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Works of Russian avant-garde masters on exhibit

Chung-Ang University professor Kim Young-ho, right, art director of the “Kandinsky, Malevich & Russian Avant-Garde” exhibition, explains the “Jewish Venus” painting by Mikhail Larionov to distinguished guests during the opening ceremony at Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Seoul, Wednesday. The exhibition, hosted by The Korea Times and its sister paper Hankook Ilbo, will showcase 75 masterpieces by 49 Russian artists, including Larionov, Wassily Kandinsky and Kazimir Malevich. The opening ceremony was attended by a slew of dignitaries including Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hwang Hee and Russian Ambassador to Korea Andrey Kulik, fifth from right in the front row. Second from right in the front row is Hankook Ilbo President Lee Young-sung. Korea Times photo by Wang Tae-seog

Jan 5, 2022By Nam Hyun-woo

Works of Russian avant-garde masters on exhibit

Tattooing is a different form of drawing, giving precious memories: tattoo artist

Tattooist Kim Dong-hwa works on flower tattoos. Courtesy of Kim Dong-hwaBy Kang Seung-wooIn modern Korea, tattoos had been stigmatized until recent years as associated with gangsters. However, for Kim Dong-hwa, a tattoo artist who is known for her colorful flower tattoos, tattooing is another type of drawing that uses a “different canvas,” while offering precious memories to someone. “I hope that people see tattooing as drawing on the human body instead of drawing on paper, rather than something related to organized crime,” Kim said in an interview with The Korea Times at her workplace in Yeonnam-dong, western Seoul, Tuesday. “When I began this job in 2017… my parents strongly disagreed with me working as a tattooist and I could continue this work only after promising to quit immediately if something bad happens.”To her relief, tattoos have been increasingly accepted as a form of self-expression as time has gone by, with more ordinary people getting tattooed ― despite not fully curbing the negative feelings about them among some. “In t

Jan 5, 2022By Kang Seung-woo

Tattooing is a different form of drawing, giving precious memories: tattoo artist

Jeju's three female divers named independence fighters by patriots ministry

Portraits of Bu Chun-hwa, far left, Kim Ok-ryeon and Bu Deok-ryang / Courtesy of the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans AffairsBy Park Han-solThree “haenyeo,” or women divers of Jeju Island, who led the key resistance movement during the 1910-45 Japanese colonial occupation, were selected as the “Independence Fighters of the Month” of January 2022, the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs (MPVA) announced Friday.This is the first time the ministry has named the Jeju islanders as independence fighters as part of its monthly designation project, which began in 1992.In the early 1930s, Bu Chun-hwa, Kim Ok-ryeon and Bu Deok-ryang led what came to be the country's largest civil protest ever organized by women against the Japanese forces. Joined by some 17,000 participants, part of the movement's aim was to address the colonial government's economic exploitation of marine resources and labor.All born in Gujwa-eup on the island, the three women started their lives as haenyeo at an early age, between 9 and 15, to help put food on the table for their families.But w

Jan 1, 2022By Park Han-sol

Jeju's three female divers named independence fighters by patriots ministry

SUNY Korea appoints new president

By Lee Hae-rinArthur H. Lee, new president of the State University of New York (SUNY) Korea effective from Jan. 1 / Courtesy of SUNY KoreaThe State University of New York (SUNY) Korea appointed Arthur H. Lee as the new president of the institution, effective from Jan. 1, its Board of Managers announced, Tuesday.As the head of SUNY Korea, Lee will work with its home campuses in New York, including Stony Brook University and the Fashion Institute of Technology, as well as national and local governments and authorities here.Lee has been working as provost and interim president of the institution. He received a B.S. and Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Utah, and an M.S. in computer science from Stanford University. “Lee is an open and collaborative leader who is focused on building a diverse, inclusive and equitable environment for faculty, staff and students,” Paul Goldbart, Stony Brook University executive vice president and provost, said in a press release. “As the president of SUNY Korea, he will be responsible for overseeing the academic and adminis

Dec 30, 2021By Lee Hae-rin

Louise Bourgeois' etchings turn inward to explore motherhood, nature

Louis Bourgeois' “Turning Inwards Set #4 (The Smell of Eucalyptus (#1))” (2006), left, and “Turning Inwards Set #4 (I See You!!!)” (2007) / Courtesy of the Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, New York/SACK, Seoul By Park Han-sol Louise Bourgeois descends the stairs in her home on West 20th Street in New York City in 1992. Courtesy of Easton Foundation/Licensed by VAGA at ARS, NY “Art is a guarantee of sanity.” This sentence famously declared by Louise Bourgeois (1911-2010) reflects the role that sculptures, paintings and etchings played throughout the life of the prolific French-American artist.In Korea, she is arguably best known for her gigantic bronze spider sculpture series, “Maman,” one piece of which used to sit in the courtyard of Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul before being relocated this year to the Ho-Am Art Museum in Gyeonggi Province. Representin

Dec 26, 2021By Park Han-sol

Louise Bourgeois' etchings turn inward to explore motherhood, nature

Red bean porridge restaurant owner named 'Face of Seoul' for life-long contribution

By Lee Hae-rinKim Eun-sook, who runs a red bean porridge restaurant in central Seoul, holds a bowl of red bean porridge in this provided photo. She was named a “Face of Seoul” by the Seoul Metropolitan Government for donating 1.2 billion won to mental health hospitals and social welfare facilities over the past 46 years. Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan GovernmentA red bean porridge restaurant owner in Seoul has been selected for Seoul City's Hall of Fame, as a “Face of Seoul,” for her lifelong contribution to the city. According to the city government, Monday, Kim Eun-sook, 82, who runs a red bean porridge restaurant in Samcheong-dong in central Seoul, has made 120 donations from her earnings during the past 46 years, totaling over 1.2 billion won ($1 million).Kim started donating to psychiatric hospitals and social welfare facilities, when her daughter started suffering from a mental health problem at the age of 18. She said that she wanted to help others who are in more dire need of support than herself.“I just went steady with a monthly donation,&rdquo

Dec 23, 2021By Lee Hae-rin

Red bean porridge restaurant owner named 'Face of Seoul' for life-long contribution

Tate Modern curator appointed as artistic director for 2023 Gwangju Biennale

Lee Sook-kyung, the newly appointed artistic director of the 14th Gwangju Biennale / Courtesy of Gwangju Biennale FoundationBy Park Han-solLee Sook-kyung, the senior curator of international art at the Tate Modern in London, has been named the artistic director for the 14th edition of the Gwangju Biennale. Slated for April 2023, the event is one of the most renowned contemporary art biennales in Asia.Her appointment marks the first time for a Korean national to organize the exhibition since 2006, when former Seoul Museum of Art director Kim Hong-hee led the event.“As we approach a historic turning point [of the 30th anniversary of the biennale], there are many meanings to a South Korea-born curator with an international presence taking the lead in enhancing an organic link between Korean and international arts,” the Gwangju Biennale Foundation said in a statement.Lee has been active in the international contemporary art curating scene for the past 28 years. Prior to her 14 years of working at Tate, she curated for the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea

Dec 22, 2021By Park Han-sol

Tate Modern curator appointed as artistic director for 2023 Gwangju Biennale

61 lawmakers awarded by Sunfull Foundation for using positive, respectful language

Awardees of Sunfull Foundation's award for lawmakers using positive language, and students who picked the awardees, pose during an awards ceremony at Seoul Garden Hotel, Thursday. Courtesy of Sunfull FoundationBy Lee Hyo-jin Sixty-one lawmakers were awarded by Sunfull Foundation for their use of positive language and words during legislative meetings, according to the foundation. The awards ceremony organized by the nonprofit anti-cyberbullying foundation took place at Seoul Garden Hotel, Thursday.This year, a total of 30 lawmakers from various parties were selected as winners by a panel of judges consisting of 300 high school and college students. They chose the winners by monitoring the transcripts of the National Assembly's legislative meetings over the last two months starting in September. In addition to the 30 awardees, the ceremony took place with another 31 lawmakers who were selected last year but could not receive the award, as the annual event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.“This award is very meaningful as the winners were chosen by teenagers and young s

Dec 16, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin

Winners of Video Contest on Diversity and Multiculturalism announced

Do Minh Hanh, a Vietnamese national studying at Yonsei University and the grand prize winner of the video contest hosted by The Korea Times and Embassy of IndiaThirteen college students have been selected as winners of a video contest hosted by The Korea Times and the Embassy of India in Korea to celebrate India's 75 years of independence.The theme of this year's contest was “Diversity and Multiculturalism.” Applicants were required to submit a short video clip addressing the topic, discussing ways to enhance diversity in society and the growing importance of diversity.Do Minh Hanh, a Vietnamese national studying at Yonsei University, won the grand prize for her video describing the definition of diversity, based on her own experience as an international school student and a foreign national in Korea. She will receive a certificate and 1 million won in prize money.Raj Mouli Jujjavarapu, an Indian national at Kyungpook National University, won the Excellence Award for his video portraying the togetherness of students in Korea. Jujjavarapu will receive a certificate and 500

Dec 15, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin

Winners of Video Contest on Diversity and Multiculturalism announced

Elon Musk named Time magazine person of the year

This photo provided by Time magazine shows Elon Musk on the cover of the magazine's Dec. 27 ― Jan. 3 double issue announcing Musk as their 2021 "Person of the Year." AP-YonhapTime magazine on Monday named Tesla chief and space entrepreneur Elon Musk as its person of the year 2021, citing his embodiment of the technological shifts but also troubling trends reshaping people's lives.Musk ― who overtook Amazon founder Jeff Bezos this year to become the world's wealthiest person ― wields impact on Earth with his Tesla electric car company and beyond our planet with his SpaceX rockets. "Musk's rise coincides with broader trends of which he and his fellow technology magnates are part cause and part effect," Time editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal wrote.Among those trends, Felsenthal listed "the continuing decline of traditional institutions in favor of individuals; government dysfunction that has delivered more power and responsibility to business and chasms of wealth and opportunity."Time editors have previously defined the title ― which last year went to President Joe Biden and Vice Presid

Dec 14, 2021

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