Global Community

St. Patrick's Day stirs up weekend festivities

Musicians perform at D-Cube on St. Patrick’s Day in 2016. / Korea Times photo by John RedmondBy John RedmondSeoul will see a host of activities, festivals and concerts to honor St. Patrick’s Day taking place this weekend.By far, the biggest event will be the Irish Association of Korea (IAK) annual St. Patrick’s Day celebration, themed “An Irish Welcome” (“Failte” in the Gaeilge language), at D-Cube City in southwestern Seoul on Saturday.Founded in 1996, the IAK, a nonprofit organization, promotes Irish culture in Korea by presenting Irish-themed events throughout the year, as well as supporting charity projects.“The IAK wants to share Ireland’s rich culture and Celtic history with the people of Korea and it hopes to achieve this through a feast of Irish dancing, Irish traditional music and audience participation,” the event organizers said.The free festival begins at 1 p.m. and continues until 6 p.m.This will be followed by “The Hooley” (party) at Club FF and Gogos near Hongik University.The Hooley runs from 7 p.

Yongsan Legacy A new language?

Martin Limon's boots "Slicky Boys" and "Ping Pong Heart" follow the adventures of U.S. military investigators Sueno and Bascom in Korea. By Martin LimonAs the U.S. military relocates out of Yongsan Garrison, Yongsan Legacy aims to archive the living memories of those who served, worked and lived there. This is one of them.When I first arrived on Yongsan Compound in June 1968, I had to learn a new language. Not proper Korean, which was beyond my youthful ambitions, but rather a new dialect of GI slang: a dialect one part Korean, one part English and a generous helping of humor.One of the first words I learned was “moolah,” I don’t know. Exceedingly useful when you’re a barely educated teenager thrust into a 5,000-year-old culture. But just saying “I don’t know” wasn’t enough for most of us. We added our own spin. When we were completely befuddled we might throw up our hands and say “Moolah the hell out of me.”Another word quickly learned was “mianhamnida,” sorry. When faced with an insoluble problem, a GI mig

Dulwich College to host open house

By John RedmondDulwich College Seoul (DCSL) invites participants to its open house for current and prospective parents on March 20.The open house provides the opportunity to observe a “normal” school day in action. Throughout the morning, lessons will proceed as usual while visitors, with supervision, will be able to move in and out of classrooms.Dulwich College is one of the U.K.'s oldest independent schools, founded in 1619 in South London as a boys' school.Dulwich College International (DCI), established to bring the Dulwich education to students around the world, is now one of the U.K.'s fastest-growing independent school networks. Through DCI, Dulwich College has been in Asia for almost 15 years. The Dulwich network currently provides for over 7,200 students in 11 cities and five countries.Opened in 2010, DCSL has expanded to accommodate over 650 students aged three to 18, with over 40 nationalities represented in its student body. The college is open to students who have one or two parents who do not have Korean nationality as verified by their alien registration ca

Holi “Festival of Colors” in Korea

Holi festivalin Busan last year.By Lakhvinder SinghStarting from scratch in 2011, the Holi ‘Festival of Colors’ has become one of most popular events for cultural partygoers in Korea. Every year in March thousands of foreigners and Koreans throng to the beach to enjoy this festival of colors with their friends and loved ones.Here are excerpts from a recent interview with Ms. Muskan Gupta, lead member of the organizing team.Q. When and how did you begin celebrating the Holi festival in Busan? A. We have been organizing the festival for the past eight years. In the first year we had around 100 participants. Last year we had around 5000 participants from more than 100 countries.Foreign tourists enjoy the festival colors in Busan.Q. Please tell us about the Holi festival in India. Why and how is this festival celebrated in India? A. Holi is one of the most famous and widely celebrated Indian festivals ― it is particularly popular among foreign communities. The festival itself symbolizes equality and love for all.Muskan Gupta with a Geoje police officer.Q. Why did you choose G

KOTESOL calls for submissions

By John RedmondA call for proposals has just opened for the 26th Korea TESOL (KOTESOL) International Conference to be hosted by Sookmyung Women’s University scheduled for Oct. 13 and 14.The conference typically attracts close to 1,000 attendees from Korea as well as across Asia and beyond, where English educators present their research, share ideas and network with other professionals.This year’s conference theme is “Focus on Fluency.” The theme explores the various techniques, research and ideas used to help English language learners become fluent. KOTESOL requests proposals on fluency development in the four skills (writing, reading, speaking and listening) and fluency development in young learners.Organizers also welcome proposals on general English language teaching and English language learning topics. A number of formats are available: research presentations, workshops, dialogues, panel discussions and poster presentations.The deadline for those wishing to submit a proposal is May 31. Those interested do not need a membership, but must create a KOTESOL a

Hong Kong band Red Stripes visit Seoul

The Red Stripes / Courtesy of Jon ButtersBy Jon DunbarHong Kong’s mod-ska band Red Stripes visits Seoul this weekend for a concert in Korea’s reggae and ska scene. Named after Jamaica’s signature beer, the Red Stripes members are long-term expat residents of HK who wear their influences on their sleeves. “Red Stripe personifies the bands identity and sound, obviously the Jamaican heritage of the music but also the good time, party vibe,” bassist Paul Thompson told The Korea Times. “The idea is a celebration of music _ just like when first-wave ska sounds hit, it was more about dancing, drinking and having fun.”The band released their first full-length album “In the Ska East” last December, produced by Sean “Cavo” Dinsmore of New York ska band Toasters and featuring guest vocals by Neville Staple of legendary U.K. ska band the Specials. There are plans to release a vinyl version with exclusive remixes, including by Korea’s Smiley Song. Accordingly, the band has a strong “2tone” influence. Ska originate

Starlight Productions unveils burlesque season with 'Open Letters'

A performer rehearses his aerial silk performance. / Image courtesy of Robert EvansBy Celeste KrielStarlight Productions will reveal the first of two burlesque play productions on the opening night of their “Burlesque Season,” March 9.The Seoul-based production house stages original plays marrying burlesque and theater, as well as diverse art forms such as drag, aerial silk, aerial hoop and pole, while weaving in aspects of traditional theater. The burlesque aspect also takes on forms such as chair dancing and fire spinning.Written by Daniel Kennedy, “Open Letters,” this season’s first play, will be staged March 9, 10, 16 and 17 in collaboration with director Alameen Saidu from The Collective ― another Seoul-based expat performing arts and production company.Exploring themes of different kinds of love in all its forms, the play aims to tease and challenge ― as all Starlight productions do. It deconstructs society’s ideas of romantic love as heteronormative and monogamous and offers other ways of looking at love through stories of different eras.Sta

Joseon Images An American diplomat's visit to Pyongyang in 1891

Ryongwang Pavilion in Pyongyang hosted a U.S. delegation in 1891. / Robert Neff Collection.By Robert NeffOne of the first diplomats to visit Pyongyang was Augustine Heard, the U.S. minister to Korea, in November 1891. He and his party (three naval officers and seven sailors) sailed up the Taedong River in a small steam launch.After some difficulties, they finally arrived and disembarked at a wharf illuminated brilliantly with lanterns, where soldiers greeted them. According to Heard’s report to the State Department, the soldiers played both Korean and European music but they “mangled the notes of their bugles with the native pipes and drums.” He was, however, impressed, at least initially, with the fanfare: “[The] scene as we passed up through the great [Taedong] Gate, with the variety of costumes and the swinging lanterns, was very picturesque.” But upon closer examination he noted the gate was “sadly in need of repair and paint _ as indeed are all the public buildings” in Pyongyang.They were housed at Ryongwang Pavilion. Heard apparently ha

International artists to exhibit in Seoul

Chain Saw One from Pink Noise. Image: Pink NoiseBy John RedmondInternational art collective Instant Coffee will present their inaugural exhibition of “Pink Noise Pop Up” at Space One and ONE AND J. +1 in Seoul beginning Thursday.This series of installations and collaborations seeks to strengthen the relationship between artists in Vancouver and Seoul. Four of the participating artists showing in Korea for the first time include Canadians Jeneen Frei Njootli, Krista Belle Stewart, Ron Tran and Casey Wei. They are joined by local Korean artists Kim Ga-ram and Yaloo. Instant Coffee’s interpretation of pink noise will include water fountains lit in various hues of pink, florescent lights arranged as a chandelier, and modular furniture that can be arranged in different configurations.“The collective will transform the white cube of ONE AND J. +1 into an aesthetic experiment in pink noise _ a frequency of sound that has a unique relationship to human biorhythms and the ability to mask background noise,” organizers said. “It is increasingly used by compan

(1760) End-of-life care (II)