Lifestyle

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

Historic Cecil Theater poised to close over safety issues

Cecil Theater / Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan GovernmentBy Park Ji-wonThe Cecil Theater, founded in 1976 and owned by the Anglican Church of Korea, is facing closure again due to safety concerns. The Seoul Theater Association, which has been running the historic theater since April 2018, issued a press release Wednesday announcing that it has decided to cease its operations there upon the request of the church and vacated the building as of Dec. 10.“The Seoul Theater Association has been running the facility over the last three and a half years, but we practically ran the space for a year and seven months,” Ji Choon-sung, chairman of the association, said in the release.“We aimed to house various theatrical works from many different art troupes to keep the theater's identity as a public facility and turned it in to a theater for children. But we found serious problems in the facility which we failed to solve, resulting in its closure.”Previously, the theater's operation was suspended due to construction of a terrace on the roof of the building in January 2020

Communication is key to success amid pandemic at Four Seasons Hotel Seoul

'Lead With Care' program helps customers stay safe, healthyBy Lee Hae-rinRainer Stampfer, the president of hotel operations for the Asia Pacific at Four Seasons / Courtesy of Four SeasonsCOVID-19 has closed international borders and frozen the tourism industry since early 2020, but the Four Seasons Hotel Seoul, the brand's first and only property in the country, is one of the few that are sailing downwind amid the pandemic, in terms of sales and customer satisfaction. Rainer Stampfer, the president of hotel operations in the Asia Pacific region, said that he has confronted several pandemics before since joining the brand in 2001, but “nothing could have prepared us to a crisis of this extent.” He said that communication with customers as well as employees is the key to the success of the brand's Seoul branch, amid the ongoing pandemic.“Through this time of crisis, communication ― or over-communication ― is absolutely critical,” Stampfer said in an interview with The Korea Times at the Seoul property, Dec. 8. “We try to deliver value for our customers and

Dansaekhwa artist's works experiment with 'hanji' as both material and method

Kwon Young-woo's “Untitled” (2000s), left, and “Untitled” (1982) / Courtesy of the artist's estate and Kukje GalleryKwon Young-woo rejected the distinction between “Eastern” and “Western” artBy Park Han-solArtist Kwon Young-woo / Courtesy of the artist's estate and Kukje GalleryWhen Korea gained independence from decades-long Japanese colonial rule in 1945, a debate emerged among artists about how to sever ties with the Japanese style of art that had once dominated the country's art scene.Together with attempting to end colonialism's influence on art entirely, some put forth developing a new form of “national” art ― whether by reverting to Korean traditional practices or by embracing the wave of Western Modernism and abstract art.Kwon Young-woo (1923-2013), a student of Eastern Painting at the Seoul National University in 1946, was one of many artists who was engaged in this tumultuous shift. But from the start, he was convinced that distinguishing between so-called “Western” and “Eastern” art was mea

DAILY FORTUNE - DECEMBER 16, 2021

How kimchi changed Africa Yoon's life

Africa Yoon, author of "The Korean," poses with vegetables and “banchan” (Korean side dish) including kimchi. Getty Images / Marco GarciaBy Kwon Mee-yooThe Cover of Africa Yoon's memoir “The Korean” / Courtesy of BlackyoonicornAfrica Byongchan Yoon, a Cameroonian-American activist, unravels her journey from Suzanne Engo to Africa Byongchan Yoon, sparked by kimchi, in her memoir "The Korean."An experience at a Korean grocery store in New Jersey changed her life completely when Yoon was in her late 20s. Back then she gained weight from stress coming from being an activist and when she was trying a sample of Korean cream bread, an elderly Korean woman told Yoon that she was "fat" and she should eat Korean food. Instead of being offended, Yoon asked the elderly woman, whom she later calls "halmoni" (the Korean word for grandmother), to help her and Yoon began to explore a whole new realm of Korean food and its ingredients. "When I ate the kimchi the halmoni gave me, I started to feel all the ingredients of Korean food. I was like feeling the food with all the sens

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

Yi Sang's translated poems win prestigious US literary award

The cover of “Yi Sang: Selected Works” (2020), translated by Jack Jung et al. / Courtesy of Wave BooksBy Park Han-solPoet Yi Sang / Korea Times fileTranslations of Korean poet Yi Sang (1910-37), published in “Yi Sang: Selected Works,” became the first Korean literary piece to win the prestigious U.S.-based Modern Language Association (MLA) prize. The team of four translators behind Yi's collection of poems and essays was named the winner of the 17th Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize for a Translation of a Literary Work.Since 1999, the prize has been awarded by the MLA ― an organization founded in 1883 dedicated to the study of modern languages and literature ― to a book-length literary work translated into English.The book, the English publication of which was made possible through the sponsorship of the Literature Translation Institute of Korea (LTI Korea), is the result of a collaborative effort of Jack Jung, Sawako Nakayasu, Joyelle McSweeney and Choi Don-mee.Choi previously received the 2019 International Griffin Poetry Prize with her translation of poet Kim

DAILY FORTUNE - DECEMBER 15, 2021