South Korea - The Korea Times

RAS KOREA Maegokri's mid-20th-century rural medical mission

When Western missionaries came to Korea in 1885, their mission work focused on education and medical care. The huge churches they are known for today came along later. Such is the case, albeit almost a century later, with a small Midwest U.S.-based denomination called “Community of Christ.” Community of Christ members had been among the thousands of U.S. military personnel in Korea during the 1950-53 Korean War and afterward. Naturally, their Korean friends became aware of their denomination and its focus on the social gospel as described in the New Testament.

Apr 21, 2024By Steven L. Shields

[RAS KOREA] Maegokri's mid-20th-century rural medical mission

Seoul International School's music education enhances cultural awareness

Julia Ji-yeon Kim, the head of the performing arts department at Seoul International School (SIS), discussed the advantages and trends in music education, the history of the music program at SIS and her vision for its future, in an interview with The Korea Times.

Apr 21, 2024

Seoul International School's music education enhances cultural awareness

Scholar explores deep history of Seoul's Donam-dong

Northeastern Seoul's Donam-dong of Seongbuk District is a typical Korean neighborhood. The area primarily consists of apartment complexes and various types of older housing, along with a few schools, including a women's university. Initially situated outside of Seoul, it was located not far from Hyehwamun Gate.

Apr 21, 2024By Jon Dunbar

Scholar explores deep history of Seoul's Donam-dong

Busan International Short Film Festival returns for 41st year

While the city of Busan is famous for its sandy beaches, fresh seafood, iconic bridge and savory pork soup, it has also carved out a rightful spot on the map of global cinema. The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) is the largest of its kind in Asia, delivering a big dose of glitz, glamour and high art to South Korea’s second city every year in early October. However, despite the fact that BIFF is the town’s cultural marquee event, it’s not even the city’s oldest film festival: That honor goes to the Busan International Short Film Festival (BISFF), whose 41st incarnation kicks off this Thursday. “BISFF originally started in 1980, so it actually predates BIFF by 16 years,” said Sébastien Simon, a French filmmaker who has worked with the festival as an organizer and programmer since 2012. “Of course, the latter became such a staple worldwide event that our festival, like most others in Korea, takes some of its cues from BIFF. Both are run by different teams, independently from each other, held at two different times of the year and with two different mandates — the

Apr 20, 2024By Chris Tharp

Busan International Short Film Festival returns for 41st year

Daejeon artists experiment with 'souping' photographic film

Artists in Daejeon embrace curiosity, experimentation and happenstance through film photography in a new group exhibition titled “Soup Kitchen.” The name doesn't refer to free meals for the underprivileged but to an experimental technique of developing photos, in which a roll of film is soaked in boiling water and other household ingredients, intentionally damaging the film in hopefully artistic ways. Artist Rosalie Osborn Knaack explained the process in an interview with The Korea Times. “You shoot the film, and you throw it in the liquid with boiling water, salt and other ingredients, such as citric acid and vinegar and juice, soap and pineapple,” she said. The images — still in their film canisters — dry for weeks or even months before they are finally developed. The chemicals create unpredictable and sometimes unfortunate effects on the film. “Sometimes it utterly destroys the film," she said. "But hunting for that really beautiful image is where I feel I can really make art as a photographer.” Creating souped photography as a collaboration was the brainchild of Knaac

Apr 19, 2024By Monica Nickolai

Daejeon artists experiment with 'souping' photographic film

Andrei Lankov unveils complex reality of North Korean workers in Russia

At first look, the employment of North Korean laborers in Russia appears straightforward, characterized by plain power differentials meaningful of a bygone era of the last century.

Apr 17, 2024By Jon Dunbar

Andrei Lankov unveils complex reality of North Korean workers in Russia

Daniel Kim's bagpipe journey in remembrance of fallen soldiers of Korean War

It was about two years ago when I saw Daniel Kim demonstrating his talents on the bagpipes. He was one of the participants in public antiwar demonstrations during the first weeks of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, performing in a street concert for peace in Ukraine held in front of the Ukrainian Embassy in Seoul. Recently, I got a chance to learn more about Daniel , who can often be seen at foreign community events in Korea. His journey with the bagpipes transcends mere musical expression — it's a testament to heritage, history and the pursuit of solidarity. Hailing from a military family with roots ingrained in the 1950-53 Korean War, Daniel's fascination with the bagpipes stems from their solemn connection to military rituals. “I have to indicate this factor because this is the primary reason that I'm from a military family," he told The Korea Times. "My two grandfathers served during the Korean War. My father's grandfather enlisted in 1948 even before the war and my mother's side grandfather was also enlisted. He was drafted in 1950 when the North Korean invasion was getting more

Apr 16, 2024By Bereket Alemayehu

Daniel Kim's bagpipe journey in remembrance of fallen soldiers of Korean War

Reggie Hart continues taking unique multi-platform show on road

By Daniel J. Springer In the era of social media running amok, many musicians and bands are quite literally praying for a viral 30-second clip from a concert. Whatever gets the name out there does exactly that. Given the pervasive media landscape we currently inhabit, musicians have video games, Netflix, thousands of TV channels, YouTube and any number of other forms of entertainment to compete with for eyes and ears. One musician who's been through the entire development of the modern media landscape is Daejeon-based Reggie Hart, creator of "The Reggie Hart Show." "The Reggie Hart Show" is a folk program of mostly covers performed by Hart, a Canadian, with his American partner in crime, Lucho Rocoso. But what raises eyebrows with their program is not necessarily the music repertoire. In a recent performance in Gwangju, Hart took a quick break to light a cigarette. In 2024, smoking indoors is obviously a big no-no, and the bar staff were incensed. Hart then calmly put out the still-lit cigarette in his hand, making it summarily disappear to the delight of all in attendance. The show's uniq

Apr 14, 2024

Reggie Hart continues taking unique multi-platform show on road

Daegu punk band Drinking Boys and Girls Choir returns home after N. America tour

CHICAGO — Drinking Boys and Girls Choir's founding members Bae Meena and Kim Myeong-jin (MJ) have been relentless in the face of adversity and indifference after forming the skate punk band way back in 2013 in Daegu. Punk music has never been hugely popular in Korea, but after signing to Britain-based label Damnably, they had the opportunity to tour Britain in 2019. They toured Europe in early 2020 and plans were made for a U.S. tour later that year, but you can guess what happened next. In March 2024, they were finally able to tour the United States as well as Canada with labelmates Otoboke Beaver from Japan. From Feb. 20 until March 30, the two East Asian bands played 27 shows in the U.S. and two in Canada. During their two nights at Chicago’s Thalia Hall on March 9 and 10, DBGC ran into some old friends and made some new ones. Here are two perspectives of that show, one from an old fan, and one from a new one. I was excited to have the opportunity to photograph DBGC at Thalia Hall in Chicago. I mean who doesn’t want to see an all-girl punk band from Korea, right? When we met wit

Apr 14, 2024By Kyle Decker and Fleurette Estes

Daegu punk band Drinking Boys and Girls Choir returns home after N. America tour

FINDING THE SCENE 1 Seoul's top 10 live music venues

This is the first part in a three-part series intended to raise awareness of Korea's elusive live music scene and help more people find it.

Apr 13, 2024By Jon Dunbar

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