Lifestyle - The Korea Times

Bibimbap recipes available in four languages

“The World’s Choice for Well-Being, Bibimbap” has been newly translated into four different languages — English, Japanese, Chinese and Spanish — by Leescom. / Courtesy of LeescomBy Chung Ah-young “Bibimbap,” a sizzling bowl filled with rice and mixed vegetables, meat and a fried egg, might be one of the world’s best-known Korean dishes. It has been widely adored particularly by gourmets who care about diet and well-being due to its low calories and essential nutrients. World celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow are known to enjoy the dish as part of their low-cal diet. “I make it a rule to eat bibimbap for my diet after exercise. Normally I enjoy my bimbimbap with kimchi and vegetables like carrots, mushrooms and leeks. Replace white rice with brown rice and it’ll be much healthier,” Paltrow said. One of the big fans for the food, Paltrow even shows that she cooks bibimbap, one of her favorite dishes, on her GOOP blog. To more widely spread the beauty of the dish, a cook book about bibimbap “The World’s C

Oct 8, 2010

Recent Books

On the Eve of the Uprising Translated from Korean to English by Sunyoung Park with Jefferson J.A. Gatrall; Cornell East Asia Studies: 308 pp., $35 This translated collection of six tales from colonial-era Korea (1910-45) offers insight into different perspectives of the peninsula at that time, with five stories taking place during the occupation and the final story set after Korea finds its independence. Authors include Yom Sangsop, Ch’oe Sohae, Na To-hyang, Pak T’aewon, Yi Tae-jun and Kim Nam-chon. Written in a clear, solid voice, Park’s language embodies a strict translation, perfect for the preservation of the stories through new languages. The tales of family, friends and hardships ring with historically valuable references and relevant emotions of the era. The book serves as a great introduction to the stories of Korea’s past and the translator inserted brief biographies on each of the literary contributors including a glossary of Korean words for those uncertain of their meanings. The translated stories implicitly tell of the colonial periods influence on the litera

Oct 1, 2010

A full narrative of Korean art history

By Chung Ah-young Yoo Hong-jun, former director of the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) and professor of Myongji University, has brought out the first of a new history book series, “The Story of Korean Art” (Nulwa: 412 pp., 28,000 won). Encompassing the era from prehistoric times to the Balhae age (698-926), the book is the first of a three-volume series. The second volume will cover the Unified Silla (668-935) and Goryeo (918-1392) kingdoms, while the third will deal with the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910) — all to be completed in three years. Although the book appeals to students studying art history as a guide, Yoo said that it is not exclusively academic, which would be a struggle for readers. Rather, it is an easy story-telling book that can be “comfortably read from the couch.” The publication’s origins go back to the 1980s when Yoo gave lectures on Korean art history to youngsters, which continued until the 1990s. His lectures made a strong impression on his audience who were accustomed to boring, hard and academic teaching lessons in art history classes.

Oct 1, 2010

Jane Goodall preaches hope for nature

By Chung Ah-young World-renowned environmentalist and primatologist Jane Goodall spends some 300 days a year traveling around the world making efforts to protect animals and nature. The 76-year-old has woven her stories into a new book “Hope for Animals and Their World: How Endangered Species Are Being Rescued from the Brink,” which has been published in Korean. “Without hope, we cannot do anything. There is hope out there. But it depends on all of us who are getting involved,” Goodall told reporters in a press conference Tuesday. She came to Korea to promote her new book and hold lectures to Korean young students after touring Hong Kong, Japan and China. “The reason I wrote the latest book is because I have met so many young biologists with pessimism in the environment,” she said. The book offers glimpses of her firsthand experiences conducting research with world renowned scientists. It illuminates the hidden heroic efforts of environmentalists and biologists who have dedicated their time to protect wildlife habitats. The book sends out an inspirational messa

Sep 28, 2010

Nami book fest to focus on peace

By Chung Ah-young Nami Island, a famous tourist attraction as the filming location for the drama “Winter Sonata,” will turn into a gigantic “natural library” for 45 days. The 5th Nami Island International Children’s Book Festival will kick off Oct. 1 and run till Nov. 14 around the scenic island in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province. This year’s event will feature an international project of newly created and illustrated stories under the theme of peace. The picture book collection “Peace Story” is a collaboration of 42 illustrators and authors such as Martin Auer, Christos Boulotis, Salah Elmur and Susanne Gervay representing 22 countries around the world. The book shows how devastating a war is for children through multicultural tales and images. Original illustrations from the book will be on display. The late author Gendrutis Morkunas from Lithuania, who died during the preparation for the event and the publication of “Peace Story,” will be honored in a retrospective exhibition. Morkunas devoted his entire life to children’s literature that reflected his unique world and

Sep 27, 2010

Recent Books

The Way So Ji-sub; Sallim Books: 329 pp., 19,800 won Top actor So Ji-sub has published his first ever photo travel essay. The book will appeal to fans, not only for the various beautiful photos but also because of the snippets of personal thoughts and impressions within. The photos were taken of the scenic backdrops of Gangwon Province, including the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in Cheorwon, along with his simple but candid writings. “I am neither a novelist nor a photographer. I started this project with the excitement that I would be able to experience a region that is regularly forbidden to civilians in deep Gangwon Province. Also, I think I can present a different aspect of myself not as an actor who is seen as a fictional character in a drama,” he wrote in the epilogue. The book includes dialogues with sarcastic cartoonist Park Jae-dong, celebrated novelist Lee Oi-soo and hip hop singer Tiger JK who accompanied So in his travels. The 34-year-old says that like the DMZ that has remained unaltered for the last 60 years, he wants to establish his own way as an actor for

Sep 24, 2010

Book looks into Japans feng shui

Joseon Feng Shui Talks about Japan Kim Du-gyu; Dreamnet Media: 344 pp., 15,000 won By Chung Ah-young Hippocrates, the godfather of medicine, paid attention to the individual characteristics of the body and the environment. He conceived the idea that factors such as climate, quality of water and soil, and laws of the land of the environment influence the formation of the bodily and spiritual characteristics of the human being. Such ideas, not only from Hippocrates but also from other ancient philosophers have affected Western medicine, architecture and city planning, which is equivalent to feng shui. Feng shui literally means “wind and water” and is known as an ancient Chinese philosophy of nature as a form of geomancy. It is believed to affect the pattern of a life and even the destiny of human beings in ancient times. In Goryeo (918-1392) and Joseon (1392-1910), feng shui was widely used on a national level as rulers relied on administrating the state according to the laws of the land. Nowadays, feng shui mostly remains in selecting the location of graves. “Joseon F

Sep 24, 2010

Recent Books

The Postman Mun Dok-su; Translated from Korean to English by Brother Anthony of Taize from: Poetic Matrix Press: 84 pp., $20 The Postman, the landmark 500-line poem by Korea’s leading modernist poet Mun Dok-su, has at last been translated into English by veteran literature translator Brother Anthony of Taize. Inspired by Vincent van Gogh’s painting “The Postman Joseph Roulin,” the poem is subtitled “I Want to Be Reborn as a Postman” and consists of six parts. The piece provides epical portrayals of the tragedy of war, terror, massacres and other crimes against humanity in an experimental form. Oh Se-young, emeritus professor of Seoul National University, says that “an old poet, showing the intense avant-garde spirit, freewheeling imagination, unhindered use of off-beat images, and poetic sensibility defying the existing grammar, rings a warning bell to the mannerism of our prematurely aging poetic society in the 21st century.” The book includes not only his poem but also commentary and reviews by Oh and Lee Tae-dong, literary critic and emeritus professor of Engli

Sep 17, 2010

Writers residency emerging as cultural hub

By Chung Ah-young The Seoul Art Space Yeonhi, the first and only residency for writers in the city, is gaining a foothold as a nurturing nest for authors and a cultural shelter for its neighbors. Surrounded by pine, persimmon and chestnut trees, the center first opened on Nov. 5 last year in Yeonhi-dong, western Seoul, supported by the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture (SFAC). The first writer-in-residence program offers studios for writing, networking and communicating to act as a stronghold of Korean literature as well as proactively contributing to world literature. It was originally used as the Sisa Compilation Committee building which was designed for research, compilation and education from the 1980s to 2000s. Since its opening, some 60 writers such as Shin Dal-ja, Eun Hee-kyung and Yoon Dae-nyeong have written works there. The resident authors are required to pay some 40,000 to 80,000 won for three months while foreign authors can use the center free of charge. So far, six foreign writers have participated in the residency program, beginning with Germa

Sep 17, 2010

Inje library focuses on geneology e-books

By Chung Ah-young A library is supposed to house a collection of books but for Park Jae-sup, director of the Paik Inje Memorial Library of Inje University in South Gyeongsang Province, it is more than just storing the books. Park, who attended the 76th World Library and Information Congress in Gothenburg, Sweden last month for the presentation of the Inje Digital Genealogy Library, puts more emphasis on the cultural role of a library. “When I toured the European countries, particularly the Baltic States, I always saw the phrase ‘think culture’ as they are trying to break the barriers of the limited and defined roles of museums, libraries and national repositories. In that sense, I think the library should be a threshold for crossing the cultural boundaries in which diverse cultures can be shared and exchanged,” Park said in an interview with The Korea Times. As both director of the library and a professor of Korean studies, he developed the digitalized records of genealogy, the first of its kind in the nation, collected by the library since 2007, to introduce Korea’s blo

Sep 14, 2010

Books

Books

Bibimbap recipes available in four languages

Recent Books

A full narrative of Korean art history

Jane Goodall preaches hope for nature

Nami book fest to focus on peace

Recent Books

Book looks into Japans feng shui

Recent Books

Writers residency emerging as cultural hub

Inje library focuses on geneology e-books

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