Global Community

Korea Encounters What foreign journalists saw covering 1988 Olympics

This file photo shows Korean athletes making their entrance at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. / Korea Times fileBy Matt VanVolkenburgIn 1988 Korea opened its doors to the world and welcomed Olympic athletes, tourists and journalists to Seoul. Some of the latter were already familiar with Korea, but many newly arriving journalists attempted to understand the country that had produced the “Miracle on the Han.” One such writer was P.J. O’Rourke, whose article “Seoul Brothers,” published in the Rolling Stone magazine during the Olympics, was the result of a visit during the 1987 elections. Though justifiably criticized for racist comments about “pie-plate” faces and “identical anthracite eyes,” and weighed down with interminable kimchi jokes (“you could have used our breath to clean your oven”), O’Rourke’s article evinced a certain grudging respect for Koreans. While covering a police assault on a student-occupied government office, he described the effects of tear gas, writing, “That the students could even

Foreign Community events

Buskers at BedrockBedrock in HBC offers a Wednesday night open mic event starting 8:30 p.m., with live music, spoken word poetry, dance and more. Happy hour starts at 8 p.m. Visit facebook.com/buskersatbedrock for more information.Heritage of Korea The Umyeondang National Gugak Center offers a special "Heritage of Korea" performance tonight and tomorrow night, in honor of PyeongChang 2018. The performances include pansori, cheoyongmu, ganggangsullae, gagok and pangut, plus the folk song “Arirang,” all listed as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Korea. Tickets cost 10,000 won. Both performances begin at 8 p.m. Visit facebook.com/gugak1951 for more information.Olympics Noble Red: Pinot NoirVineworks Korea in western Seoul hosts the first of its “Wine Olympics” events, pitting pinot noirs from France, Chile, the U.S., Germany and New Zealand in a competition. It starts 8 p.m. Friday and costs 50,000 won to join. Vineworks Tasting Room is near Sangsu Station on Line 6. Visit facebook.com/vineworkskorea for more information.PyeongChang 2018 Happy HourNeed a pl

2 musicians, 2 rooms, 1 Germany

German electro-pop duo 2raumwohnung Photo courtesy of Astrid Grosser2 musicians, 2 rooms, 1 GermanyBy Jon Dunbar Inga Humpe last came to Korea almost 30 years ago. The German singer performed during the Seoul Summer Olympics in 1988 as part of the collective Teutonic Beats. Now she returns to mark the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. Her electro-pop band, 2raumwohnung, performs Thursday at SJ Kunsthalle in Gangnam, southern Seoul, at a show hosted by the German Embassy a day ahead of the Winter Olympics. A duo, 2raumwohnung’s history begins with the reunification of Germany. After the Berlin Wall came down, Humpe moved to East Berlin where she met her life partner and musical collaborator, Tommi Eckart, who also moved to the former Communist part of the city.“When the wall came down the east part of Berlin was very new and open and changing very fast,” Eckart told The Korea Times. “The club scene was in the east side of Berlin. It was not so organized and it was chaotic. A lot of East Germans left East Berlin and went to West Germany, so there was a lot of fr

(1747) Getting a health exam (I)

(1746) Health and obesity (II)

INTERVIEW Lawmaker helps Ethiopian coffee industry

Choung Byoung-gug, five-term lawmaker of the Bareun Party, poses with Ethiopian children during his visit to Yirga Chefe, the Ethiopian city famous for coffee, last November. / Courtesy of Choung’s officeBy Choi Ha-youngJust as many Koreans in their middle years had done when they were children, Rep. Choung Byoung-gug of the Bareun Party used to drink powdered milk and eat corn soup given to Korea by allied countries when Korea was an aid recipient. Now, the five-term lawmaker is exploring ways to boost the Ethiopian coffee industry using official development assistance (ODA).In an effort to build a bridge between Korea and Ethiopia, the coffee enthusiast visited the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa and Yirga Chefe, the city known for its gourmet coffees. Oddly, he realized it was impossible to enjoy high-quality coffee there. “There is no Yirga Chefe coffee in Yirga Chefe. There was no coffee shop in Addis Ababa Bole International Airport and coffee beans I could buy there were not so good,” he said in an interview with The Korea Times, Tuesday.He learned the Ethiopia

Dulwich College Seoul wins UK Award

By John RedmondDulwich College Seoul mathematics instructors Chris Bonnet, left and Neil Gorton receive the British International Schools Award for Teaching Initiative of the Year in London last Monday. / Courtesy of Charles HendersonDulwich College Seoul (DCSL) won the Teaching Initiative of the Year award at the British International School Awards (BISAs) 2018 last Monday at the Grand Connaught Rooms in Covent Garden, London.Teachers Neil Gorton and Chris Bonnet accepted the distinguished accolade on behalf of Dulwich College Seoul.Dulwich College Seoul was recognized for an initiative that addressed a weakness in primary school math education. The school noticed its primary school students attended extracurricular evening schools, or hagwon in Korean, which emphasize short-term test results and rote memorization. As a result, its students forgot what they learned from term to term, and the school observed a unique difficulty in using mathematics skills across different topics. To shift DCSL’s focus to long-term learning, staff implemented a solution based on UCLA professor R

British Chamber elects new committee

Newly elected members of the BCCK’s 2018 Executive Committee with BCCK CEO Sean Blakeley, third from left in the front row, and British Ambassador Charles Hay, fourth from left in the front row. / Courtesy of BCCKBy John RedmondThe British Chamber of Commerce in Korea (BCCK) held an election of new representatives for the organization’s 2018 Executive Committee (ExCo) during its Annual General Meeting at the Four Seasons Hotel in Gwanghwamun on Friday.Outgoing chairman Steve Duckworth provided his last opening remarks, followed by words of welcome by British Ambassador Charles Hay. The ExCo provides overall guidance for the BCCK’s operations and strategic planning activities, while also acting as a brain trust for the chamber. The chairman and vice chairmen are elected during the first Executive Committee meeting of the new ExCo.“We had a good year, where we experienced growth and increased our services for our members and the greater U.K. business community in Korea,” BCCK CEO Sean Blakeley said. “Members of the 2018 ExCo will be key to ensuring w

Schizophrenic expat seeks 'Way Out' in nonfiction book

By Robert NeffEugene Uttley (not his real name) came to Korea in 2001 to teach. His story starts typically: a graduate student who needed some time off to discover himself and thought a one-year stint in Korea would be good for him. A shady recruiter, a less-than-ideal job in Ulsan, falling in love with a fellow expat and developing an appreciation for Korean culture (especially martial arts) are all part of his story _ all common themes in books by expat teachers _ but not the part that matters in “Way Out: A True Account of Schizophrenia” from Pen-L Publishing.After his first year, he lost his girlfriend and his savings around the same time. And then he lost touch with reality.It began with paranoia. In late 2006 he began to feel under constant scrutiny. Not the curious glances of the Korean population but by the government or military or something even more powerful. Robotic birds watched him from the roof and voices in his head spoke to him. “We” was a friendly group of do-gooders that wanted him to join them to fight pollution and other evils. “They

Korea goes 'cyberpunk'

Steve Roe’s picture of an Incheon alley in the rain won Photo of the Year on Reddit's r/ITookAPhoto forum. / Courtesy of Steve RoeBy Jon DunbarStreet photographers in Korea have been finding success with a stylized aesthetic people are describing as “cyberpunk,” “neo-noir” or “Blade Runner.” The style evokes a futuristic yet retro aesthetic, reminiscent of sci-fi movies. The pictures feature surreal lighting, heavy urbanization and grit, usually taken at dusk, often taken during or after rain when the water brings out reflections in roads. Steve Roe, a British expat in Korea, describes this vibe as “high-tech, low-life.” Roe won Photo of the Year 2017 on Reddit's r/ITookAPhoto forum for a photo taken last year in an alley near Bupyeong Station in Incheon. The photo is mostly blue with yellow highlights, taken during a rainstorm showing various brightly colored signs and people carrying umbrellas. “On that weekend when I took the photo, there were huge rainstorms nonstop,” Roe told The Korea Times. “I knew once it