Artist Chae Tong-yull’s dynamic life story fascinates everyone who hears it. Born in Busan in 1951 in the middle of the Korean War, Chae went to university at age 15. He quit school, volunteered to serve in the marine corps and participated in the Vietnam War as a military intelligence officer. Thus far, Chae’s life doesn’t sound much like that of an artist. His life took a more dramatic turn when he decided to go to the U.S. on an exchange student program. There he lost his interest in studying

Culture Feb. 25, 2014

When photographer Kim Nyung-man was standing in the photo line, watching President Bill Clinton greeting media artist Nam June Paik, he sensed something was going to happen and pressed the shutter-release button instinctively. Paik’s pants fell down, and the people around him failed to notice for a brief second. What Kim captured shows former President Clinton maintaining a smile at Paik, whose pants are down around his ankles, while two guards in the background look unmoved by what has just hap

Performance Feb. 23, 2014

Robert Moore’s collection of Korean art has expanded the presence of Korean art overseas, where it was long overshadowed by Chinese and Japanese art. Major museums in the U.S. boosted their holdings of Korean traditional art and artifacts by purchasing part of Moore’s collection. In 1999, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art purchased 250 works of Korean art from Moore, the largest purchase made by an art museum at that time. The beginning of his Korean art collection dates back to the mid-1950s

Performance Feb. 23, 2014

Koreans are starting to learn English at younger and younger ages. After having seen many failures in English education in public schools, many people are seeking ways to learn the language naturally and early on so that it becomes like a mother tongue, rather than studying it consciously as an academic subject. Most of the time, the starting age for English learning is determined by the parents. Many believe that the earlier their children begin to learn the foreign language, the more likely th

National Feb. 19, 2014

Artworks have escaped the spaces and hours of a regular exhibition. In unlikely places at ArtSonje Center, like the rear door of the formal exhibition space, a utility room and the rooftop, installation art pieces are scattered for display from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.Finding the artworks feels like a treasure hunt as they are located in inconspicuous spots inside the building. The museum map guides viewers to the location of each artwork. If they don’t concentrate on the map, they may miss some of them

Culture Feb. 17, 2014

British artist Julian Opie is amazed at how well dressed people are in Seoul. “People in London tend to wear black and gray. And there’s not particularly much light and I found myself drawing very much shadow,” said Opie at the press preview of his solo exhibition at Kukje Gallery on Thursday. To transfer the impression he had onto his paintings, he chose to highlight the colors and details of the clothes worn by Seoulites. “When I looked at photographs taken in Seoul, there was not so much shad

Performance Feb. 16, 2014

 Vodka-caviar pairing at Oakwood Premier Coex Center SeoulThe hotel offers premium caviar canapes paired with Absolut Vodka at the bar on the fifth floor until Feb. 28. The caviar canapes will be served with Russian traditional wheat pancake Blini which is eaten during Russian holiday Maslenitsa, known as Pancake Week. Three set menus, which all include the vodka and caviar canapes, are served during the promotion. The bronze set includes grilled sausages and hot dishes; the silver set includes

Food Feb. 14, 2014

Both the total sales value and prices of Korean art fell last year despite an increased number of works sold, according to a report on the local arts market by economics professor Choi Jeong-pyo of Konkuk University this week.Seoul Auction, which accounts for half of all auction sales in the country, sold 1,888 pieces for about 39 billion won ($36 million) in 2013. The amount was down 2.6 percent from 2012.K Auction, which takes up 28 percent of the market, auctioned off 1,258 works for 18.8 bil

Performance Feb. 13, 2014

 Korean designers have delivered vibrant appeals for Korean fashion with elegant tailoring, twists to classic looks and various mix-matched styles.Four designers showcased fall and winter collections for 2014 at Concept Korea on Tuesday, a show held for the ninth year to promote Korea’s design talent at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York. The major fashion event is being held from Feb. 6-13 at various venues throughout the city. The Concept Korea show for fall-winter 2014 collections was

Arts & Design Feb. 12, 2014

Spa cosmetics brand Pevonia has opened its first Korean branch at The Ritz-Carlton, Seoul. The Pevonia Spa, launched in 1991 by family members of LVMH Moet Hennessy, is one of the world’s leading spa brands with skin care products provided at more than 10,000 spas of top hotels and resorts in more than 100 countries.The Pevonia skin care products are made from natural ingredients free of chemical materials such as parabens, alcohol, lanolin, mineral oil, artificial colors and formaldehyde, and m

Arts & Design Feb. 12, 2014

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea opened a digital museum library on Tuesday that offers a comprehensive collection of materials on modern and contemporary Korean art. The two-story library, set up in the Seoul branch of the MMCA, features a collection of research materials including art books, exhibition catalogues, pamphlet files and artists’ books. The Seoul Museum opened in November last year. It is open to citizens, art students, experts and foreigners.The first floo

Performance Feb. 11, 2014

For installation artist Koo Hyun-mo, art is a record of memories and scenes that linger in his mind, rather than a portrayal of the present.He recasts his childhood memories and presents slices of them as installations. In his latest exhibition in Seoul, he showcases wooden installation pieces that were created to preserve memories of his childhood home in the old area of Sajik-dong, northern Seoul. Always attached to space, the artist focuses on certain features of his childhood home, such as t

Performance Feb. 10, 2014

Exhibitions“Julian Opie”: Kukje Gallery presents a solo exhibition of Julian Opie featuring some of his new works portraying the lifestyles of pedestrians in Seoul. The new works, results of his observations of people walking by on the streets of the capital city, will reveal his signature style of depicting people in color and outlining them prominently in black. The works on display are paintings, sculptures and pieces made using light-emitting diodes. The exhibition runs from Feb. 13 to March

Culture Feb. 7, 2014