The success of high-rise apartment complexes has been a unique phenomenon in Seoul. Widely spread throughout the city, dense apartment complexes have shaped Seoul, more than a third of whose residents live in apartments.A 1977 photo shows one of the early apartment complexes build in Banpo-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul. (Seoul Museum of History)In Europe and the US, particularly after the War ll, the need for housing drastically increased. Modern architects such as Le Corbusier pioneered in developing

Social Affairs Jan. 10, 2019

Roh Seung-bok’s pigment prints titled “1366 Project” are lined up on the wall. The warm toned prints that employ red, purple and pink are abstract at first sight. In fact, the prints are close-up images of bruises of female victims of domestic violence, and 1366 is the phone number of the domestic violence hotline.The print is one of some 60 works by 11 women artists on show at the Seoul National University Museum of Art exhibition featuring their takes on the lives of women in Korea.　“Pale Nigh

Arts & Design Jan. 7, 2019

“Mostly, I am a family man,” said violinist Christian Tetzlaff in a phone interview ahead of his upcoming debut concert as the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra’s artist-in-residence this year. 　“Family, of course, is the most important thing in life,” the father of six continued. “But the support in really difficult and desperate times -- yes, playing and listening to music can really give a lot to most people -- to know that we are sharing grief and that sharing joy in concerts. This is the reason

Performance Jan. 3, 2019

The 2019 classical music season is a promising one, with numerous stars and prestigious orchestras set to perform in South Korea. Here’s a taste of what lies ahead.  The London Philharmonic Orchestra (Vincero)Star pianists play Rachmaninoff in JanuaryKorea’s 2018 classical music scene opened with pianist Cho Seong-jin’s first-ever nationwide tour. The date on the calendar has changed, but again it is Cho who will be raising the curtain. Cho will perform Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in D M

Performance Dec. 31, 2018

The Choi So Bin Ballet will highlight its 2017 production “Cinderella” at a show slated for Jan. 12 at the Yongin Poeun Art Hall in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. Based on one of the world’s most beloved folktales, the hourlong “Cinderella” is accompanied by the classical music of Johann and Josef Strauss with delightful choreography to match. The ballet is well-suited to young families, the ballet company added. Leading the show is ballerina Choi So-bin, who is also the ballet company’s artistic di

Performance Dec. 30, 2018

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art has opened its fourth branch in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, following the Gwacheon branch that opened in 1986, the Deoksugung branch in 1998 and the Seoul branch in 2013. The Cheongju branch is housed in a five-story building that was a tobacco factory built in 1946. The factory produced an annual average of some 10 billion cigarettes until it ceased operations in 2004. The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art’s fourth branch

Arts & Design Dec. 26, 2018

Art critic Arthur Danto once said, “Duchamp did not merely raise the question ‘What is Art?’ but rather ‘Why is something a work of art when something exactly like it is not?’”The paradigm shift that Duchamp introduced to the art world with his “readymade” objects -- that an everyday object with little or no modification could become a work of art through the creative process by the artist and spectator -- was a concept that shattered the modern conception of art as the production of artistic “g

Arts & Design Dec. 24, 2018

SongEun Art and Cultural Foundation on Friday kicked off an exhibition of its four finalists for the 18th SongEun Art Award at SongEung Art Space in Seoul. Kim Joon, Park Kyung-ryul, Lee Ue-sung and Chun Myung-eun, also known as Eun Chun, were shortlisted for the award following two rounds of reviews. Paintings and sculptures by artist Park Kyung-ryul (SongEun Art Space) From left: Kim Joon, Park Kyung-ryul, Lee Ue-sung and Chun Myung-eun attend a press conference held at SongEun Art Space on Fr

Arts & Design Dec. 23, 2018

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Thursday released its evaluations of government-supported art biennales that took place this year. Among the eight art biennales reviewed by the ministry, none received top marks on a scale from 1 to 5. Three biennales got a grade of 2, and the rest were rated 3 or 4.  (Yonhap)This was the first year in which no biennale received a 1 since the ministry launched its annual evaluations in 2004.Of the three biennales that received 2s, the Busan Biennal

Arts & Design Dec. 21, 2018

Korean artist Jun So-jung has been selected as the winner of the 18th Hermes Foundation Missulsang, the foundation announced Wednesday.Jun made her name with narrative-focused works of art using various mediums, including photography, installations and video. Her works often include real-life stories of individuals she comes across, framing them in relation to other existing texts and stage works. Artist Jun So-jung (Atelier Hermes)Jun won the Noon Award at the Gwangju Biennale in 2016 the grand

Arts & Design Dec. 19, 2018

The Eighth United States Army and Seoul Cyber University on Sunday held their 11th year-end joint concert at Seoul Arts Center.The annual joint concert was first organized in 2008 to share the holiday spirit with deployed soldiers and their families here, as well as to strengthen ties between the two countries. Since its inception, the year-end concert has celebrated classic Christmas repertoires and Korea’s traditional dance and music. Eighth Army Commanding General Lt. Gen. Michael A. Bills (l

Performance Dec. 18, 2018

Photographer Koo Bohn-chang is holding a solo exhibition featuring his photographs of traditional Korean porcelains at the newly opened Kukje Gallery’s Busan branch located in a factory-turned-cultural center, F1936.“HA 05-1” by photographer Koo Bohn-chang (Courtesy of the artist)The photographer’s journey tracing the nation’s traditional porcelains spans some three decades. “One day, I came across with this picture of a Korean moon jar and a foreigner sitting right next to it. I wondered how su

Arts & Design Dec. 17, 2018

(This article was originally published in The Korea Herald's paper on Oct. 23)A large-scale photo exhibition with the ambitious goal of recording our time on this Earth opened at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art’s Gwacheon branch Thursday, featuring 300 works by 135 artists from 43 countries. “Civilization: The Way We Live Now,” co-produced by the MMCA and the Foundation for the Exhibition of Photography, offers a broad view of contemporary civilization, just a few decades old,

Arts & Design Dec. 16, 2018

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art’s Yun Hyong-keun exhibition will travel to the Fortuny Museum in Venice to coincide with the 2019 Venice Biennale, the MMCA announced Friday. The MMCA added that the signing of the contract with the Fortuny Museum took place Tuesday. Yun’s retrospective is set to kick off May 11 next year at the gothic style building in central Venice, but the opening day of the exhibition could change according to the biennale’s schedule. An installation view o

Arts & Design Dec. 14, 2018

A 1994 documentary shows Han Mook starting his morning with a baguette on a small sofa in his small, shabby Paris apartment. Soon he gets dressed, walks out of the room and goes down a spiral stiarcase to his atelier where the late artist spent most of his time.  Han Mook’s 1989 work “Symphony of the Southern Cross” (SeMA)“Han Mook For Another Poetry-Order,” a retrospective of the artist at the Seoul Museum of Art, comprises some 130 pieces, including his major works, drawings and calligraphy. T

Arts & Design Dec. 13, 2018