[Weekender] Sejong: A city built in nature’s image

Cities and nature are often considered worlds apart. The former is the epitome of man’s desire to conquer the latter, using concrete and steel to build a world unintended by Mother Earth.Nonetheless, Lee Choon-hee ― an expert of urban planning and engineering ― said it is possible to construct cities that harmoniously exist with nature. The prime example, he says, is the recently-created administrative town of Sejong, in central Korea.“There had been many new towns created (by the government), b

TechnologyFeb. 21, 2014

[Weekender] Luxury refashioned

In the 1990s, the nation’s surging middle class wanted to show off its wealth and started indulging in foreign luxury brands. These were the years when Louis Vuitton’s Speedy tote earned the nickname “3-second bag” for being almost ubiquitous on Seoul streets. “Unlike in other countries where ‘It Bags’ are enjoyed mostly within the fashion community, they became a national fever in Korea at the time,” said Lee Ji-hyun, a fashion magazine editor. After two decades, Korean shoppers’ expensive tast

IndustryFeb. 14, 2014

[Weekender] Classic designer brands make room for ‘swag-fake’

The fashion industry has long been dominated by a black-and-white theory that only genuine articles from classic designer brands have value. Anything that’s a knockoff ― a “fake” ― was immediately dismissed as low-class. This obsession with authentic designer products, however, was accompanied by a sense of snobbery, and those who found this repellent have gone the other way to advocate fakes and copycats. The popularity of imitation brands in Korea has become such that people no longer seem to

IndustryFeb. 14, 2014

[Weekender] Woo Young-mi seeks homegrown fashion in Paris

What makes luxury goods stand out among fashionable items? What makes a luxury a luxury?Chinese fashion columnist Wang Er Song says in his book “Luxury Attitude” that it is the buyers’ respect for the goods. “What makes a luxury a luxury is the abundant value it contains and people’s respect for that value, the stories behind it,” he writes.  WOOYOUNGMI, a Korea-based menswear brand, fulfills these conditions perfectly. Having started with a small boutique brand, Solid Homme, in 1988, designer W

Arts & DesignFeb. 14, 2014

[Weekender] Conglomerates foster own luxury brands

Korean conglomerates are gearing up to nurture the future Louis Vuitton or Chanel, which will not only secure them with profits but also a luxurious corporate image and high social status. Hoping to become the next Bernard Arnault of Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy or Francois Pinault of Kering, business tycoons and their heirs are vigorously buying up designer brands or nurturing future star designers. LVMH owns Louis Vuitton, Dior, Saint Laurent, Donna Karan and Celine, among others, while Kering

Arts & DesignFeb. 14, 2014

[Weekender] Rise of sharing economy

In the wake of the financial crisis in 1997, a frugality campaign swept the country under the motto of “anabana,” or “save, share, swap and reuse goods.” The movement spread through flea markets, charities and local communities, helping reduce the pains of the economic meltdown and change the mindset and behavior of consumers. About fifteen years later, the grassroot movement is being revived magnificently. A myriad of enterprises and organizations are jumping on the “sharing economy” bandwagon,

Social AffairsFeb. 7, 2014

[Weekender] Seoul eyes shareable metropolis

More and more Seoul citizens are engaging in a new lifestyle by sharing everything from their talent to parking lots to houses.Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon introduced the “Share Seoul” project in September 2012 to provide better welfare and services to people at a low cost. The movement is not only aimed at helping people save money but also to solve environmental and employment problems and bring community spirit to modern life.“Calls for better welfare, a cleaner environment and more jobs are soa

Social AffairsFeb. 7, 2014

[Weekender] Social media network boosts knowledge exchange

On Wisdome, a social networking site, people can open offline classes to provide their knowledge, experience and skills for a small fee. Lectures on a range of topics like overseas travel, calligraphy, asset management and cookie-making are offered by practitioners eager to share their know-how and time. “What changes one’s life is not advice from famous figures on TV or somewhere else, but advice from people around us including family members, colleagues and friends at school,” said Han Sang-ye

Social AffairsFeb. 7, 2014

[Weekender] Sharing economy drives sustainable development

The sharing economy can contribute to sustainable development and has plenty of room to develop further in diverse fields of business, society and life, says Harald Heinrichs, a leading sharing economy theorist. The professor of sustainability politics at Luneburg University in Germany offered his views on a range of issues regarding the sharing economy in a recent email interview with The Korea Herald. The following are excerpts from the interview.Korea Herald: What are the possible benefits of

Social AffairsFeb. 7, 2014

[Weekender] Shared housing takes root

An upscale apartment overlooking the Hangang River in Mapo, Seoul, is home to eight women who have a special interest in films. Rent on a flat of a similar size averages 3.5 million won ($3,230) per month with a 100 million won deposit. But they pay only a fifth of the market price as they share facilities including bathrooms, kitchen and living room.It is one of the nine apartment units leased by Woozoo, a shared housing company. Each unit has a particular theme for tenants, such as “start-up h

Social AffairsFeb. 7, 2014

[Weekender] Redefining meaning of Seollal

Tens of thousands of Koreans will hit the road Thursday, the official start of the Lunar New Year holidays, to head for their hometowns to spend time with parents and relatives. Among them will be Lee Yeon-ju, a 42-year-old housewife living in Seoul. As always, her family will spend the first two days of the holidays with her husband’s parents in Gangneung, Gangwon Province. What is usually a three-hour drive could easily turn into a tedious five- to six-hour journey, but that is not what Lee dr

CultureJan. 24, 2014

[Weekender] Rice-cake soup remains Seollal staple

Tteokguk, that steaming bowl of hot broth studded with slices of white rice cake, is a classic Seollal staple. “In Korea, placing a bowl of tteokguk on the ancestral table for rites on Lunar New Year’s morning is tradition,” said Dadam executive chef Jeong Jae-deok. Even at Dadam, a Korean fine dining restaurant located in Seoul’s Cheongdam-dong, Jeong makes a point of serving rice cake soup on both New Year’s Day and Seollal in lieu of the customary porridge that accompanies meals. The symbolic

FoodJan. 24, 2014

[Weekender] Korea strives to revive fading interest in traditional clothes

Han Hyun-young, a 29-year-old office worker in Seoul, had a hanbok custom-made for herself when she got married in 2011. But she has worn the traditional Korean clothes only twice ― on her first visit to her in-law’s house after her honeymoon and on her sister-in-law’s wedding day. “I wore it because I had to. I wouldn’t wear it if I didn’t have to,” she said. Han is not the only one feeling reluctant to wear a hanbok on special occasions. As hanbok are no longer a daily outfit for most Koreans,

CultureJan. 24, 2014

[Weekender] Asia rings in colorful Lunar New Year

Seollal, which falls on Jan. 31 this year, involves a lot of hectic food preparations and family gatherings, but Koreans are not the only people observing it. Though practices differ, a version of Seollal is celebrated across Asia: millions of Chinese, Vietnamese and Mongolians meet families and friends on the first day of the Lunar New Year. Here in South Korea, Seollal demands intensive preparations for family gatherings and “charye,” a memorial rite that pays homage to the ancestors of the pa

Foreign AffairsJan. 24, 2014

[Weekender] Celebrating Seollal in old Korean fashion

Seollal, the Lunar New Year, is one of the most celebrated holidays in Korea: It is not only a time to pay respects to one’s elders and ancestors, but is also an opportunity to spend time with family and friends to celebrate the New Year immersed in tradition. With the colorful hanbok (traditional Korean costume) and the traditional food and folk games, Seollal gives people the chance to experience some real Korean culture. Whether it be traveling to the countryside to reunite with extended fami

CultureJan. 24, 2014

[Weekender] Dokdo: Perpetual flashpoint in Korea-Japan relations

In A.D. 512, Gen. Kim Isabu was on a mission to conquer an island country off the east coast of the peninsula. To defeat the tribesmen, who were notoriously ferocious and aggressive, the shrewd commander used a trick. He erected wooden figures of fire-breathing lions on his vessels and threatened to let the prides loose unless they surrendered. The frightened islanders finally succumbed and became subjects of Kim’s Silla Kingdom.The episode, featured in the “Samguksagi” (“The History of the Thre

Foreign AffairsJan. 17, 2014

[Weekender] History contradicts Japan’s claim

 Everything about the Dokdo islets is common knowledge among older Koreans: their history, marine life, climate, rainfall and even exact latitude and longitude coordinates, all of which are mentioned in the lyrics of a popular 30-year-old song titled “Dokdo is Our Territory.” Not simply some remote outcroppings in far-away waters, the islets are a source of pride and patriotism entrenched in Koreans’ collective consciousness, stemming from centuries of battles with Japan. Early documents indicat

Foreign AffairsJan. 17, 2014

[Weekender] Dokdo’s promising resources, ecology

With its unique location and natural history, Dokdo boasts ample fishing grounds, untapped resources and a potential for environmental, geological and cultural research.Dokdo is the product of underwater volcanic eruptions in the East Sea about 4.6 million-2.5 million years ago. It is therefore much older than Ulleungdo (formed about 2.5 million-10,000 years ago) and Jeju Island (formed about 1.2 million-10,000 years ago). Originally, Dokdo’s main East and West islets were not divided like they

Foreign AffairsJan. 17, 2014

[Weekender] ‘Logic, knowledge key to resolution’

Yuji Hosaka, born in Japan, harbored good feelings toward Korea from childhood when he was charmed by its singers, sports stars and the friends of his father, who ran a plastic lens factory in Tokyo. The fond curiosity developed into academic enthusiasm during his college years after he was struck by the 1895 assassination by the Japanese Empress Myeongseong, the wife of the Joseon era’s last king, Gojong.What Hosaka found disturbing was not only the incident itself, but the fact that he never l

Foreign AffairsJan. 17, 2014

[Weekender] Korea, to go

There are few things that cannot be delivered in this short-tempered, fast-moving and tightly networked country.Overnight parcel services are taken for granted. Fully cooked meals and snacks may be ordered around the clock. Even McDonald’s Korea uses a motorcycle fleet to make home deliveries of burgers and fries.Every November, on the day of the state-run college entrance exam, quick-delivery motorcycles are seen in all corners of the country, taking late-rising examinees to their test centers.

Social AffairsJan. 10, 2014