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US garage punk band the Dumpies drop by Korea

The Dumpies in Brazil in 2022 / Courtesy of Vitor Lima @xvitaoBy Jon DunbarWay back in mid-2021, the Dumpies began contacting people in Korea, trying to set up a tour for October that year. Not surprisingly, it didn't happen. But now, almost two years later, the Oregon-based American punk band is finally coming to Korea.“I want to play in every country on the planet,” Mark Janchar, guitarist, told The Korea Times. “If we aren't scheming something up or have a tour on the books life gets stale and our bad habits get the worst of us,” bassist Tim Janchar added. “Korea has been on the list for a while and the scene here seems small, but solid AF,” added vocalist Joel Midden. “We have passed through once or twice on other tours and talked about tying it in as part of another tour, but always decided it deserves its own. This time around the stars aligned and the time has come.”The stars aligned specifically when they were in South Africa, where the band toured in February and March 2020, just before the pandemic shut down international tour

May 9, 2023By Jon Dunbar
US garage punk band the Dumpies drop by Korea

Seoul Shakespeare Company ends 4-year hiatus with 'Measure for Measure'

Actors participate in a rehearsal for Seoul Shakespeare Company's production of “Measure for Measure,” held April 7. / Courtesy of Bret LindquistBy Jamie FinnShakespeare once wrote, “Perseverance, my dear Lord, keeps honour bright.” And it is here that we find Seoul Shakespeare Company (SSC). Formed in 2011 out of the ashes of Kevin Gerald Connors' Actors Without Bard'ers, the group has put on a string of much-lauded adaptations of the Bard, such as “King Lear,” “The Merchant of Venice” and “Hamlet.”Charles Jeong, SSC's current artistic director, has been involved since the very early days of the company, when he started doing design work like making posters. “My background is in art, and I majored in painting. But even at college, I loved the theater and wanted to be involved,” he said. “I read an article about SSC while I was doing military service. It sounded like something I wanted to do, so I actually cut out the article so I could find out more after my time in the services.”His dedication to th

May 7, 2023By Jon Dunbar
Seoul Shakespeare Company ends 4-year hiatus with 'Measure for Measure'

Hijab, hanbok mixed to create modest fashion offerings for Salam Seoul Festival

Models walks down the runway during “Salam Seoul Festival” at Cheonggye Plaza in downtown Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan GovernmentBy Ko Dong-hwanA new modest fashion style that mixes the “hijab” or headcovering worn by some Muslim women and “hanbok,” traditional Korean attire, hit an outdoor runway in downtown Seoul on Wednesday evening. Designed by four Korean designers, the clothes are less skin-revealing while at the same time, remaining chic. The lineup's centerpiece, Salam Seoul Festival, was a cultural appeal toward Muslims across the world by Seoul Metropolitan Government.Sixty models, including the event's two Muslim ambassadors from Morocco and Uzbekistan, exhibited works consisting of hijabs, “jeogori” (upper garments), “chima” (lower garments) and hats. Due to the multi-layered outfits' plush volume and strip-fasteners (”goreum”), the models required more than a few minutes to change into them, therefore they didn't have time to wear other outfits during the show, according to the Se

May 4, 2023By Ko Dong-hwan
Hijab, hanbok mixed to create modest fashion offerings for Salam Seoul Festival

Metamorphosis of Korean French adoptee Laure Badufle, co-writer and inspiration for 'Return to Seoul'

Laure Badufle in Paris / Photo by Behzad SoroushBy Jia H. Jung“Return to Seoul” opens in theaters across Korea on May 3, showing in the country for the first time since the Busan International Film Festival last October.The vibey French-German-Belgian drama, directed by Cambodian French filmmaker Davy Chou with executive production by Seoul-based international company MereCinema, follows a South Korean-born French adoptee named Frederique “Freddie” Benoit. The protagonist's eight-year-long quest for belonging plays out over a series of returns to Korea starting when she is 25.The atmospheric film ― packing a powerful acting debut by Korean French visual artist Park Ji-Min as Freddie, alongside nuanced performances by Korean literary artist Guka Han, veteran actor Oh Kwang-rok and celebrity actress Kim Sun-young ― stunned audiences at its premiere last May at the 75th Cannes Film Festival in France.The feature has continued collecting accolades in North America, Europe, Australia and Southeast Asia, attesting to the universal nerve it hits with raw portrayals o

May 2, 2023
Metamorphosis of Korean French adoptee Laure Badufle, co-writer and inspiration for 'Return to Seoul'

Korea-based cyclist releases first book, 'Unhinged in Ethiopia'

George Balarezo poses with his bicycle in Korea, Nov. 21, 2022. / Courtesy of Bereket AlemayehuBy Bereket AlemayehuBorn in the U.S., George Balarezo is an intrepid global citizen who has been living in South Korea for the last 15 years. It must be a fraternity spirit that linked us since the first day we met, about two years ago, near his apartment as it just so happened that we both live in the same neighborhood in Seoul, Noryangjin-dong.George has this friendly face and innocent smile, which must has been nurtured through all of his “self-transformation and worldly experiences” as he described it. We chatted about bicycles and our enjoyment of cycling around Korean landscapes, as we both agreed that the best thing about living in Seoul is cycling around town. And then it turns out that he actually has accomplished some of the toughest solo bicycle tours in Korea, as well as my own home country of Ethiopia, plus Kenya, Pakistan, China, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Oman, Bangladesh, Turkey, Russia and Siberia, since 2014.The cover of George Balarezo's boo

May 1, 2023
Korea-based cyclist releases first book, 'Unhinged in Ethiopia'

HiteJinro's new beer Kelly tries hard to look like it's from Denmark

Hitejinro's Kelly Lounge in southern Seoul / Courtesy of Mathew NolanBy Jon DunbarHiteJinro's recently released malt beer, given the understated name Kelly (derived from “Keep Naturally”), boasts in at least nine places on its beer can front label of its apparent origin. It screams at the consumer: “KELLY'S MALT GROWN IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN BREEZE” “100% DENMARK PREMIUM MALT,” “Denmark Premium,” “GROWN IN JUTLAND BY SEA BREEZE,” “FROM DENMARK,” “Malt From Jutland” and also displays a mini Danish flag. A can and a bottle of Kelly, Hitejinro's new all-malt beer / Courtesy of HitejinroIt certainly looks like a Danish beer, to the point where even a Danish friend was fooled. But aside from the much-vaunted source of the malt, this is a beer of Korea, made by one of Korea's top three big breweries. Its name could be found in only one place on the beer level, in Hangeul in the small print. This labeling gives the impression that the company is trying to hide its country of origin as if the beer is asha

Apr 25, 2023By Jon Dunbar
HiteJinro's new beer Kelly tries hard to look like it's from Denmark

KOREA ENCOUNTERS Tracing southwestern Seoul's underappreciated history

Soangnu Pavilion in southwestern Seoul's Gungsan Neighborhood Park in 2010 / Courtesy of Matt VanVolkenburgFrom magistrate painters and rowdy Confucians to lost bunkers and bulldozed lakesBy Matt VanVolkenburgDuring the 1392-1910 Joseon Kingdom, present-day Gangseo District, Seoul's westernmost district, was known as Yangcheon Prefecture. All that remains of the complex from which the magistrate ruled, however, is its “hyanggyo,” or Confucian school and temple. Today, stone monuments stand outside the hyanggyo's walls honoring former magistrates, such as Yi Byeong-han, who, we are told, made good policies with care and love for the people. Not everyone connected with this institution was so upright, however. On Feb. 19, 1898, the English edition of The Independent reported that days earlier someone staying at a Yangcheon-area inn stole from the other guests and ran off, only to be found at another inn, where he “had donned the garb of a Confucian disciple and was sitting with the bar-maid exchanging with her sweet sentiments.” When he was arrested and jailed,

Apr 25, 2023
[KOREA ENCOUNTERS] Tracing southwestern Seoul's underappreciated history

Cherry blossoms at Yeongam Wangin Culture Festival

A man holds a lantern during the Yeongam Wangin Culture Festival held in Gurim Village, South Jeolla Province, April 1. / Courtesy of Derek WinchesterBy Derek WinchesterCherry blossom season came early to Korea this year. While many of the country's usual blossom festivals were caught off guard and had to reschedule their events forward, others not typically timed with the spring occurrence had a lucky break.One of them was Yeongam Wangin Culture Festival held in Gurim Village, South Jeolla Province, from April 1 to 2. Cherry blossoms are seen during the Yeongam Wangin Culture Festival held in Gurim Village, South Jeolla Province, April 1. / Courtesy of Derek WinchesterThe festival returned after a few years of hiatus due to the pandemic. Locals were eager to come out to meet acquaintances they may have not seen during the winter and forge new friendships. In this age where you can see the world through a computer screen, being actually at a place involved in an activity makes things more real. We get to feel the petals from the blossoms falling on our faces. We get to hear the actua

Apr 20, 2023By Jon Dunbar
Cherry blossoms at Yeongam Wangin Culture Festival

INTERVIEW Unorthodox refugee support group pushes the envelope

From behind left clockwise, Bereket Alemayehu from Ethiopia, Yu Yuri, Han Na-hyun, Dorcas from Congo and Kang Eun-sook are members of Active Refugee Korea. They gathered for an interview with The Korea Times at Dongjak FM in Seoul on April 17, a rare gathering for the members who often meet online via video conference calls. Korea Times photo by Ko Dong-hwanActive Refugee Korea launches fresh campaigns this yearBy Ko Dong-hwanWhen the seven members of Active Refugee Korea (ARK) started their campaign last year, they agreed on one thing: to be more aggressive than existing refugee advocacy groups in Korea, one of the strictest nations when it comes to accepting asylum seekers.That was the only way the activists figured they would succeed in improving the chances of asylum seekers and refugees in Korea find a better life. And their first opportunity came in May, when the inauguration of President Yoon Suk Yeol took place. As Yoon set up his new office in front of the War Memorial of Korea in Yongsan, Seoul and interviewed candidates for ministerial positions and other key posts, the re

Apr 19, 2023By Ko Dong-hwan
[INTERVIEW] Unorthodox refugee support group pushes the envelope
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