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Camarata Music turns to donations to survive pandemic

Ryan Goessl, center, conducts a Camarata Music event. / Courtesy of Camarata MusicBy Jon DunbarAfter Camarata Music has given so much to the local community, now it needs community support to continue its existence and survive the pandemic.The nonprofit music organization, which operates several music groups including choirs, musical theater and a chamber orchestra, has been hit hard by the pandemic, so Jamie Wheatley launched a crowdfunding campaign on GoFundMe to help the organization cover costs. “After being out of it for an entire year, we weren't sure if we were going to have an organization to come back to. We were worried it may not survive,” Wheatley, who has been with Camarata for about seven years, told The Korea Times. “As with a lot of arts orgs over the last year, Camarata was hit really hard by the pandemic. The heart and soul of what we do is music obviously, but the choirs haven't been able to run because of the restrictions. And all the things that keep the organization running have been canceled which has left it in a bit of a tough spot.”&l

Mar 30, 2021By Jon Dunbar
Camarata Music turns to donations to survive pandemic

Lawmakers, journalists in Korea voice concern over anti-Asian American violence in US

Rep. Kim Ju-young, third from left, of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, holds a press conference at the National Assembly in Seoul, Thursday, to propose a resolution calling for the abolition of racial discrimination and violence against Asian Americans, while calling on U.S. authorities to guarantee the safety of Asian Americans, including Korean Americans. A total of 80 lawmakers, including Kim, have joined the proposal for the resolution. Courtesy of the Office of Rep. Kim Ju-youngBy Jung Da-minConcerns are growing over anti-Asian American violence in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. Racism against Asian Americans has been growing after the Chinese city of Wuhan was said to be the origin of the virus, with the global crisis coinciding with geopolitical tension between the U.S. and China. The shootings in Atlanta, March 16, which killed eight people, are widely seen as constituting a hate crime against the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. Six of the victims of the tragic incident were identified as Asian and at least four of those killed wer

Mar 26, 2021
Lawmakers, journalists in Korea voice concern over anti-Asian American violence in US

Justice minister encourages undocumented foreigners to take COVID-19 tests

Justice Minister Park Beom-kye speaks during his visit to a manufacturing factory in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, Friday. YonhapJustice Minister Park Beom-kye on Friday tried to encourage migrant workers to undergo coronavirus testing freely, reiterating that undocumented foreigners can also get tested without fears of crackdown.He visited Ansan, an industrial city with a large expat population near Seoul, to inspect workplace conditions, coronavirus testing and government support systems for foreign residents."There are so-called illegal immigrants among foreign workers, and if they hide for fear of crackdown, it would contribute to the spread of COVID-19," he said during a visit to a manufacturing factory in the city."The officials conduct tests without verifying visas or referring their identity (to law enforcement), so I would like to encourage them to come to screening centers and get tested," he said. His inspection came amid controversy over some local governments' policies of requiring all migrant workers to undergo coronavirus testing. The measures were taken in response to gro

Mar 26, 2021
Justice minister encourages undocumented foreigners to take COVID-19 tests

Joseon Images Korean idols made in America

Inside a Buddhist monastery, possibly Pohyon Temple, in modern-day North Pyongan Province, North Korea, circa 1910s / Courtesy of Jan DowningBy Robert NeffReligions often extol the virtues of tolerance towards one another but in Korea in the late 19th and early 20th centuries there seems to have been little tolerance, particularly among the Western missionaries.Rev. Samuel Forman Moore, a fire-and-brimstone Presbyterian who has been described as being “sometimes more zealous than wise” demonstrated his intolerance while visiting a Buddhist monastery outside of Seoul in 1893. He was accused of smashing some of the religious items, which he vehemently denied ― even though the American legation's secretary witnessed the destruction.Moore claimed that “not even one image was cracked or injured in the slightest degree. It was only when the chief priest of the temple had agreed with me that the images were a lot of rubbish and ought to be thrown away that I lightly tapped one as illustrating their inanity.” About a decade later, missionaries in Korea and the United

Mar 23, 2021

Longboat Smoker provides Korea's best smoked salmon

Matt Douma, owner of Longboat Smoker, prepares salmon snacks, March 12. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukBy Jon DunbarSalmon is hardly unfamiliar here, and smoked salmon is widely available in many supermarkets. But that stuff is no preparation for trying Longboat Smoker's smoked salmon, which is all prepared locally in Yeonhui-dong, in a small shop crammed with specially made metal equipment. “One of our challenges is to inform customers ― or reinform them ― about quality salmon,” said Matt Douma, Longboat Smoker's Dutch Canadian owner first came to Korea at a young age in 1992. “About once a week I have customers that want to enjoy salmon, but can't due to past experiences. I encourage them to try mine, and more often than not, their faces light up with delight over the tastes they experience.”He opened his shop just last June, taking over a space used previously to make bagels. From across the street, the comfortable scent of oak wood smoke can be detected in the air. What can't be smelled, not even inside the shop, is any remotely fishy odor. Matt Douma,

Mar 23, 2021

Holiday in North Korea Aboard North Korea's captured US ship, the USS Pueblo

The captured USS Pueblo is seen in Pyongyang in August 2010. / Courtesy of Jon DunbarBy Jon DunbarIt's hard for younger people to relate to, but the 1968 USS Pueblo incident is still an open wound to many who can remember the tense incident over 50 years ago. North Korea captured the U.S. ship ― either in its own waters or international waters, depending on which side you believe ― and held 83 crewmen hostage for almost a year, until the U.S. signed a document that was criticized as a humiliating apology and admission of guilt, in order to secure their return.It was a tense period, coming right after the Blue House Raid as well as a week before the Tet Offensive turned the tide in the Vietnam War.“The U.S. compromised what many saw as a basic requirement of national honor in order to obtain the release of the crew of the USS Pueblo. To wit: Signed a false admission of infringing on North Korean territorial waters. I agree with the decision since it was the only way to obtain the release of the surviving crew members but understand the anguish with which it was undertaken,&rdquo

Mar 16, 2021By Jon Dunbar

Despite facing uncertainties, barbecuer Linus Kim chips in to rally Itaewon neighborhood

Linus Kim, center, prepares a big plate of food. / Courtesy of Robert Michael EvansBy Kyung LeeWhen Linus Kim shuttered the second branch of his barbecue restaurant Linus' Bama Style Barbecue in the Seoul neighborhood of Haebangchon (HBC) late last year, it brought more sorrow than closure, even to this day. “Having closed in HBC was heartbreaking because I put so much of myself in there,” Kim told The Korea Times. Kim's business started off in 2014 with pop-up events, before opening his first location in Itaewon.Having extended his business to HBC from his first branch located between Itaewon and Noksapyeong stations, Kim has always used his establishments to support small businesses operating nearby, providing a space for musicians to give live performances, while also connecting with patrons that he serves.“That is the closest thing I've ever experienced to living in a village where everybody knows each other,” he said. “It's hard to just operate there and not wave out the window because someone you know just passed by.”Although closing the rest

Mar 16, 2021

Foreign Line

RAS Colloquium on Joseon mapsRoyal Asiatic Society (RAS) Korea is hosting a colloquium this Thursday to examine maps of the 1392-1910 Joseon Kingdom and Europe's Renaissance through the prisms of landscape and perspective painting. The event will be led by Jeremie Eyssette, an assistant professor at Chosun University. The event starts at 6 p.m. and will be held on Zoom. Visit raskb.com for more information or message efeoseoul@hotmail.com to register.Busan Foreign Resident Council recruitingForeign residents of Busan are invited to apply to join the Busan Foreign Resident Council, which meets with local politicians and officials to propose improvements to the quality of life for foreigners and to monitor human rights abuses. The deadline is March 31. Visit bfic.kr for more information or to apply.George Washington University hosts book talk on Manchu invasionsGeorge Kallander of Syracuse University will give a book talk about the Manchu invasions of Korea starting in 1627 for the George Washington University Institute for Korean Studies. The event starts at 3 a.m. KST on March 30. Vi

Mar 16, 2021By Jon Dunbar

Korea to grant special stay permits for Myanmar nationals

A Myanmar national living in South Korea carries a banner with image of Myanmar's deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi at a news conference calling for the recovery of Myanmar's democracy and against the military coup in front of the Myanmar embassy in Seoul, March 12, 2021. APSouth Korea will grant special stay permits for Myanmar nationals on humanitarian grounds starting next Monday, amid mounting violence there following a coup last month, the justice ministry said Friday.The ministry said the measures will cover approximately 25,000 Myanmar nationals who are staying in South Korea, until conditions stabilize in the Southeast Asian country.Under the emergency measures, the government will issue temporary stay permits to those whose visas are about to expire but cannot be extended. Those whose visas already expired will also be allowed to stay temporarily until it becomes safe to voluntarily return home. The decision was made "on humanitarian grounds to minimize civilian casualties due to the army's oppressive crackdown" on pro-democracy protesters, Justice Minister Park Beom-kye said

Mar 12, 2021
Korea to grant special stay permits for Myanmar nationals

Cityscapes Counting down Seoul's last moon villages

A village bus descends the steep road of Guryong Village in northwestern Seoul, June 19, 2016. / Courtesy of Ron BandunBy Ron BandunI feel like there's been an increasing amount of articles and videos lately with sensational titles like “Seoul's last shanty town” or “Seoul's last slum.” Quick, which neighborhood do you think they're all about? Chances are, you thought of Guryong Village in Seoul's southern Gangnam District. Or Baeksa Village, up in northeastern Nowon District. Both have been given the title of “last” several times in recent years, even though the presence of both invalidates either's claim to the title. And there is another. Which one will be the last standing? These neighborhoods are all known as “daldongnae,” translated literally to moon village. Calling them slums, shanty towns or favelas helps explain what they are, but should be considered inaccurate. There is a separate Korean word for shanty town ― “panjachon” or literally wood board village ― which is close to but not perfectly synonymous with moon v

Mar 9, 2021
[Cityscapes] Counting down Seoul's last moon villages
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