Lifestyle

DAILY FORTUNE - DECEMBER 21, 2021

'Escape from Sanaa': A Korean's clandestine photo project in Yemen brought to light

A Yemeni man is captured in this photo taken by Lim Ji-hoon in 2009 at Central Souq al-Mil. A brief poem that is paired with the photo reads: “I am one of the 15 percent of Yemeni men who don't chew khat.” Courtesy of Noonbit Publishing Like a covert agent on secret mission, author embarks on a photography project in the Yemeni capital to chronicle the war-struck people By Kang Hyun-kyungLim Ji-hoon spent 33 years as an executive in charge of sales and marketing for a mid-sized Korean company involved in oil and natural gas projects in the Middle East. That job gave him rare access to the region that few Koreans had explored because of travel restrictions.Until three years ago when he retired from his life-time job, Lim traveled back and forth between Korea and countries like Libya, Algeria, Yemen and Iran, to name a few, and worked with staff from partner companies for weeks at a time. Intrigued by the exotic landscape and local culture, Lim, now 60, said he

DAILY FORTUNE - DECEMBER 20, 2021

KOCCA's immersive festival 'Age of Light' kicks off

KOCCA will be holding an immersive content event “Age of Light” from December to February. Courtesy of KOCCABy Lee Gyu-leeThe Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) has opened a cultural pop-up space called “Age of Light,” or “Gwanghwa Sidae,” to offer a series of immersive experiences.The event, held in the Gwanghwamun area at the center of Seoul, began Friday and will present eight different immersive programs until the end of February. The aim is to provide historical, cultural and art-related content using the latest advanced technology such as 5G networks, augmented reality (AR) and holography. “The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and KOCCA have organized this event for people to become familiar with immersive content, using immersion technology, to promote our country's fine technology and culture abroad by having the Gwanghwamun area as a hub, and to cultivate the immersion industry as one of the country's leading industries,” the agency said in a statement Friday. Under the theme, “The era of light from 5G networks

Korean folk tales retold through virtual media art

The virtual media art piece, “The old stories that began with stone and wood” / Courtesy of Design SilverfishBy Kwak Yeon-sooFolk tales, myths and ghost stories spanning generations are coming alive through vivid media art, drawing visitors into their supernatural worlds. As the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating the art world's adoption of immersive technologies, extended reality ― an umbrella term for virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) ― is emerging as a new driver of innovation. The government plans to invest 57.8 billion won ($48.9 million) next year in nurturing immersive content, as part of its Digital New Deal initiative, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Media artist Hong Gyoung-tae, the CEO of Design Silverfish, organizer of the virtual “Curious 12 Tales” exhibition, said he wanted to reflect Koreanness through digital art.“What we do is interpret the space and suggest the best way to display the proper concept. I wanted to fill the space with creatures, monsters and ghosts that oft

Rising international artists' first exhibitions in Korea

Installation view of London-based artist Emma Hart's “Big Mouth” exhibition, at the Barakat Contemporary in central Seoul / Courtesy of Barakat ContemporaryBy Park Han-solWith the year nearing its end, Seoul has invited a number of notable rising international visual artists for their first solo exhibitions in the country, largely through globally renowned galleries that have begun expanding their presences in the region.Barakat Contemporary in central Seoul has brought in the curious installations borne from the hands of London-based artist Emma Hart.In the exhibition titled “Big Mouth,” which runs until Jan. 23, the 2016 recipient of the Max Mara Art Prize for Women addresses questions of social class and hierarchy through ceramic sculptures equipped with mischievous humor.The focus of her latest sculpture series lies in people's daily use of verbal and nonverbal language ― intonation, accents, vocabulary and gestural behavior ― especially in relation to her working-class background and her interaction with other artists within British society.Seeing how suc

Silent Christmas: Koreans forgoing Christmas songs

Copyright law, religious pluralism, dwindling role of churches all contributing to bleak Christmas season By Park Ji-wonThe streets in Seoul's bustling downtown area were like no other Christmas season, Thursday. They were calm and silent, making it difficult for people to feel that Christmas is just a week away. No Christmas carols or songs could be heard, as there were few stores playing them.The bleak Christmas season nowadays is a stark contrast to the lively holiday atmosphere here in the 1990s, when Christmas songs used to fill the air in almost every corner of the capital around this time of year. In stores, Christmas trees with electric lights were lit with carols being played loudly, and colorful Christmas decorations were easy to spot. Back then, the Christmas spirit was in full swing in most big cities. Koreans celebrating Christmas silently without carols is something odd for those who are familiar with the religious demographics of the country. This year's Gallup survey of 1,500 Koreans, conducted between March 18 and April 7, found that Korea is religiously diverse, wit

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

DAILY FORTUNE - DECEMBER 17, 2021

Book review: Tracing the history of intercountry adoption and Korea's major role in it

gettyimagesbankBy Hwang Dong-hee“The Global Orphan Adoption System,” published on Nov. 30, by KoRootSome might think Korea is no longer a “child exporting country” ― with its shining economic success and growing diplomatic and cultural influence, Korea must have found solutions for the issue a long time ago. But no. Hundreds of Korean children are still sent overseas through adoption each year, according to the Global Statistics for Intercountry Adoption (HCCH).Since the end of the Korean War (1950-53), the country has been actively involved the adoption of babies by families overseas. The number peaked in 1985, when it reached 8,800 ― a whopping 1.3 percent of all babies born here that year. Over the past 70 years, the total number of such babies is estimated to be more than 200,000.Given the number of people and countries involved, intercountry adoption of children is a major international issue. Yet, little research has been done to find out how intercountry adoption has affected the people and the countries involved, especially Korea, the largest market fo