Lifestyle - The Korea Times

Korean Cats Casting Unveiled

By Chung Ah-young Staff Reporter The Korean ``Cats'' has been finally unveiled. Seol & Company, one of the major musical production companies in Korea, announced 34 Korean cast members for the first licensed Korean rendition of the musical at Charlotte Theater in southern Seoul Tuesday. The original London team selected the Korean cast members through auditions carried out over the last five months. Singer-turned-actress Ock Ju-hyun and veteran actress Shin Young-sook will alternate acting the role of Grizabella, the ``Glamour Cat'' in the musical, who is a prominent character on stage. Grizabella is shunned by the rest of the tribe when she leaves it to explore the outside world, but now wants to return. She enchants the audience with a memorable song, ``Memory.'' Ock, a former member of now disbanded all-girl group Fin.K.L, received good scores for her performance in impromptu tests requested by judges. ``It will be a great opportunity for me to experience becoming an animal. I can learn many things from this challenging role. I am very excited to show anothe

Jun 4, 2008

Blue Man Founder On Being Bald, Blue

By Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter When Matt Goldman first went bald and blue as a Blue Man with his friends Chris Wink and Phil Stanton, he knew there was something special about it. But today's phenomenal success of the Blue Man Group is still a surprise. ``If you make yourself bald and blue, and you think 'oh my God, I'm going to make a living out of this,' I think the first thing they should do is put you in a mental hospital and throw away the key because that would be crazy talk. It would have been impossible to predict any of this. On the other hand, when we got bald and blue for the first time and we knew it was something very special and that until we got it in many places around the world, it would not be complete,'' Goldman told reporters Tuesday, at a hotel in downtown Seoul. Goldman, now one of the top executives of the Blue Man Group, is in town to oversee the preparations for the ``MegaStar World Tour,'' which opens June 10. The Blue Man Group started in the late 1980's, when Goldman, Wink and Stanton would meet every Sunday morning with the id

Jun 4, 2008

Finnish Fairy Tale Inspires Artist

By Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter Artist Jun So-jung recreates a Finnish fairy tale in her solo exhibition ``The Finale of a Story.'' This exhibition is currently at the Gallery Kong through June 22. It was during a trip to Finland last year when Jun first heard through her friend the Finnish fairy tale about a dancer who lived in a forest. This casual meeting inspired the series of work, ``The Finale of a Story.'' ``'The Finale of a Story' is created from the memory of my Finnish friend who took me to a forest, my memory in the forest and the memory of the dancer in the forest. Those memories came across my mind separately as broken pieces, and then intertwined to construct an act, like a surrealistic game,'' she said. Her friend accompanied her to visit the ruins of a small town in a forest, which was supposed to have been built by the male dancer in the fairy tale. Jun said the memory of the forest and the fairy tale lingered in her head. At the gallery, Jun recreates her memory of the Finnish fairytale through a video installation and art works. She care

Jun 2, 2008

Jang Young-ju Exhibit at Insa Art Center

By Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter Artist Jang Young-ju is holding a solo exhibition ``Expressing Korean Mental Energy in Paintings'' at the Insa Art Center, northern Seoul, through June 3. Her abstract expressionist works are characterized by strong splashes of color and energetic brushwork. It is not difficult to see why art critic Antonia Pereira described Jang's works as having the ``energy of an abstract expressionist and spiritual sensibilities of a master calligrapher.'' Pereira further notes that Jang uses the paint with a robust spontaneity that makes it appear as if it has been ``poured, smeared, sprayed and washed across the canvas.'' Angela Di Bello, editor in chief of Arties Spestrum magazine, praised Jang's paintings ``A World of Calligraphy I, Compassion, Dynamic, Noble and The Universe.'' She said the paintings ``exhibit strength in the fusion of color and calligraphy.'' Jang has already participated in several group exhibitions at the New York Art Fair and Korean Culture Centers in Japan, France and Taiwan. She is a painter of the New York Agor

May 30, 2008

Fresh Look at Arko Art Center’s Collection

By Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter Arko Art Center's collection of award-winning works is being given a new spin. Eight curators have come up with fresh themes that place the works in a new context in ``Chronicle of Images.'' The exhibition is divided into eight sub-themes, starting with ``Intro'' by cartoonist Kim Young-ki. Several paintings are carefully placed on a wall with Kim's own cartoon drawing. Each of the works are connected through the drawing, making all the pieces part of a bigger picture. ``For an object to take its presence, not just the object, but also everything around it has to exist together,'' Kim said. Artist Kim Bo-min curates the second part ``Mountain, Tree, Grass, House and Bystreet. This section explores the various perspectives of the artists through the years, starting from classic landscapes of mountains and nature, to cityscapes depicting modern life. Ceramic art is the focus of ``Bowl Body and Desire.'' Artist Kang Hong-goo said he chose to curate the ceramics section because he does not know a lot about ceramics, and considers

May 30, 2008

Clus, Art Exhibitions & Sports Games

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 the ones 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 of 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 a

May 29, 2008

Concerts, Museums and Performances

Classical Concerts Andrew Manze & Richard Egarr LG Arts Center June 14 Celebrated English baroque violinist Andrew Manze is joining his good friend and harpsichord player Richard Egarr to perform in Seoul. They will offer the classic melodies of Bach, Corelli and much more. Tickets cost from 30,000 won to 70,000 won. Visit ticket.interpark.com or call (02) 2005-0114. Located near exit 7 of Yeoksam Station on subway line 2. 2008 Asian 3 Tenor +1 June 14 Seoul Arts Center Top tenors Shin Dong-ho, Kim Young-hwan and Japanese Naoki Arai will present their personal favorite classical music. Soprano Choi In-ae will also join them at the inspiring performance. Tickets cost from 20,000 won to 70,000 won. Visit www.ticket.interpark.com or call (02) 749-1300. Located near exits 4 and 5 of Nambu Bus Terminal on subway line 3. Ian Yungwook Yoo Recital Seoul Arts Center June 2 Child-prodigy-turned-virtuoso, Ian Youngwook Yoo will be performing for his Korean fans. The winner of the International Beethoven Piano Competition in Bonn, 2007, Yoo proved his musical ta

May 29, 2008

12th SICAF Ends With Promises for More

By Lee Hyo-won Staff Reporter The 12th Seoul International Cartoon & Animation Festival, the only one of its kind in Korea, wrapped up Sunday after five days of festivity. Cartoon and animation buffs were able to mingle with world premier artists and take part in other fun events. This year's edition invited, among others, Italian animator Bruno Bozzeto. His animations were screened at Lotte Cinema-Konkuk while a special section in the cartoon exhibition hall at SETEC showed his creative process, step-by-step. At the exhibition, visitors were also able to see a retrospective of the past 99 years of Korean cartoon history, which began with Lee Do-young's newspaper comic strip in 1909. Art students from universities such as Hongik, Mokwon, Sangmyung, and Kyungmin, among others occupied various booths to showcase their talent. One of the most popular events were their on-the-spot caricatures for 1,000 won. Nevertheless, quality animations were visible during the festival. ``Tokyo Marble Chocolate'' (Japan) by Naoyoshi Shitani won the grand prize for feature film. Under the

May 28, 2008

Shim Chung to Show Korean Tradition Through Ballet

By Han Sang-hee Staff Reporter The Universal Ballet will present their ballet-musical ``Shim Chung,'' a Korean traditional folk tale, this coming June. A modern musical twist has been added to the ballet rendition of a touching yet entertaining folk tale of a young girl and her love for her blind father. The original folk tale ``Shim Chung'' depicts the journey of Shim Chung and her poor, blind father. Desperate, Shim Chung throws herself into the sea in exchange for rice for her father from fishermen in need of a sacrifice. Rescued by the king of the sea, she becomes a queen and holds a feast for the blind, determined to find her long lost father. The two finally reunite and the father, surprised by his daughter's return, regains his eyesight. For an easier approach to the work, the performance will offer songs with lyrics, unlike classic ballet, and also mime to describe the details of the story. ``Many think ballet as difficult. Perhaps it's because there are no words. But this can actually make ballet easier to understand because movement is universal. With `S

May 27, 2008

Gwangju, Daegu Gear Up for Biennales

By Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter Gwangju Biennale and Daegu Photo Biennale recently unveiled the line-up of programs and activities for the biennales scheduled later this year. The 7th Gwangju Biennale, considered one of the most prestigious art events in Asia, opens on Sept. 5. The 2nd Daegu Photo Biennale, which focuses on photography, opens on Oct. 30. Gwangju Biennale The 7th Gwangju Biennale, which runs through Nov. 9, does not have any overarching theme. Instead, the title ``Annual Report: A Year in Exhibitions'' reflects the biennale's aim to show all the activities, exhibitions and works produced by the artists from January 2007 to September 2008. Okwui Enwezor, artistic director for Gwangju Biennale, defended the lack of an overall theme, saying it is a response to the ``crisis in thematic exhibitions.'' ``For us, we did not want to make it about trends. We wanted to look at the economies of production: intellectual, artistic, cultural, political and social. … We wanted to show the Gwangju Biennale not just as a local destination, but as a globa

May 26, 2008

Arts & Theater