Korea, France to launch cultural exchange programs

Korean culture will be on display throughout France starting this September as part of a cultural exchange program to mark the 130th anniversary of diplomatic relations between South Korea and France next year. The first lineup of 85 Korean cultural programs were announced Tuesday by the Korean committee of the cultural exchange program. Programs range from concerts, performances and exhibitions of major modern and contemporary Korean artists to a retrospective of revered filmmaker Im Kwon-taek.

March 31, 2015

From branding guru to traditional arts patron

At the hill of Mount Namsan, where a sprawling metropolis of 10.5 million starts to give way to a forest of leafy trees, a small museum opened in December. Nestled inside are wooden chests, tables, jewelry boxes and other intricate craftworks lacquered and decorated with exquisite mother-of-pearl inlays. Everything inside is the private collection of Sohn Hye-won. “I never thought that I would really do this -- open a museum,” said Sohn, 60, in an interview at the Korea Mother-Of-Pearl Art Museu

March 27, 2015

S. Korea's Bae Doona wins best actress at Asian Film Awards

South Korean actress Bae Doona has won the best actress award for her performance in the Korean film "A Girl at My Door" at the ninth Asian Film Awards in Macau, China, her agency said Friday. (Yonhap)Bae won the honor during the awards ceremony held on Wednesday, beating Gong Li of the Chinese film "Coming Home" and Tang Wei of another Chinese film, "The Golden Era," Saetbyuldang Entertainment said.Directed by July Jung, "A Girl at My Door" tells the story of a female police officer (played by

March 27, 2015

Seoul Fashion Week amps up color in vivid womenswear

Brown and burgundy are no longer the go-to colors for the cooler seasons in Korea, it seems. Brimming with color, experimental fabrics and unexpected twists, the first day of Seoul Fashion Week 2015 Fall/Winter Womenswear kicked off on March 23 at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza.“So many designers elsewhere use similar colors, especially for the fall-winter season, but the color mix of Korean fashion is unique.” said Ritta aka Miss X, a buyer from the Chinese city of Chongqing. Kaal E. Suktae: Carto

March 24, 2015

[Weekender] Home awakening

Preparing for a foray here last year, Ikea, a global home furnishing giant, did some research on Korean consumers, collecting as many images of their homes as possible. What it ended up with were hordes of images of almost identical-looking apartment units: white wallpaper, cookie-cutter room and furniture layouts and, above all, the decided lack of decorative items. Lee Yu-rim, who runs home interior shops in Seoul, calls this the “dark age” of Korean homes. For decades, furniture was something

March 20, 2015

[Weekender] The ‘candle effect’: Why Koreans splurge on small home decor items

The demand for home decor items is growing among Koreans today, in a sensation that has been dubbed the “candle effect.” A spinoff of the “lipstick effect,” which refers to a hike in consumption of cosmetic goods during recession, the newly coined term indicates the increasing popularity of small home decor items such as scented candles, cushions and figurines that are more affordable than furniture but effectively liven up the home ambience.Virtually nonexistent just five years ago, the Korean

March 20, 2015

Calendar

Theater”Cats“: The international production of the Broadway classic “Cats” is having its Seoul run from April 10 to May 10. The Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, which celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2011, is the second longest-running show in Broadway history. It tells the story of the Jellicles, a tribe of cats who assemble for their annual junkyard gathering when one is chosen to be reborn for a new life. One-by-one the kittens take center stage to make their case for rebirth, singing and danci

March 20, 2015

Korea to adopt common brand for state agencies

Korea plans to adopt common branding for all government departments and agencies, government officials said. According to a blueprint unveiled Tuesday, a new government identity will be developed by October and will be phased in from next March until 2017, replacing the existing brands and symbols of some 750 public institutions. “From development to application, the all-of-government brand is estimated to cost around 23.6 billion won ($20 million),” Won Yong-gi, director at the Ministry of Cult

March 17, 2015

Early education starts from the womb?

“What is learned in the cradle is carried to the grave,” says a popular old adage. While it means that habits acquired in youth tend to be hard to break, Korean people have long embraced a more literal interpretation of the saying.Since over 600 years ago, expectant mothers in Korea have been practicing taegyo, a series of prenatal routines aimed at nurturing a healthy, virtuous and skilled child. They try to see and hear only the most pleasant things starting from three months of pregnancy. Mot

March 16, 2015

[Weekender] Struggles of a sleepless society

Instead of sipping lattes, visitors to one cafe in Gye-dong, central Seoul, get into hammocks and doze off, indulging in a short break from a hectic day in Korea’s busiest city.Nazzzam has attracted a lot of attention since opening last year as the nation’s first “nap cafe.” But its owner, Jeong Ji-eun, claims the place offers more than just shut-eye. “It’s not a sleeping area per se, but a place where people can take a break from their busy lives,” she said. Originally a freelance English teach

March 13, 2015

[Weekender] Good dreams, bad dreams and baby omens

Lee Jae-in woke up one day from an uneasy dream. The 31-year-old, who rarely dreams, could vividly recall what was disturbing her. “Someone was pulling my teeth out,” she said. Feeling leery, she grabbed her smartphone to search online for clues about what the dream meant. Immediately, a portal site pulled up a long list of dream-interpreting websites and Q&A pages filled with answers. “Everyone said losing teeth was a bad omen,” said Lee. “I don’t trust dream interpretation 100 percent, but the

March 13, 2015

[Weekender] Prophetic dreams?

What do Abraham Lincoln, Adolf Hitler and Yi Seong-gye, the 14th century founder of the Joseon Kingdom, have in common? They all claimed to have seen their future in their dreams ― years and sometimes days before the actual events occurred.Abraham Lincoln told friends a few weeks before he was killed in April 1865 that he had seen his own body lying in state in the White House.“Before me was a catafalque, on which rested a corpse wrapped in funeral vestments,” Lincoln allegedly said about his dr

March 13, 2015

‘Study death to live well’

In Ancient Rome, when triumphant generals marched in victory parades, they would hear the words “memento mori,” meaning “remember that you will die,” from a slave whose sole responsibility was to remind them of their mortality. The story of slaves reminding glorious generals of their human limitations may be apocryphal, but it delves into humans’ mortal nature. Death is inevitable, but people rarely bring it up in casual conversation. It’s almost taboo to do so in many countries, including Korea

March 13, 2015

Korean musical creators aim big

Buoyed by success at home and hungry for recognition overseas, Korean producers and creators of musicals have for years harbored ambitions for their own shows.Many of their works will unveil in the coming months in what many observers see as a test of their creativity, musicality and a knack for appeasing the audience. Like in previous years, the Korean market is set for an ample supply of foreign imports, namely from Broadway or West End, potentially making their box-office battle a pretty hard

March 8, 2015

New journal explores Korea’s modern history

The National Museum of Korean Contemporary History has launched a new English-language academic journal to spotlight research and foster the exchange of ideas on contemporary Korean history. The biannual Journal of Contemporary Korean Studies features articles not only on Korean politics and economy but also on contemporary Korean social affairs, culture and the arts. It includes an essay section where contributors offer reflections on their personal experiences of Korean contemporary history, a

March 5, 2015

Brecht epic to be told through ‘pansori’

“The Caucasian Chalk Circle,” a play written by German playwright Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956), will be told through the soul-piercing sounds of “pansori” in an upcoming theatrical production in Seoul. Korean-Japanese playwright and stage director Jung Eui-shin speaks at a news conference at the National Theater of Korea in Seoul on Monday. (National Theater of Korea)A National Changgeuk Company of Korea production, the experimental work will be directed by Korean-Japanese playwright and stage dir

March 3, 2015