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(1740) Sexual harassment

Basque rock trio Berri Txarrak returns to Korea

Basque rock trio Berri Txarrak will return to Korea this week. / Courtesy of Berri TxarrakBy Jon DunbarWay back in 2010, the Basque rock trio Berri Txarrak toured Korea. They return this weekend, with help from some of the people who brought them here the first time. “We saw in 2010 there’s a lot of cool venues, at least in Seoul, and a good scene, so we’re pretty excited as the tour will kick off in Korea,” the band said in an email interview with The Korea Times. This Friday, they start their tour with a show in Busan, before playing Seoul on Saturday.Their previous visit, they played at Club FF and the now closed Club Ta, both near Hongik University in western Seoul. Their recorded music is sleek but sophisticated, centering around pop-punk but touching on hardcore influences as well as more popular rock music. Berri Txarrak, meaning “bad news” in their native language, Euskara, comes from a small corner of Europe located between Spain and France. “Basque Country is nothing but the place where we come from,” they said. “There&r

Group to host networking night

By John RedmondInterNations Seoul, the Seoul chapter of global expat networking community InterNations, will hold a gathering for newcomers in Gangnam on Jan. 31. Themed “Newcomers Networking Night” the evening is a welcoming party for new members in Korea and a chance to meet current members.“Through this gathering, our new members will have great opportunities to break the ice, and our existing members may once again enjoy a great time of networking and fun,” organizers said.The evening starts at 7 p.m. at Tea Therapy in Sinsa-dong, southern Seoul, near Apgujeong Station. Entrance is 30,000 won for nonmembers and includes a tray of personalized tea and a plate of fresh finger food. House wine (red or white) and beer are also available for those who want alcohol instead.Founded in 2007 by German students Malte Zebeck and Philipp von Plato, InterNations is one of the world’s largest expat networks, with over 2.2 million members covering communities in 390 cities worldwide.Visit internations.org for more information.

Seoul to celebrate Australia Day

By John RedmondExpats from across the nation will gather to celebrate Australia Day in the Grand Ballroom of JW Marriott DDM, Jan. 26.Presented by the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AustCham) and supported by the Australian Embassy and the Australian-Korean business community, the event offers a night of networking, entertainment and celebration feature selections of Australian food and drink.The evening also coincides with AustCham’s 10-year anniversary and includes a special Business Awards presentation by Australian Ambassador to Korea James Choi.The awards ceremony “will provide a timely opportunity to look back on AustCham’s journey and to recognize those who have made invaluable contributions to AustCham’s success in Korea,” they said in a press release.The Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement (KAFTA) went into effect on Dec. 12, 2014.The mission of AustCham Korea is to promote Australian businesses in Korea through providing information, connections and representation.Australia Day, Jan. 26, is the anniversary of the first landing of the

Foreigners perform at Diva Night

By John RedmondInternational performances will be part of a live-singing drag queen show at LINK club in Itaewon on Friday night.Titled “Cloudy With A Chance Of Hurricane Kimchi: Divas Night” the evening will mark the second of a two-part international January show.Hosted by Heezy Kim Yang, the special guest is Australian act Eureka Rice.“Australian Eureka Rice will be performing some of the most classic and hottest songs of the greatest divas,” Kim said.“There will be lots of pop diva music, from Tina Turner to Britney Spears, at the show.” A drag show is where people, usually male, perform in clothing of the opposite sex with exaggerated femininity.While most drag shows are lip-synced, Hurricane Kimchi will have live vocals.During the event, the bar will offer Jaeger bombs and tequila shots for a special price. The best dressers and quiz winners will also receive free drinks.The show is from 9 p.m. to midnight and entrance costs 5,000 won.Visit facebook.com/thelinkseoul for more information.

(1739) Pitch in, chip in

Sign of changing times: Maghrib prayers at Hoehyeon Station

Four Indonesian tourists take part in the Maghrib prayer at Hoehyeon Station in Jung-gu, Seoul, Wednesday evening. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukBy Ko Dong-hwanAt sundown Wednesday, four Muslim women positioned themselves in a corner at Seoul’s Hoehyeon Station for the Maghrib prayer.The Indonesian tourists, some in full Islamic traditional dress, spread windbreakers or small rugs on the cold marble floor, took off their shoes and put down shoulder bags. They then started praying towards a wall ― in the direction of their holy temple. The Maghrib prayer is the fourth of five obligatory daily prayers for Muslims.The scene is indicative of the rising influx of foreign visitors and migrants from many religious backgrounds that South Koreans have been urged to accept. Among efforts, the gender equality and family ministry has been encouraging people to embrace Korean families of interracial marriage, while Seoul’s Lotte World Tower has a prayer room. Nevertheless, newcomers sometimes become the targets of bigotry, even from intellectuals and leading figures. Main opposit

Naver's online map service to be available in English, Chinese, Japanese

Naver Corp., South Korea's top Internet portal operator, will soon add foreign language versions of its online map service, a corporate source said Thursday.Maps in English, Japanese and Chinese, as well as an English navigation service, are expected to kick off later this month.The launch comes just ahead of the Winter Olympics, which start in the eastern town of PyeongChang on Feb. 9."We are thoroughly checking for possible errors and will make further efforts so that foreigners will have no difficulty using the map," said a Naver official, who asked not to be named.Meanwhile, Kakao Corp., an Internet company that operates the country's top mobile messenger KakaoTalk, said it has no plans to add other foreign languages to its existing map tool.The company currently provides KakaoMap in Korean and English. (Yonhap)

Tracing Korea's earliest recorded music

By Cheryl MagnantSuk Ji-hoon checks out a vintage Japanese Victor J1-51 phonograph/gramophone from the mid-1930s, in storage at Chamsori Museum in Gangneung. / Courtesy of Suk Ji-hoonWhen was the first recording of Korean music made? Suk Ji-hoon, who recently earned his master's degree in Korean Modern History from Yonsei University, has the answer. He traces the early history of recording music here to Western scholars in the early 1890s, when Edison’s phonograph came to Korea. Its patrons included King Gojong, Horace Allen and William Noble, to name a few. Yet Suk defines 1906 as pivotal. With the North American and European music industries expanding around the world, the London-based Gramophone and Typewriter (G&T) company began a “recording expedition” to Korea. “Intermediaries” who acted both as “talent scouts” and sales agents actively recruited for G&T. Their mission: record music and other types of performing arts for potential customers in the non-Western world. Their outcome: 101 sides of Korean recordings, eventually produ

International artists to exhibit in Seoul

By John RedmondSamantha Blumenfeld at Sargoji Alternative Art Space. / Photo by Mini Print.An international art exhibition opens at Mini Print Seoul in Seongsu-dong this Saturday.Under the theme “Seongsu Print Exhibition,” curator Samantha Blumenfeld will showcase a print-based art exhibition featuring works from 28 print artists from around the world. Diverse processes that will be shown include etching, woodcuts, screen-printing, risograph, engraving, lithography, gumprint and cyanotype.Featured artists include sp.38 and palefroi from Germany/France; Ben Jon Miller, Tina Laskowski, Rachel Hays, Defame, Michael Melson, Kelly Belter, Alexi Fisk and Samantha Blumenfeld of the U.S.; Douglas Vautour and Valerie Syposz from Canada; Gaetoe, Albert Che, Yu Ji-won, Lee Seung-min and Miss Baik of Korea; Ali Safavi from Iran/England; Eve Eesmaa of Estonia; Chou Yi from Taiwan; Glenn Schon and Isabel Zeuge from Germany; Hannah Sandstrom of Denmark; and Jutamas Buncharoen, Prapnpun Boonyachai, Chayan Pol-Asa and Piyangkoon Tanvichien of Thailand. “There isn't a huge diversity