heritage Administration. The joint excavation team said the general structure and arrangements bore the accurate size of a Gyeongnyeongjeon, or a hall enshrining the five kings' portraits including King Taejo, the founder of the kingdom, and ancestral tablets, and other building sites. The Gyeongnyeongjeon site consists of an oblong-shaped stereobate, which spans 22.67 meters east to west and 10.15 meters north to south, and has five partitions on the front and three on the side. Inside the hall, the foundations of five ritual altars were discovered. In the southern part of the building, three doors and stairways were found and three sides had walls. In the south of the hall, another building site, spreading 18.8 me

Jan 4, 2009

Painters of Modern Korean Life

By Joon Soh Contributing Writer The late 19th and early 20th centuries were a tumultuous period of transition for Korea. The so-called ``Hermit Kingdom'' was forced to open its gates to Japanese colonialists and Western powers competing for influence in East Asia. Amidst it all, Koreans were confronted with Western concepts of science and industry that forever changed their worldviews. The new Seoul exhibition, ``The Modern Korea Rediscovered,'' describes how the changing world had a profound impact on Korean artists. The exhibition, which recently opened at the National Museum of Art in Deoksu Palace, shows that modernity not only transformed how they made art but what they made it about. Organized to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Korea, ``The Modern Korea Rediscovered'' is an ambitious exhibition, comprising 232 paintings, drawings and sculptures from the late to mid-20th century. Together, they present a vivid and comprehensive overview of Korean art and life. With the introduction of Western art, Korean painters had to come to te

Jan 2, 2009

Art Exhibitions, Kids and Sports

Art Exhibitions Rubens, Baroque Masterpieces Main Exhibition Hall 1, Sejong Center for Performing Arts Through March 15 Masterpieces by Peter Paul Rubens, Anthonis Van Dyk, Jan van Goyen and other Flemish artists are in Seoul for the first time. The artworks are on loan from the Vienna Academy Museum. Admission is 12,000 for adults, 9,000 won for students and 7,000 won for children. Call 1544-6154. Joan Miro: The Last Passion Museum of Art, Seongnam Art Center Through Feb. 22 A retrospective of Spanish artist Joan Miro is ongoing at the Seongnam Art Center. Call (02) 783-8141 or visit www.snart.or.kr.. We Live: In a Time of Our Own Seomi & Tuus Gallery Through Jan. 23 Seomi & Tuus Gallery's walls have been painted black and white to serve as a canvas for French artist Oliver Babin's minimalist works. Minimalist master On Kawara has influenced Babin who has created his own versions of ``date paintings." Seomi & Tuus Gallery is located in Cheongdam-dong. Call (02) 511-7305. Filling in my Space Gallery Dos Through Jan. 13 Kim Da-young creates tiny diora

Jan 1, 2009

Classical Concerts, Big Tickets, Museums, Dance, Pop and Jazz, Plays and Musicals

Classical Concerts Big Concert with Seoul Chamber Orchestra Seoul Arts Center Feb. 1 The Seoul Chamber Orchestra, led by Ralf Gothoni, will perform works of Haydn, Sallinen and Rossini, with cellist Arto Noras and clarinetist Michel Lethiec as special guests. Tickets cost from 10,000 won to 90,000 won. For more information, visit www.sac.or.kr or call (02) 592-5728. Located near exits 4 and 5 of Nambu Bus Terminal on subway line 3. Yundi Li Piano Recital Seoul Arts Center Feb. 18 Chinese pianist Yundi Li hosts a piano recital after a six year absence. He is most well known for being the youngest pianist to win the International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition, a feat he accomplished at the age of 18 in 2000. Tickets cost from 40,000 won to 100,000 won. For more information, visit www.sac.or.kr or call (02) 318-4301. Located near exits 4 and 5 of Nambu Bus Terminal on subway line 3. Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra Concert for Helping Children in North Korea Seoul Arts Center Jan. 18 The Korean Committee for UNICEF and the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, led b