Global Community

'Abolishing state-administered bar exam constitutional'

Opponents of the abolishment of the bar exam protest outside the Constitutional Court in Seoul, Thursday.  YonhapBy Lee Kyung-min The Constitutional Court ruled Thursday that abolishing the state-administered bar exam was constitutional, putting an official termination to the 54-year old test as of Sunday. This is the second ruling that deliberated the issue, following the first one that ruled the abolishment was constitutional in September last year. In a 5-4 ruling, the court said that an earlier ruling interpreted the law correctly, adding that it did not infringe on the rights of those who prepared for the test to choose their professions. “Those seeking to become legal professionals can do so by entering law school and take a test after earning a degree there,” the court said. The abolishment was decided in 2009, giving an eight-year grace period to those who had prepared for the test to change their study plans accordingly, it added.“Those who had prepared for the state-administered test had been able to do so by taking the test that continued for ei

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(1729) Long down jacket (III)

Foreign Community events Dec. 27 to Jan. 2

‘Suspiria’ screeningSteak Film offers a 40th anniversary screening of the horror classic “Suspiria” by Italian director Dario Argento, tonight. This is Steak Film’s fourth screening and discussion event at G-15 Sonnendeck in Itaewon. Visit facebook.com/steakfilmKR for more info.Grape vs Grain: Battle of the BevviesVineworks, a wine bar near Sangsu Station in western Seoul, collaborates with the Sool Company, an expat-run company dedicated to the promotion of and education on traditional Korean alcohol. Vineworks offers three wines and Sool brings three cheongju alcoholic concoctions, paired with traditional and nontraditional foods. The event is Saturday at 8 p.m. and costs 50,000 won to register. Visit facebook.com/vineworkskorea for more information or to register. Happy Hippy New Year at FreebirdHappy Hippy Vibe offers a concert at the cavernous Freebird Cosmic Live near Hongik University in western Seoul, featuring five diverse bands, six psytrance DJs and one VJ. The bands are Blue Turtle Land, Khorhaj Chora, Space Boutique, Danny Boy & the Carr

Yongsan Legacy Yongsan and the Electric Mayhem

By Micah GrandersonI enjoyed growing up around Yongsan Garrison. Outdoors, kids played roller hockey on streets lined with old gingko trees that turned fragrant in the fall. It had almost the look of a college campus, if a bit more rustic and utilitarian. The public spaces indoors were a different matter altogether. They roared with music, thudded with explosions and shook with the rattle of machine guns. But this wasn't precisely military related.In the early 1980s, video game arcades went through another boom in the United States as clanky pinball machines gave way to video cabinets with digital sound and blasting subwoofers. Perhaps the leadership of the post didn’t immediately see the benefits of shipping heavy arcade machines across the Pacific, but that changed suddenly. Overseas military posts are packed with young men, mostly fond of arcades, all with regular government-issued paychecks, all separated from loved ones and slightly bored. It became apparent to those in charge that buying arcade machines was as good as printing money when it came to balancing the post acti

US artist exhibits in Seoul

Samantha Blumenfeld poses with her art at Mini Gallery in Seoul, Saturday. / Courtesy of John Redmond.By John RedmondNew Jersey native Samantha Blumenfeld presents her third solo exhibition “Landscape” at Mini Print gallery in Seongsu-dong, eastern Seoul, until Jan. 6.Blumenfeld’s work examines the artistic genre of landscape to explore internal narratives around self, trauma, growth and recovery.Following a PTSD diagnosis, the artist found art journaling soothing.“I started to make spontaneous paintings in the same manner as art journaling,” Blumenfeld said.After meeting her artist husband Albert Che, the couple decided it would be easier to move to Korea.Blumenfeld says Che played a huge role in her decision to pursue art.The Korea Times was at the opening of her exhibition and spoke to Blumenfeld about her inspiration and aims for the project.Q: What inspires your art? A: For the longest time, it was only about process. I was much more concerned with the method than I was with any final product, and art-making and working as an artist felt more perfor

(1728) Long down jacket (II)

(1727) Long down jacket (I)

(1726) Electric bus (III)

(1724) Electric bus (I)