LACMA expands Korean art gallery and REDCAT Gallery showcases works by Kim BeomLOS ANGELES ― Four conservators were sprawled on the floor at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s Korean art gallery, concentrating on their brush tips. They have been restoring “Buddha Shakyamuni Preaching to the Assembly on Vulture Peak,” an 18th century Korean Buddhist painting, since last August. “Since 2000, the

Performance June 6, 2011

On the day of Floating Island’s international debut, 200 protest fur fashion show at the latest Seoul landmarkWith only a small bridge in between, two totally different worlds unfolded in the Banpo area in southern Seoul on Thursday night. On the Floating Island on the Han River, the venue of FENDI’s fashion show, about 1,000 guests chatted pleasantly over cocktails. Just a few hundred meters away

Arts & Design June 5, 2011

Jeungpyeon is a type of rice cake made by kneading rice powder with milky rice wine, garnishing it with jujubes, chestnuts, pine nuts and stone mushrooms, and then steaming it in a cake mold. Jeungpyeon is a good rice cake for the summer because it is fermented with wine, and does not spoil easily. It has a unique wine aroma, slightly sour taste and soft texture. It is enjoyed on Dano, the country

Food June 3, 2011

USC professor shares views on the United States’ N.K. policies and Korean StudiesLOS ANGELES ― David Kang, head of the Korean Studies Institute at the University of Southern California, opened his laptop and showed several photos of North ― couples on bicycles, children waving at cameras and soldiers smiling. They are material for one of the talks he gives, entitled “They think they’re normal.” “I

Culture June 2, 2011

UCLA prof. John Duncan says globalizing Korean Studies is key task for scholars outside peninsulaLOS ANGELES ― What is the point of telling John Smith in small town America that Korea is the fount of Japanese civilization? This was the question posed by John Duncan, director of the UCLA Center for Korean Studies. “I think it is really important to let the world know the strengths of your culture.

Culture June 2, 2011

Events and rituals celebrate one of the biggest traditional festive daysSummer is kicking in, and the day of the nation’s biggest sun festival is soon approaching.Dano, one of South Korea’s most important festive days along with Seollal, or Lunar New Year, and Chuseok, or Thanksgiving day, will fall Monday. It comes every fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar, the day of the year on w

Culture June 2, 2011

Animal rights group protests against FENDI's fashion show at the Han River Floating Island which will feature fur items Thursday evening. (Yonhap News)Chaos is expected at FENDI’s fashion show in Seoul on Thursday evening as animal rights groups gear up for a large-scale protest. Coexistence of Animal Rights on Earth announced that it will hold a protest at 5:30 p.m. at Hangang Park, across a brid

Arts & Design June 2, 2011

Artist Ham Jin returns after six years with darker and more profound micro worldThe dark gray alien-like clods hanging from the ceiling and sticking on walls at PKM Gallery in Hwa-dong, central Seoul, are not lumps of dust, hair or eraser shavings.Look at them carefully ― really carefully ― and you can see tiny worlds made of polymer clay. With enough imagination, you may be able to spot some huma

Performance May 31, 2011

King Sejong Institute, taekwondo classes in schools and LAPD Korean culture workshops well-received in L.A.LOS ANGELES ― “Maewoyo? (Is it spicy?) Anmaewoyo! (No, it is not spicy)” chanted around 80 students in King Sejong Institute Los Angeles’ Basic A Class this month, voices loud and clear. When they got the hang of the phrases, they were assigned to do a little dialogue at a Korean restaurant w

Culture May 30, 2011

Exhibitions“Isabelle Huppert: Woman of Many Faces”: The photo exhibition shows the lesser known sides of Isabelle Huppert, France’s star actress. It features more than 110 portrait photos of the actress taken by around 70 photographers including Henri Cartier Bresson, Robert Doisneau, Chun Kyung-woo and filmmaker Ronald Chammah, Huppert’s husband. The touring show was held in seven cities includin

Performance May 27, 2011

Quality proven but without vital connections, Korean films struggle to crack HollywoodLOS ANGELES ― Cinema 2 of CGV in Los Angeles, U.S., was a full house on the night of the sneak preview of the South Korean movie “Late Autumn” this month. The English-speaking audience, about 70 percent of whom had Asian features, laughed and sniffled their way through the two-hour movie starring Korean heartthro

Film May 26, 2011

Award-winning French actress in town promoting new movie and photography exhibitionFrance’s star actress Isabelle Huppert showed up on Thursday at The Museum of Photography, Seoul in Bangi-dong, eastern Seoul, decked in a dark brown dress and a black leather jacket, flashing the cool “French chic” smile at the press crowded to see her. “This is my second time here since I visited the 1998 Busan In

Film May 26, 2011

Two South Korean historical records are to be granted “Memory of the World” status by UNESCO. Documents on the pro-democracy uprising in Gwangju on May 18, 1980, and Ilseongrok, a diary-style chronicle of late Joseon Dynasty’s kings’ daily lives, will be listed on the Memory of the World Register, according to the Cultural Heritage Administration and the Korean National Commission for UNESCO on Tu

Performance May 25, 2011