Lifestyle - The Korea Times

Free Percussion Performances Attract Foreigners in Seoul

By Chung Ah-young Staff Reporter Groovy rhythms and strong beats are a universal language, breaking borders between race and nationality. Making the most of the merit percussion music holds, the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation is bridging tradition and modernity to Korea's cultural scene. The foundation organizes a cultural venue called ``The Korea Cultural House'' (KOUS) to host free Korean music performances for foreign tourists and Korean residents. All those interested in traditional Korean music are welcome to attend KOUS's brilliant and original traditional music presentations with a contemporary twist. The foundation offers various kinds of percussion performances every Wednesday for a period of three months titled ``The Voices of Percussion: Drum and Gong,'' performed by 12 different performing groups, all carefully selected by the foundation. Jennifer Quark, an official of the foundation, said that the performances blend traditional artistry of percussions and modern dances to please audiences. ``Modern performances such as B-Boy dances will be mixed

Jul 4, 2007

Bowyer Master Struggling to Keep Traditional Craft Alive

By Chung Ah-young Staff Reporter Kim Park-young, the nation's only bowyer master, runs his hands over a bow more than 3,500 times to ``inspire some life into it.'' The 78-year-old practitioner pulls out a bow and arrow from his creations at his workshop in Sungmujung, an archery field located in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province. Kim shows off his still-energetic prowess by drawing a bow 145 meters away from a target on the field. Kim is known as a traditional bow maker with a mission to keep the craft alive against overwhelming modern archery production methods. Kim calls the traditional bow a ``live bow'' as it is made from all natural materials _ both animals and plants. ``The Korean traditional bows are made from natural materials. So it is good for the human body unlike the modern bows made from artificial materials,'' he said in an interview with The Korea Times. ``Our traditional bows, only one-meter high, excel both in function and artistry. It has a longer shot range of up to 145 meters and it has a round shape to make it more elastic,'' Kim said. Japanese

Jul 3, 2007

Dorfmann Turns Realist Play Into Musical Fairytale

By Chung Ah-young Staff Reporter It was a big challenge for Ariel Dorfmann, 65, celebrated Chilean playwright, to make a decision to adapt the original play of ``Forest Fire'' by the late Korean playwright Cha Bum-suk, into the musical version several years ago. ``It was difficult to put it into a musical,'' Dorfmann said in an interview with The Korea Times. He said that he was strongly motivated to turn Cha's most distinguished realist play in modern Korean theater into the musical version titled ``Dancing Shadows'' because it looked impossible like ``a terrific challenge.'' So when he was offered to adapt it into the musical, he decided to say ``yes'' after reading the play and meeting Cha and composer Eric Woolfson. Set during the Korean War (1950-1953), the play explores human desire and sadness, history, and various events surrounding two widows and an injured guerilla gunman named Gyu-bok, who finds himself in a widows' village located in the Sobaek Mountains. He said that when he first read the play, he found similar problems with his play and novel ``Wido

Jul 2, 2007

Art, Story and Music Converge in Fine Jewelry

By Seo Dong-shin Staff Reporter The jewelry business is traditionally a family-oriented and exclusive domain in South Korea, where newcomers forever remain outsiders in the industry. Against this backdrop, it was certainly a bold decision _ and perhaps also a clever strategy _ for two women relatively new to the industry to launch a project that insiders here have seldom tried before. Jung Hye-ja, 59, and Kim Hue-kyeong, 48, co-CEOs of fine jewelry shop ``In Story,'' transposed the works of renowned Korean sculptor Moonshin (1923-1995) to fine jewelry items such as brooches, earrings, necklaces and rings. Artist Moonshin is well known and popular in Europe, but that was not the only reason behind choosing his works for this ambitious project that eventually will test the overseas market. Symmetry, which symbolizes order of the universe and archetypal image of life, is the core feature of Moonshin's sculptures, and has already created inspiration for fashion designers as well as musicians. Now it's jewelry's turn. ``The shape of the sculptures just look like they were de

Jul 2, 2007

Concerts, Museums and Performances

CLASSICAL I Maestri's 2nd Concert Seoul Arts Center July 31 The all-male vocal ensemble "I Maestri," will sing classics from European baroque music to traditional Korean songs in order to raise funds for UNICEF. Tickets cost from 10,000 won to 60,000 won. Visit www.sac.or.kr or call (02) 580-1234. Located near exits 4 and 5 of Nambu Bus Terminal Station on subway line 3. The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra Brass Ensemble Seoul Arts Center July 15 The brass instrument players of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra have been lauded as the best in the world and will perform for the first time in Korea since their formation fifty years ago. Tickets cost from 30,000 won to 70,000 won. Visit www.mastmedia.co.kr or call (02) 541-6234. Located near exits 4 and 5 of Nambu Bus Terminal Station on subway line 3. 'A Night of Opera' Seoul Arts Center (Concert Hall) July 7 A group comprised of the best Korean opera singers will be accompanied by the National Symphony Orchestra led by maestro Jo Dae-myeong to deliver familiar and classic arias. Tickets cost fro

Jun 28, 2007

Clubs, Exhibitions and For Kids

CLUBS Club Garden Apgujeong-dong The Garden is an electronica hotspot, with the big draw being its line-up of guest DJs such as Laurent Garnier, Mondo Grosso, Afrika Bambatta and Goldie. Near Galleria Department Store on the so-called Rodeo Street in southern Seoul. Call (02) 518-5115 or clubgarden.co.kr. Club Evans Hongdae or Hongik University Area This place, located near Hongik University, is great for intimate live performances. The line-up of performers is generally top-notch and the acoustics are good. Located near exit 1 on Sangsu Station on subway line 6 or exit 6 on Hongdae Station on subway line 2. Call (02) 337-8361 or www.clubevans.com. Club Caliente Itaewon The patrons are so diverse, DJ Josh sometimes has a hard job appealing to everyone. But he keeps the dance floor going, playing a variety of standbys and new Latin music. The song selection is what keeps people coming back. Located near exit 4 of Itaewon Station subway line 6. Call (011) 9094 8484 Club M2 Hongdae M2 features top DJs from home and abroad. The dance floor an

Jun 28, 2007

Experimental Musicals Becoming Trend

By Chung Ah-young Staff Reporter Musicals are widening their scope experimenting with rap, scat and club music. These non-traditional musicals with their novel formats and unconventional themes are rapidly winning over musical buffs these days. Featuring only one music genre or music without any dialogue is becoming a big trend this year, blurring the boundaries of typical musicals _ a form of theater combining music, songs, spoken dialogue and dance. ``Cha Cha Cha''_ now showing at the Naksan Theater in Daehangno, Seoul, and running through Sept. 2 _ is a trot musical, an adaption of ``The Shiny Day,'' the original trot musical first staged in 2001. The musical is intended to appeal to a wide variety of people who enjoy trot music, a unique Korean pop genre, which young stars such as Chang Yun-jung and Super Junior T are turning to. Also, the first monologue musical will debut in September _ Broadway's ``George M. Cohan Tonight,'' the first one-man musical to be performed in Korea. The musical, staged by Show Fac and Michigan Venture Captial in association w

Jun 27, 2007

Two Different Carmens to Dazzle on Stage

By Bae Keun-min Staff Reporter The passionate but tragic heroin Carmen from Bizet's opera of the same name has a certain image _ a sexy, gypsy bombshell with dark hair and wearing a red dress. However, a renowned Russian theater will break the image and provide variations in its Korean performance. Two different versions of Carmen, one blond and the other dark-haired, will appear on the stage during the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Music Theater's performances of the Bizet opera at the Goyang Aram Nuri Arts Complex in Gyeonggi Province from June 28 to 30. ``When I performed Carmen in Europe, I wore a dark wig. But at the Stanislavsky, I performed with my own hair,'' blond mezzo soprano Elena Maximova said during a press conference at a Seoul hotel Tuesday. ``I am playing myself on stage, not Carmen. I feel very comfortable.'' The role will be shared with mezzo soprano Nataliya Vladimirskaya, who has a look much closer to the typical image. She said her Carmen will be different from the one people will observe from that by Maximova. ``It is very a

Jun 26, 2007

When Performing Arts Meet Technology

By Chung Ah-young Staff Reporter The developments in technology have seen a variety of innovations in the field of the performing arts, which are thought of as a primitive form compared to other genres. A new kind of experimentation, with state-of-the-art technology, hails changes of the paradigm brought about by information and technology in theatrical performances. Looking to the future, the first digital drama of its kind utilizing technological devices has debuted. ``Syntasia,'' a digital drama, combining ``synthesis'' and ``fantasia,'' makes the best use of information and technology in theatrical performance. In the drama, stage, audiences and actors, which are the three main factors for the performance, are digitalized. The performance is drawing public attention, as it is the first production created jointly by artists and scientists. Professors of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) took part in the creative process in cooperation with the Goyang Cultural Foundation. The script is based on ``Robot Flower'' by Kim Tak-hwa

Jun 25, 2007

Paintings Celebrate Cultural Hybrid

By Seo Dong-shin Staff Reporter When emerging artist Seo Soo-kyung, known these days as SEO across Europe and her home country South Korea, first arrived in Berlin in 2001, she was ready to experiment. The oriental-painting graduate from Chosun University in Gwangju wanted to use extravagant colors and rough brushstrokes, instead of the black-and-white ink painting consisting of delicate lines she had been schooled in. But Georg Baselitz, a renowned German artist and teacher of SEO, saw it differently. ``Don't forget where you came from,'' said the master painter, making SEO do away with the oil colors from her desk in the first months. There began SEO's frustration, and she was unable to draw anything for the next half a year. ``But eventually things worked out,'' said the 30-year-old artist, laughing. ``Now my paintings are said to mix the East's lines and the West's colors. I think that if the colors were there (in Berlin) waiting for me, I brought the lines.'' Things more than worked out. These days, SEO's works are popular and command high prices on the European art