South Korea - The Korea Times

Friends of Korea What if I hadn't served in Peace Corps Korea?

Greg Engle, right, at his landlord's 60th birthday party, or "hwangab," in Hongcheon in 1980, after drinking "way too much apple moonshine." / Courtesy of Greg EngleBy Greg EngleI was a Peace Corps Tuberculosis Control Volunteer in 1980 and 1981, right up until the Peace Corps closed its program in Korea after 15 years.Greg Engle's TB control office at the Hongcheon health center, 1980. / Courtesy of Greg EngleFollowing 10 weeks of language, cultural and job training at the Sejong Hotel in Chuncheon, my wife Maureen and I were sent to Hongcheon, Gangwon Province. I was a tuberculosis control worker, and Maureen worked in the maternal child health ward of the county health center. Our ability to speak Korean was only slightly better than Koreans' ability to understand us or believe that an American could speak or even attempt to speak Korean. One day, while registering a halmoni (grandmother) as a TB patient, I asked her a series of basic questions, with her daughter serving as interpreter, although both of us at least thought we were speaking Korean. The halmoni kept tugging on her d

Jun 29, 2021By Jon Dunbar

Foreign Line

Tracing Japanese and Manchu invasionsDr. Han Sang-woo of Ajou University will give a webinar talk on June 30 titled, “Traces of the Japanese and Manchu Invasions through Household Registers of 17th-century Korea.” The talk is the ninth in the webinar series looking at the aftermath and legacy of the 1592-98 Imjin War. The project has received funding from the European Research Council. The event, held online from Barcelona, starts at 10 p.m. KST. Visit aftermath.uab.cat for more information or email barend.noordam@uab.cat to register.Hardcord punk band, ADxHD, finally has first showFormed late last year by two people who moved here from Beijing, where they played in the powerviolence band, Struggle Session, the hardcore punk band ADxHD was supposed to have had its first show last November, but the pandemic changed their plans. Now, over half a year later, the duo are finally having their first show this Saturday at Club FF. Also playing are Alzheimer's Animals, metal band Duoxini, Bearfoot in the Garden, garage-punk band The 1234-Dah!, psychedelic punk band Deadbuttons an

Jun 29, 2021By Jon Dunbar

King Sejong Institute to launch new Korean language test next year

gettyimagesbankA state-run Korean language education foundation said Sunday it plans to adopt a new Korean language proficiency test next year to help foreign learners assess their Korean skills.The Sejong Korean Language Assessment (SKA), developed by the King Sejong Institute Foundation, aims to evaluate overall language skills of test takers, including reading, listening, speaking and writing.Korean learners of different levels, ranging from beginner to intermediate, will be able to test their language skills in different situations from daily life to business communication.The test has been created based on the International Standard Curriculum for the Korean Language, developed by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The foundation plans to run a two-week trial of the test at education centers here and abroad before its official launch next year. Around 2,500 students in Korea and countries like Algeria, China, Mongolia and Uzbekistan are set to sit for the mock exam. (Yonhap)

Jun 27, 2021

King Sejong Institute to launch new Korean language test next year

Digital magazine shares stories of Songdo's blossoming, nascent community

The cover of Songdo Stories issue 1 / Courtesy of Songdo StoriesBy Jon DunbarResidents of Songdo have come together to create Songdo Stories, an online magazine sharing creative works inspired by Songdo. Issue 1, published at the start of June, is available online as a PDF, with possible plans to make print versions in the future. It features 14 contributions, including personal memoirs, poetry, photography and art, submitted by Songdonians ― a term one of the editors has coined to describe Songdo residents ― young and old, Korean and residents of foreign nationality. They come from across Korea, as well as from distant countries including India, the U.S. and Nigeria. “Through personal stories, we can connect with each other much better,” Chantal Faures, one of the editors of Songdo Stories, told The Korea Times. “Whatever the differences, we can be a community of individuals instead of distinct groups ― 'expats,' 'Koreans,' 'internationals,' etc.”The magazine's editorial board consists of three resident of foreign nationality and three of Korean nationality,

Jun 22, 2021By Jon Dunbar

Digital magazine shares stories of Songdo's blossoming, nascent community

Joseon Images Hunting for treasure in Korea

Michael Phares shows off two of his discoveries in 2019. / Courtesy of Michael PharesBy Robert NeffEverywhere you go in Korea there are historical relics and remnants of the past. Many of them are displayed prominently and well-documented ― old palaces, temples and pagodas ― while others are hidden away in museums and archives, but there still are more artifacts waiting to be discovered. Even in Seoul, a bustling and ever-changing city, new historical discoveries are constantly being made by archaeologists.However, archaeologists are not the only ones out there searching for the past. Many enthusiastic hobbyists, armed with metal detectors, scour the wilderness and beaches for relics of the past. One of these hobbyists is Michael T. Phares. Phares collects coins ― one of the oldest hobbies in the world ― and has an impressive collection of Korean coins and banknotes, and even some early stamps. It was his interest in Korean numismatics that inspired his wife to buy him a powerful metal detector for Christmas in 2015 so that he could begin “searching old?gogae?(mountain pas

Jun 22, 2021

RAS Korea World's oldest Korean studies journal publishes 95th volume

The cover of "Transactions" volume 95 / Courtesy of RAS KoreaBy Steven L. ShieldsOne hundred and twenty-one years in the making, Royal Asiatic Society (RAS) Korea has published the 95th volume of its now-annual “Transactions.” RAS Korea's journal began humbly in 1900, the year of the society's founding, with a small, 90-page booklet. Yet its contents represented some of the world's first-ever academic studies of Korea in the English language. Interrupted down the ages by wars, social and economic challenges, RAS Korea could not always publish the journal annually. However, since the end of the Korean War, “Transactions” has appeared each year.Those early founders and writers pursued Korean studies tangentially to their professions. Diplomats, missionaries, and school teachers ― all credentialed in many ways ― pursued relevant topics and brought them a great understanding of the land where they were living and working. In that first journal of 1900, the founding president of RAS Korea, John H. Gubbins of the British Legation, declared, “We stand here on t

Jun 15, 2021

[RAS Korea] World's oldest Korean studies journal publishes 95th volume

'Embracing Black joy through struggle:' Korea's Black community celebrates Juneteenth

A screenshot of the online Black Lives Matter Korea event held last Sunday ahead of June 19, "Juneteenth" / Courtesy of Black Lives Matter Korea By Chantal Terblanche Juneteenth was a word not known to many outside of the U.S. ― as well as some inside it either ― before this last year. According to Google Trends, searches for the word “Juneteenth” reached their highest level in 2020 since 2004, the earliest data available. According to data, the word didn't only trend in the U.S., but worldwide too.So what is Juneteenth?The New York Times described it recently as such, “On June 19, 1865, enslaved African-Americans in Galveston, Texas, were told they were free. A century and a half later, people in cities and towns across the U.S. continue to celebrate the occasion.”The day's name, which first appeared around 1903, is a combination of "June" and "nineteenth" in honor of the date of this announcement to the people of Texas. It is also known as African American Freedom

Jun 15, 2021By Jon Dunbar

'Embracing Black joy through struggle:' Korea's Black community celebrates Juneteenth

Canadian rural photographer captures Korea's 'other' side

William R. Pugsley / Courtesy of William R. PugsleyBy Jon DunbarWhile most photographers in Korea are drawn to big city tourist attractions or well-known temples and other heritage sites out in the country, William R. Pugsley goes in the other direction. He's a “rural explorer” which is like an urban explorer, except he scours Korea's countryside looking for photographic subjects that resonate with him. “I'm looking for a lost time. Ever since I came to Korea I've had a very real feeling of nostalgia for a past I've never participated in,” he told The Korea Times in a written response to interview questions, handwritten on coarse hanji (traditional Korean paper). ”Photographers are drawn to old things that have an interesting patina and I'm no exception. Many people love to see old photos which ironically show at that time modern scenes, but I think photographers like myself want to recapture that sense of old. I'm documenting the end of eras.” Earlier this year, he published the first issue of his DIY photo zine, “Photon Wave Function,&rdquo

Jun 8, 2021By Jon Dunbar

Cityscapes Wrapping construction sites in art

By Ron BandunA white guy with a nosebleed peers over the construction fence at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Nov. 28, 2012. / Courtesy of Ron BandunConstruction is encountered everywhere in Seoul, even if we aren't always aware of it. So it's no wonder that sometimes the temporary fences built around construction sites are decorated with various types of designs. They may show local government slogans, or list off cultural heritage assets and tourist sites in the neighborhood, or contain information on the new construction to be built there. They may be informative or aesthetically pleasing, or just silly and regrettable. Fun fact: the official term for these temporary fences around construction sites is “hoarding,” a word which you will probably forget shortly after reading this article and never use again. Hoarding may consist of a variety of materials, but the two we're most likely to encounter in this article are metal shutters standing maybe a little over two meters tall, and flimsier, but taller, white plastic boards that can look a little nice

Jun 8, 2021By Jon Dunbar

[Cityscapes] Wrapping construction sites in art

Artist paints portraits of authentic Korea

Aaron Cossrow poses with some of his art. / Courtesy of Kyung Lee Expat artist ventures beyond Itaewon to paint portraits of an authentic KoreaBy Kyung LeePortrait painter Aaron Cossrow hopes to host an exhibition in the coming weeks featuring his more than 20 oil, acrylic and digitized artworks.Of those works that he wants people to see, he has largely intended to display realism and Norman Rockwell-esque portraits of Korean men and women using their hands and physical might to earn a living.And to Cossrow, these artisans, laborers, street performers and even locals playing Korean board games signify a dying breed of an older, but cultural, colorful and flavorful Korea ― a group he sees as possessing qualties that later generations of Koreans are less connected to.Speaking on his plans to organize a gallery back in mid-May, Cossrow told The Korea Times, “As a member of the expat community speaking for other members of the expat community, I can express a vision of

Jun 8, 2021By Jon Dunbar

Global Community

Global Community

Friends of Korea What if I hadn't served in Peace Corps Korea?

Foreign Line

King Sejong Institute to launch new Korean language test next year

Digital magazine shares stories of Songdo's blossoming, nascent community

Joseon Images Hunting for treasure in Korea

RAS Korea World's oldest Korean studies journal publishes 95th volume

'Embracing Black joy through struggle:' Korea's Black community celebrates Juneteenth

Canadian rural photographer captures Korea's 'other' side

Cityscapes Wrapping construction sites in art

Artist paints portraits of authentic Korea

Most Read in South Korea