korea [2013 vol.9 no.10]

7/27/2019 KOREA [2013 VOL.9 No.10]

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/korea-2013-vol9-no10 1/29

OCT2013

Artist

Kim Tschangyeul

Yeongju, Land o the Seonbi

Cultivating

a Happier Korea

through Culture

7/27/2019 KOREA [2013 VOL.9 No.10]


Publisher Woo Jin-yung, Korean Culture and Information Serv

Executive Producer Suh Jeong-sun

E-mail [email protected]

Magazine Production Seoul Selection

Editor-in-ChiefRobert Koehler

Producer Shin Yesol

Production Supervisor Lee Jin-hyuk

Editorial Advisors Jang Woojung, Im Hyeong Doo

Copy Editors Daisy Larios, Hwang Chi-young

Creative Director Jung Hyun-young

Head Designer Ko Min-jeong

PhotographyRyu Seunghoo, Robert Koehler, RAUM Studio

Printing LEEFFECT

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproducany form without permission from KOREA and the Korean Cultu

Information Service.

If you want to receive a free copy of KOREA or wish to cancel a

please e-mail us. A downloadable PDF file of KOREA and a map

with common Korean words appearing in our text are available

the thumbnail of KOREA on the homepage of www.korea.net.

발간등록번호 11-1110073-000016-06

04

20

CONTENTS OCTOBER 2013 VOL.9 NO.10

14 PEN & BRUSH

Painter Kim Tschang-yeul

18 PEOPLE

Book designer Hong Dongwon

20 TRAVEL

Yeongju

24 SPORTS

Korean fencers point to success

26 ENTERTAINMENT

Snowpiercer takes on a global audience

28 SPECIAL ISSUE

Seoul Conference on Cyberspace 2013

30 CURRENT KOREA

DIY tribe grows

32 SUMMIT DIPLOMACY

President Park addresses G20,

Korea and Vietnam boost ties

36 POLICY REVIEW

Kaesong Industrial Complex reopens

38 CREATIVE TECHNOLOGY

Korea’s “Electric Road”

40 GLOBAL KOREA

Korea helping war veterans worldwide

42 GREAT KOREAN

Ju Si-gyeong

44 MY KOREA

The joys of photography in Korea

46 MULTICULTURAL KOREA

Professor Alok Roy

48 TALES FROM KOREA

Simcheong

50 FLAVOR

Yeonnipbap

Cultural Enrichment initiative aims to ensure that

everyone can enjoy arts and culture

C O V E R S T O R Y04

CULTURE FOR ALL

26

14

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V E R S T O R Y

Written by Robert Koehler

Cultural Enrichment initiative aims to ensure that everyonecan enjoy arts and culture

“Heaving Sea of Light at Gw

a media art display

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fve humanities-related books, including two Korean classics. She reiterated this

theme during a meeting with well-known cultural fgures at Cheong Wa Dae

on Aug 7. Stressing the importance o humanities as the oundation or cultural

enlightenment and the creative economy, she said the humanities “ocus on

considerations o people and deal with insights on lie and human beings.” At

a meeting with senior journalists at Cheong Wa Dae on Jul 10, she warned that

“any technology, invention, or system can become monstrous i it is not based on

reection on people and lie.”

o realize this vision, the Ministry o Culture, Sports and ourism (MCS) has

launched its Humanities on the Road project, aimed at 67 museums nationwide. It

aims to establish a basis or the creative economy through cultural enrichment by

awakening in elementary and middle school students creativity and imagination

in the humanities. o do this, it will provide more opportunities or students to

experience the humanities by coupling smart devices with museum education.

Te ministry will also host a variety o humanities-related lectures and hands-

on events at 121 public libraries through the end o November. Tis program aims

to promote in local residents an appreciation or practical humanities and create

a new reading culture bringing together books, places, and people. Some 155,000

local residents, youth, and parents will participate in the program, as will about

400 lecturers.

Culture for Everyone

An important keynote to President Parks Cultural Enrichment initiative is that

everyone, regardless o age, class, sex, or domicile, should have access to culture.

Moving Art Stop is a colorul eort to put this idea into practice. Beginning in

“Tere are very ew ide

on the originality, singul

and creativity o the Kor

civilization . . . I say civil

because its stronger than

culture, and Korea is a

civilization”Guy Sorman, Culture20 meeting, Seoul, Se

V E R S T O R Y

Overseas press reports about the Korean wave

French public intellectual Guy Sorman

President Park Geun-hye attends a meeting of the

residential Committee on Cultural Enrichment

Speaking at the National Museum o Korea in

2011, world-renowned French intellectual Guy

Sorman said Korea had an outstanding culture

that embraced its original orm and developed without

rupturing that base.

Speaking again in 2012, he said that Hallyu (the Korean

wave) is a sophisticated blend o Korean individuality and

global universalism. It was along these lines that ellow

American scholar Jeremy Riin, speaking to the Dong-A

Ilbo in 2011, praised the ability o Koreans and Korean

culture to elicit sympathy, owing to Koreas central position

between China and Japan and Koreans historic preerence

or cooperation rather than conict with its neighbors.

French scholar Dominique Wolton said in a 2012 interview

with the JoongAng Ilbo that the Korean wave, a product o

modern Korean culture, was introducing to the world a

new set o cultural values dierent rom those o the United

States and Europe and was being welcomed by Asia and the

Islamic world. He said Korea was a place where one could

conceive o and develop cultural coexistence.

Te Korean government is striving to develop this

culture, so recognized or its potential by the scholars o

the world; President Park Geun-hye, building on the eorts

o her predecessors, has made “cultural enrichment” one

o the our leading indicators o her administration. Said

Culture Minister Yoo Jinryong, “Cultural enrichment

aims to raise the level o happiness o individual citizens

as the value o culture spreads through the entire society.”

President Park has publicly expressed her intention to

make it so that all citizens—not just a minority —may enjoy

culture. In particular, she aims to create a diversity o

cultural programs so that youths can express their passion

while developing their creativity and sensitivity and amilies

can spend their ree time together.

Humanities the Basis for CulturalEnrichment

Attending the opening ceremony o the 19th Seoul

International Book Fair on Jun 19, President Park stressed

the importance o the humanities, saying, “I have always

relied on wisdom rom the teachings o the sages ound

in these classics.” o emphasize that point, she purchased

1

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August, the initiative aims to bring arts and culture to Koreas

ural communities by loading up buses with art instructors

nd materials, hence turning them into mobile art studios and

heaters. Te project benchmarks two overseas projects, the

Arts Bus Project o the United States and the Arts Bus o Hong

Kong, both o which have proven successul at bringing the arts

o rural districts and urban youth, respectively. Koreas Moving

Art Stop is particularly aimed at allowing the children and

lderly residents o rural districts to eel the excitement o arts

nd culture and rediscover their own talents through hands-on

xperiences with a variety o artistic genres.

Moving Art Stop is part o a larger Ministry o Culture,

ports and ourism eort to bring the arts and culture to wider

nd hitherto neglected regions and groups.

As part o the Exciting Arts rip initiative, about 200 leading

rts troupes in a wide range o genres will visit so-called “arts

nd culture blind areas” such as social welare acilities and

military bases to hold perormances and exhibitions. Te

overnment is also sending national arts troupes to some 70

egional cultural halls to perorm works like Swan Lake and

Chunhyangjeon or the enjoyment o provincial residents who

arely have the opportunity to experience perormances by

eading national troupes.

Some o Koreas national museums are also reaching out.

Te National Museum o Modern and Contemporary Art,

Korea has launched a “mobile museum” program to provide

arts education or elementary school students in rural districts.

Other metropolitan and provincial art museums like the Seoul

Museum o Art have ollowed suit with mobile museums o

their own.

Arts Council Korea is also contributing to the eort with

a “talent sharing bus” that will provide local youths in ar-o

rural districts and along the DMZ opportunities to experience

art. Participating in the program are media artist Kim Yong-

hyeon and installation artist Lee Ho-jin.

Not to be le out, the National Museum o Korea also plans

to conduct about ten mobile museum programs this year.

Breathing Life into Regional andTraditional Culture

Another key initiative in the eort to realize cultural

enrichment is the preservation o Koreas cultural heritage. Tis

includes eorts to both preserve and promote Koreas regional

cultures and activate Koreas traditional culture.

Nationwide, closed schools and small cultural halls are,

with government support, being reborn as art spaces and

other cultural acilities. Due to both government policy and

demographic developments, many old, unused schools dot

the Korean countryside. Many o these empty schools are now

becoming galleries, caés, and guesthouses. Pohangs Ginam

V E R S T O R Y

1. Culture Minister Yoo Jinryong

gives the keynote address at

the 2013 Cultural Enrichment

Conference

2. Seoul Metropolitan Library,one of Seoul’s biggest libraries1

20

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Mullae Art VillageSeoul)ocated in Seoul’s gritty

eongdeungpo-gu, Mullae-

ong was, not so long ago, filled

with many small metalworking

hops that congregated there in

he 1970s. In the 1990s, though, many of the shops closed, and

he neighborhood languished. Local artists, however, saw an

pportunity to revitalize the area. Empty workshops were turned

nto studios, and artists began a prodigious street art program to

eautify the gray, rusting alleys with colorful murals. Some of the

tudios also function as cafés, especially on the weekends.

A particularly good time to visit the village is during the

Mullae Arts Festival (August), when local artists celebrate the

eighborhood’s creativity with performances and exhibitions.

Heyri Art Village (Paju)Heyri Art Village is a

collection of workshops,

studios, galleries,

bookshops, and cafés

gathered together as a

community just south of

the DMZ in the town of

aju. It is a grand experiment in ecologically friendly architecture,

esign, and urban planning. Many top architects from Korea

nd abroad participated in its creation; accordingly, many of its

uildings—none of which are more than three stories high, per

illage regulations—are just as much works of art as the art they

ontain.

About 370 painters, sculptors, graphic artists, filmmakers, andotters live and/or work in Heyri. Because of its beauty, charm,

nd proximity to Seoul, it is a popular weekend destination for

eoulites. The nearby Paju Book City, a collection of publishing

ouses that functions as an outdoor exhibit of cutting-

dge architecture, is designed to harmonize with its wetland

nvironment.

Ugak-ro Culture Village (Incheon)t one time, Incheon’s Ugak-ro area was a poor, high-crime

district with lots of empty houses and little in the way of economic

activity. In 2012, however, a concerted effort was made to turn the

district into an artist community. Creatives took over many of the

old homes and renovated them into studios. To punctuate that

point, many of the old houses have been painted in lovely hues

and the once-dark alleys are brightened with colorful murals.

Wolseon-ri Artists Village (Muan)Nestled in a corner of rural Muan in Jeollanam-do, Wolseon-

ri Artists Village is a collection of Korean traditional homes —

many of them old thatch-roofed huts—that in some ways is

indistinguishable from the other villages that dot this idyllic

corner of the country. In this village, however, live about 20

potters, calligraphers, writers, natural dye artisans, and other

practitioners of the Korean traditional arts. Living in harmony

with the village’s farmers, the artists have turned the village into

a place where agriculture and the arts mix. Many of the artists

also host hands-on programs and lessons for those interested in

learning the traditional arts.

Bakdal Artists Village (Daegu)With a history that goes back to 2004, Bakdal Artists Village is

an old village school that has been renovated into a multi-genre

creative space. With its variety of installation art, even the old

school field is utilized as an artist’s space. With demographic

changes forcing more and more schools into closure, Bakdal

Artists Village demonstrates one way in which existing facilities

may be dedicated as cultural spaces.

Jeju Jeoji Art Village (Jejudo)Located on Korea’s southern island paradise of Jejudo, Jeoji Art

Village is home to 48 artists. Like Heyri Art Village, many of thehomes are architectural

gems, some making

use of Jejudo’s unique

volcanic rock. The

heart of the village is

the Jeju Museum of

Contemporary Art, one

of the island’s finest

exhibit spaces.

Korea’s artist villagesfter World War II, Berlin rose from the ashes to be reborn as a world-renowned city of culture through the efforts of artists who

athered in the city from all over the world. Such artist villages exist in Korea, too.

Elementary School, long since closed, will be transormed

into a museum as part o the Ministry o Culture, Sports

and ourisms urning Our Living Space Into Art: 2013

Village Art Project. In the rural town o Jecheon, Yanghwa

Elementary School—closed in 1995—is now a geography

museum, home to a collection o 12,000 pieces such as

Joseon Dynasty maps, Japanese occupational era surveying

equipment, and collections o international treatises. On

the island o Jejudo, Gasi Elementary School is now an

exhibit hall with photos recording the islands splendid

natural environment, local liestyles and culture, and island

history.

Eorts are being made to promote traditional culture

as well. ogether with the Ministry o Culture, Sports and

ourism, the Federation o Korean raditional Perorming

Arts Associations is conducting a program to promote

pungmul in rural villages. Pungmul is the traditional

dance and music perormed in Koreas rural regions. B y

dispatching proessional instructors to provincial districts

and supplying musical instruments to areas in need, the

program hopes to activate music and dance at the village

level by reviving Koreas dulle culture, or culture o rural

cooperation.

Supporting Artists Themselves

A recent government survey o the culture and arts

industry revealed that only 30.5% o artists were registered

with employment insurance, and only 27% with industrial

accident insurance. Moreover, two out o three artists made

on average less than KRW 1 million a month rom their

creative activities.

o rectiy this situation, the government has craed a

plan to weave a “tightly woven creative saety net” so that

artists may realize the Park administrations vision o an

era o cultural enrichment. Te saety net would include

the construction o a welare base or artists, including

insurance support and the creation o a und to provide

2

Moving Art Stop, a bus that brings the

arts to previously neglected rural districts

© Korea Arts & Culture Education Service

MullaeArt Village

HeyriArt Village

Ugak-roCulture Village

Wolseon-riArtists Village

BakdalArtists Village

Jeju JeojiArt Village

7/27/2019 KOREA [2013 VOL.9 No.10]


V E R S T O R Y

oans and promote mutual aid projects. Te net would also provide job support to artists so that they can

urvive while they are at work. It also gives artists discounted admission to cultural venues like perorming

rts halls and museums. Finally, it aims to oster a air trade environment or artistic transactions by

mproving unair practices, strengthening intellectual property rights, and developing and distributing

tandard contracts. It would also provide legal support or artists to go aer companies and individuals who

ail to deliver on contracts and would place other legal sanctions on noncompliant entities.

stanbul-Gyeongju World Culture Expo 2013

Te Istanbul-Gyeongju World Culture Expo 2013, held in the urkish metropolis o Istanbul rom Aug

1 to Sep 22, is symbolic o Koreas push or cultural enrichment. Linking the two ends o the historic Silk

Road, the estival introduced both the beauty o Korean classical civilization and the energy o Koreas

modern culture to one o the Wests most historic cities.

Te expo showcased nearly 50 cultural programs rom 40 countries. Te opening ceremony, which saw

articipation rom Korean Prime Minister Chung Hong-won and urkish Prime Minister Recep ayyip

rdogan, eatured a musical perormance by 60 members o a Korea-urkey collaboration team in an

pen-air stage beore Istanbuls landmark Hagia Sophia. Istanbul Mayor Kadir opbas, who attended the

eremony, remarked, “Te unique cultural and historical values o our two countries will fnd a way to

make themselves known to wider regions across the world.”

variety of cultural

ctivities taking place

Mullae Art Village

Mullae Art Space

Awakening the People tothe Importance of CulturePresidential Committee on Cultural Enrichment Chairman Kim Dong-ho

Interview by Robert Koehler

As chairman o the Presidential Committee on Cultural

Enrichment, Kim Dong-ho is one o the key fgures in the

governments drive to promote cultural enrichment. Dean

o the Graduate School o Cinematic Content at Dankook

University and ounder o the now renowned Busan

International Film Festival, Kim brings to the position a wealth

o policymaking and on-the-ground experience. Hes also an

impressively well-traveled man, traveling ceaselessly around the

world as a flmmaker/flm estival administrator and around

Korea to listen to the opinions o the countrys cultural movers

and shakers.

At the chairmans oce on the grounds o Gyeongbokgung

Palace in Seoul, Kim explains that “cultural enrichment” is

about making individuals both the producers and consumers

o culture. “By awakening individuals to the value o culture

and spreading the value o culture, people come to have culture

and the arts in their daily lives. Individuals become both the

main agent and enjoyer o culture,” he says. “Trough this, we

raise the quality o lie.”

Kim says the most important thing is to spread an

appreciation or the value o culture “so that everyone

create culture and enjoy culture.” He adds, “o do thi

education, rom childhood to adulthood—both educ

about culture and education to develop talents.” He ex

our core policies at the heart o cultural enrichment: the public and the government by listening to public

and resolving issues; ostering artistic talents; building

cultural industry by wedding culture to newly emergi

inormation technologies; and preparing Korea cultu

eventual reunifcation with the North.

Naturally enough, as a man with decades o experie

the flm industry, he sees the role o moving images a

“I think the 21st century is the era o video,” he says. “

in Korea and around the world live their lives with vid

media rom the time they wake to the time they go to

Accordingly, flm and other video media can become

or cultural enrichment, or boosting the quality o lie

What are cultural fgures around Korea saying? “T

asking the government to take an interest in regional

and to provide much support,” he says. “Teyre askin

government to set aside a bigger share o the budget

the provinces.” In particular, he notes they are asking

government to “provide policy support to boost cultu

manpower in provincial regions.”

Kim believes the public at large needs to better und

and appreciate the meaning o culture in their daily liv

is a top 12 economy, and the people should eel that le

happiness and satisaction in their daily lives, but in a

dont,” he says, citing Koreas low happiness indexes an

suicide rates compared to other OECD nations. “o s

Koreas spiritual situation, we must awaken the people

importance o culture and improve the lives o artists.”

4

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6

KIM TSCHANG-YEULWater drop artist looks back on his eventul lie

Written by Kim Hyung-eun

he lie o 84-year-old artist Kim schang-yeul

is practically a summary o Koreas tumultuous

modern history.

He was born at a time when the country had lost its

overeignty, he experienced a war, lost his hometown, and

wandered around New York and Paris in hopes o making a

ame or himsel and fnding the meaning o lie.

Korean artist Kim schang-yeul did manage to do just that—

hrough something as simple as water drops.

Te Paris-based artist spent the majority o his 50-year

ainting career experimenting with water drops, and came to

e known as a water drop artist.

Now Gallery Hyundai in Sagan-dong, Seoul, is holding a

etrospective on Kim to celebrate the 50th year o his career. It

eatures about 40 o Kims water drop paintings, ranging rom

those made in the 1970s to his latest works. Many o them have

never been shown to the public.

“Its the glorious world o nothingness,” the artist told KOREA

Magazine when asked to defne water drops. “What does a

water drop mean? Its colorless. Its odorless. It has no meaning.

Its just clear water drops.”

He did say he once attempted to fnd something more in

water drops. “Artists tend to be delusional. So I, too, at one

point in my career, thought that perhaps I could get in touch

with my soul by drawing water drops.”

Wartime and Art

Kim was born in a small village deep in the mountains o

Maengsan, Pyeongannam-doin what is today North Korea

in 1929, back when Korea was under Japanese rule (1910–

1945). But tough times did little to shadow his natural talent.

He enrolled in the College o Fine Arts o Seoul National

University, one o the most prestigious schools in Korea, in

1948. But not long aerwards, the Korean War (1950–1953)

broke out. Aer the war ended, he ound out that o his 120

middle school classmates, 60 had died.

Still, he continued his work. In the late 1950s, Kim was one

o the leaders o the radical Art Inormel Movement and also

one o the ounders o the Contemporary Artists Association.

In 1964, he le or New York. His paintings then were rather

heavy and dark, with strong colors and thick lines. Critics

thought they contained the pain, scars, and even ange

the war that he had experienced with all his body and

young man.

While studying at the Art Students League in New Y

the late 1960s, he encountered pop art and minimalis

art critics say is what led to his later interest in orms a

planes.

Encounter with Water Drops

As is the case with most great discoveries, the beginni

love aair with water drops was humble and serendip

It was when he moved to Paris in 1969 that he met t

N & B R U S H

Bell (2003), acrylic and oil on canva

7/27/2019 KOREA [2013 VOL.9 No.10]


8

N & B R U S H

He has made about 500 paintings over the past 50 years. I

he could go back to the ‘70s, would he still choose water drops

as the moti that dominates his entire career? Te tacit man

just gave a terse response: “I am the kind o man who does not

know how to plan the uture.”

Legacy on Jejudo

O the 500 paintings the artist has made, he has donated 200 o

them to Jejudo, the scenic island o o Koreas southwest coast;

Kim signed an agreement with Jeju Special Sel-Governing

Province in May to set up a new museum devoted to Kims

works and lie.

In addition to the paintings, he also donated personal

documents, photographs, tools, and more. All together, the

collection is estimated to be worth KRW 15 billion (USD 13

million) to KRW 20 billion.

Although the artist was born in what is now North Korean

territory, he ed the Communists during the Korean W

lived on Jejudo or a year in 1952. “Since Im rom Pye

do, I have no hometown, nowhere to bury my soul,” h

“But I eel like I have a new hometown. Im happy.”

Te donation also led him to change his will. In the

he wrote several years ago when his health was deteri

he said he would leave his artwork to his children. Bu

the plans or the museum, part o the will has been ch

gave the whole o my work, the whole o my lie [to Je

Te artist says that he certainly eels weaker. “My hatremble these days, so I fx my right arm with my le

painting.”

Asked about what he thinks o younger Korean arti

and their inuence in the international arena, he said

are “a generation ree rom a eeling o ineriority, a b

generation.”

2

his lie, water drops, which changed his works or good.

I still cannot orget the grand sight, the moment o such

urprise,” he reminisced.

In 1972, the poor young artist was staying in a stable near

aris. Tere was no bathroom, and he washed himsel with

water in a container. One morning, as he was pouring water

nto the container, water splashed onto canvas that he had le

earby.

“Big and small water drops splashed onto the canvas, and

he morning sunshine beamed onto it. It became a splendidwork o art in its own right.” Tat same year, he introduced his

water drop painting or the frst time at Salon de Mai in Paris, a

enowned art exhibition in Paris at the time.

Hes been working with water drops ever since.

Varied and Evolved

Asked i he ever tired o water drops, he said he has worked

hard not to. Its true that he has worked with a variety o

materials—hemp cloth, newspaper, wooden plate.

In the 1980s, he drew water drops on the rough surace o

a burlap bag instead o blank canvas. Later he added Chinese

calligraphy, color dots, and color planes, which gave his works

an Oriental eel.

In the 1990s, Kim introduced a series o works where clear

water drops spread across the backdrop o clear, print letters

rom the Tousand Character Classic (Cheonjamun in Korean),

which is a Chinese poem used as a primer or teaching Chinesecharacters to children. Tat series is something he is still

working on, actually.

Kim says that he learned the poem rom his grandather at

a very young age. “I still remember the days in which I would

practice calligraphy on newspaper,” he said. “I eel nostalgic or

those days. Chinese characters are memories and also a tool

with meaning, depth, and ormative values.”

1. Water

acrylic and

300 x 1

2. Deconst

acrylic and

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0

Hong Dongwon is a book designer—more

specifcally, hes a typographer who occasionally

designs books out o a passion or them. Despite

is 30-year resume, he still encounters people who dont

now exactly what either a typographer or a book designer

oes. A typographer is in charge o designing onts and

etters; they are the people responsible or whether your

yes are comortable or in pain when you read something.

A book designer like Hong is in charge o how a book looks,

what kind o binding it has, how big it is, what kind o paper

s used, and, o course, what kind o ont you read.

Hongs designs can be seen every day in plain sight in many

hings that most people dont even realize contain contributions

a designer. For example: Seoul license plates, or the logo or

he Supreme Prosecutors Oce, Republic o Korea. Te books

e designs, however, are a much rarer commodity, and ar

more dicult or the average person to see.

Books for Book Lovers

o be honest, I cant exhibit my work in Korea. I have to go

broad. Te books I make just dont capture enough interest

ere.”

When asked the reason, he laughed and cited the Korean

demand or things to be made quickly and cheaply, especially

in publishing.

“Te kind o books that I make cant be made quickly or

cheaply!” He laughs again.

And the books that make up his recent work explain to

the viewer why. Te frst is a photograph album, a collection

o personal snapshots o Korean writers, poets, sculptors,

and artists titled, quite

fttingly, A Portrait of

the Artist . Te writer

and photographer, Yook

Myungshim, decided

that although we know

much o such artists

work, we oen dont

know what they look

like. So he put together

a collection o some o

Koreas most well-known

artists photographed

up close and personal.

Unlike most books, it needs to be opened rom both sides.

“I decided to make this book rather large,” says Hong,

“because its a collection o photos designed to make the viewer

ocus on each individual and his/her ambience, and I elt that

only a hey book could do that—a book that cant be handled

carelessly or quickly. You cant just ip through the pages o abook like this.”

He fnds the desired page, lays the book at, and points to an

intense picture o a man smoking a cigarette; the smoke seems

to touch the viewers ace.

“Tats Pak Mok-wol. We all know his poetry, but nobody

knows what he looks like, and considering his inuence on our

literature, I think thats a bit strange.”

He ips open another book sitting next to the smoking poet.

Tis one is signifcantly smaller. As soon as its opened, its

easy to see that it is a book on architecture—more specifcally,

houses with yards. Whats interesting about this one is that the

entire middle o the book is le empty, dividing the le side

o the house rom the right, sort o like a pathway. Te book

itsel gives the reader an impression o being more like a model

house, or a live blueprint, rather than an actual book.

Tis book deals with space. itled All-Purpose Arena, it

ocuses on yards, which are oen described as a sort o

space with no particular use. Tis architect, however,

highlight yards not as empty spaces but as flled with

and infnite relevance.

“Tis architect believes in meshing with your surroun

no matter how much money or land you have. You do just ignore your environment. You harmonize with y

background.”

Hong explains that unlike most book designers, wh

independently rom the author, he works alongside th

making every book a partnership project.

He then takes out a copy o Te Celebrity magazine

a picture o Jang Dong-gun on the cover. But what Ho

advises the writer to pay attention to is the lettering, a

importantly, the ont: new, creative, but not excessive.

“Tese three pieces were all designed in completely

ways. You see, its not about what your style or signatu

about fnding the right design or the occasion.”

He takes a moment. “Now that Hangeul typography

expensive than Roman characters, and that Hallyu is

maybe Korean designers, including me, can fnally fn

right designs or every occasion.”

THERIGHT FITypographer and book designer

Hong Dongwon selects the right design orthe right occasion

Written by Felix Im

E O P L E

All-

A Portrait of

the Artist The Celebrity magazine

7/27/2019 KOREA [2013 VOL.9 No.10]


Yeongju Seonbi Village © Ye

R A V E L


Where the spirit o the seonbi lives on

Yeongju

hey call Yeongju the “home o the seonbi,” reerring to the virt

scholars o the Joseon Dynasty who passed up positions o we

and power to lead lives o study and integrity. Amidst the entrtapestry o misty mountains and deep valleys, the spirit o the seonbi li

in the bucolic villages and time-honored shrines that dot the landscape

centuries, the region has given sanctuary to philosophers and poets, Bu

masters and artists, all those who look to reconnect with nature and to

themselves.

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7/27/2019 KOREA [2013 VOL.9 No.10]


4

What to Eat

One of Yeongju’s signature

dishes ismukbap—rice

and side dishes served

with a soup made of acorn

jelly. A good place to score

this dish is Sunheung

Jeontong Mukjip (T. 054-

634-4614), near Sosu

Seowon and Yeongju

Seonbichon Village. Another specialty of Yeongju is

grown largely in the Punggi district. Punggi’s Yakseo

Sikdang (T. 054-638-2728) serves a variety of meals

locally produced ginseng and medicinal herbs. You’

find plenty of good restaurants in front of Buseoksa

and in Yeongju Seonbichon Village.

Places to Stay

While downtown Yeongju has its share of hotels andthe best option is to stay in one of the town’s histori

Hanok homes. Several of Yeongju Seonbichon Villag

homes can be booked for a night—call (T. 054-683-6

to make reservations. In the countryside east of dow

Yeongju you’ll find two historic homes that double a

and breakfasts. Built in 1779, the Goeheon Old Hous

(T. 054-636-1755) has been in the same family for e

generations. Rooms here begin at KRW 60,000. The

Old House (T. 054-637-1537) is another historic hom

a handsome pond and pavilion built in the 19th cent

Rooms here begin at KRW 100,000.

Getting There

Trains to Yeongju depart from Seoul’s Cheongnyang

Station (travel time: 2 hours, 45 minutes). Alternativ

can take a bus from Gangnam Express Bus Terminal

time: 2 hours, 40 minutes).

MOR

hours, 40 minutes).

Jejudo

Ancient Center of Learning

n a pleasantly shaded orest next to a stream is Sosu Seowon,

ounded by Joseon Dynasty scholar and ocial Ju Se-bung in

543 as Koreas frst private Conucian academy. It was also

he frst such academy to be granted a royal charter. A great

many o Koreas illustrious scholars studied at the school,

whose importance was so recognized that it was one o only a

andul o Conucian academies to survive the prince-regent

Heungseon Daewonguns 1866 edict closing down private

Conucian academies.

Te academy is a lovely cluster o halls and courtyards in

armony with the natural surroundings. Among its treasures is

14th-century portrait o the Conucian scholar An Hyang.

Where the Seonbi Spirit Lives On

Not ar rom Sosu Seowon is Yeongju Seonbichon Village,

which oers visitors an opportunity to experience the lie o

Joseon Dynasty seonbi.Many o the tile-rooed and thatch-

ooed homes here date rom the late 19th century to the early

0th century and are worth seeing in and o themselves. Te

illage oers a variety o educational and hands-on programs

n Koreas traditional culture and arts, making it a popular

estination or Korean amilies.

Island in a Stream

Andongs Hahoe Village is Koreas best-known oxbow village,

but Museom Village is in some ways even more charming

thanks to its relative obscurity. Founded in 1666 by the

Bannam Park clan (later joined by the Seonseong Kim clan),

the picturesque village—whose name translates to “island

in a stream”—sits on a loop in Naeseongcheon Stream and

is ronted by a great sandy beach. It is home to about 40

traditional homes, 16 o which are over 100 years old. One o

the homes, the Manjukjae Old House, dates back to the original

ounding o the village in the 17th century.

So isolated was the village that or three and a hal centuries,

the only way in was a single log bridge over the stream. Te old

bridge was replaced by a modern road bridge in 1979, but the

original was rebuilt in 2005—this is by ar the most charming

way to reach the village.

Little White Mountain

Yeongjus most signifcant topographical eature is Mt.

Sobaeksan, the centerpiece o Sobaeksan National Park.

Despite its name, which means “Little White Mountain,” it is

high (1,439.5 m) and broad (at 322 square kilometers, it is the

third largest mountain park in South Korea). Te mountain

marks the start o a major east-west spur in Koreas mountain spine, the

aebaeksan Range. Unlike some o Koreas more jagged, rocky peaks,

Mt. Sobaeksans slopes are gentle and rounded—youll even fnd grassy

meadows at higher elevations. While beautiul any time o year, Mt.

Sobaeksan is most splendid in spring, when its felds o royal azaleas are

in ull bloom, and winter, when the snow and wind combine to orm

spectacular snow sculptures on the mountains trees.

The Jewel of Korean Architecture

I you visit only one Buddhist temple in Korea, you should strongly

consider making it Buseoksa.

Founded in 676 by the great Silla monk Uisang, Buseoksa emple

represents the epitome o Korean architecture and landscaping. o

reach the temple, visitors must climb a series o 108 steps—shedding

spiritual deflements along the way—beore reaching, through a series

o gates, the main courtyard, a representation o Nirvana. Constructed

in 1376, the temples main hall, Muryangsujeon, is not only one o

Koreas oldest wooden buildings but also one o its most beautiul. It

radiates an eortless grace with its simple adornment. In the courtyard

stands a single, fnely craed stone lantern rom the Unifed Silla

period. Te view rom the courtyard over the mountain landscape is

exalting, especially at sunset.

Buseoksa Temple, one of Korea's most beautiful Buddhist monasteries © Yeongju City Hall

Graceful ridgelines of Mt. Sobaeksan © KTO

1

Yeongju

R A V E L

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Seoul

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6

P O R T S

It was at the London Olympics that Korea experienced

its brightest moment in the sport o encing as well as its

most excruciating setback.

Kim Ji-yeon, the 25-year-old Busan native equally popular

or her athletic brilliance and movie-star cuteness, gave the

ountry its frst encing Olympic gold in more than a decade

er deeating Russias Soya Velikaya in the womens individual

abre fnals.

But Kim ripping o her mask and erupting in joy was

robably not the most striking Olympic memory involving a

Korean encer. At least, it will have to compete with a shaken

and dejected Shin A-lam sitting at the edge o the platorm

and crying or about an hour in ront o a crowd o 8,000 aer

going through one o the biggest sporting controversies o the

London Games.

Shin had thought she was advancing to the gold medal match

in the womens épée semifnals. But then the ocials reset the

clock rom zero back to one second, which was just enough

time or Germanys Britta Heidemann to execute a winning

strike against her.

As the Korean team appealed the decision, an attempt

that later proved utile, Shin was orced to wait on the

encing strip as required by competition rules, becoming

“the loneliest athlete in the Olympics,” in the words o ESPN

columnist Jim Caple.

More than a year removed rom all the drama, Korean

encers now recall the recent Olympics as a building block

o an experience. Athletes like Kim show that the country

is producing world-beaters, and Shin showed that the

expectations are just too high or any Korean to be competing

with a just-happy-to-be-here attitude.

A Potent Force

Despite Shins ailure to reach the podium, Korea still hauled

in two golds (the other one coming in the mens team sabre),a silver, and three bronze medals in London to mark its

best-ever Olympic appearance. And in the international

competitions since then, Korea has continued to increasingly

present itsel as a orce in the sport, i not yet a serious

contender to the powerhouse trio o Italy, France, and Russia.

Kim has been setting the tone with a solid 2013 and now

seems to be frmly in the conversation on the sports top-

echelon talents. She took the bronze at the World Fencing

Championships in Budapest in August aer being dealt a

narrow, 15-14 loss to Ukraines Olha Kharlan, the eventual

gold medalist, in the semifnals.

Kims third-place fnish at the worlds ollowed her

dominant perormance in Junes Asian championships—

where she took the individual and team golds in wo

sabre—and her gold at the Chicago Sabre World Cu

Kims triumph in Chicago came just weeks beore

took the gold in the womens épée at a World Cup ev

Rio de Janeiro, deeating none other than Heideman

fnal in what she said was poetic justice.

Te depth o Koreas talent pool was on display at

Fencing Championships in Shanghai in June, where

country led all nations with eight gold medals and a

silvers and six bronze medals. Korea took our gold

in the team competitions alone, with its men and w

sweeping the oil and sabre brackets.

Te Koreans also took fve o the six golds that we

contention at the Korea-USA Elite Fencing Invitatio

on Jejudo in August, indicating a pipeline abundant

young talent.

“Te London Olympics defnitely were a confden

booster, even more so because it proved that our wa

preparing, training, and honing skills was right,” Kim

Korean reporters aer the Budapest event.

“Among the encing competitions, sabre is probab

dependent on speed and quickness, qualities you m

quickly with age. But I want to compete until my 30

deend my Olympic title.”

Kims next goal is to win a gold at the 2014 Asian G

Incheon. She aced the national trials in Namwon, Jeo

do, in September, deeating Lee Ra-jin 15-8 in the ind

sabre fnals.

1. Foil fencer Nam Hyun-hee at the London Olympics 2. Sabre fencer Kim Ji-yeon wins gold at Lon

3. Korean men’s fencing team takes bronze at the 2013 Fencing World Championships in Buda

KOREAN FENCERSPOINT TO SUCCESS

Written by Kim Tong-hyung

No longer just happy to be there, Korean encers are now among the world’s best

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7/27/2019 KOREA [2013 VOL.9 No.10]


ERTAINMENT

8

Asleek, uturistic train, speeding endlessly through

the desolate, rozen landscape. Te only lie le

on Earth is inside the train, but rather than being

hankul or surviving the new ice age or thinking about how

o revive the human race, the survivors are locked in a deadly

truggle or control.

Tats the story behind Snowpiercer , one o the biggest

movies ever made by a Korean director. But i it seems a bit

aroque, you must not know director Bong Joon-ho. Over his

0-year career, Bong has made hits rom combining humor and

he macabre, whether it was police hunting or a serial killer

Memories of Murder ), a amily going up against a rampaging

monster rom the Hangang River (Te Host ), or a son being

eended by his raging mom ( Mother ).

Growing Budgets

nowpiercer is by ar Bongs most ambitious flm yet. With

budget somewhere over USD 40 million, Snowpiercer was

ased on Le ransperceniege, a grim French graphic novel that

the director ound in a Seoul comic book shop nearly a decade

ago. Most o the movie is in English, eaturing such Western

actors as Chris Evans, ilda Swinton, and John Hurt. Te only

Korean actors in it are Song Kang-ho as a troubled security

engineer and Go Ah-sung, his even odder daughter.

It wasnt that long ago that a big movie in Korea—like a

bank-busting blockbuster—might cost around USD 5 million.

Shiri, the thriller that ushered in the blockbuster age, cost about

that much, and sold a then unheard-o 6 million tickets. Te

biggest Korean movie ever beore that never attracted hal as

many people.

Shiri, however, was back in 1999. Since then, everybody

knows that the Korean movie industry has gone rom strength

to strength, continually getting bigger and better. In 2001

Friend took the record to more than 8 million admissions.

Silmido and aegukgi both bested 11 million admissions in

2004. Bongs Te Host was quite expensive or a Korean flm

when it was made in 2006, costing about USD 11 million,

but it became the frst movie in Korea ever to top 13 million

‘SNOWPIERCER’ PLOWSINTO CINEMASDirector Bong Joon-ho challenges international audiences Written by Mark Russell

admissions—thats about USD 65 million, depending on whos

counting.

Going International in a Big Way

Even beore Te Host , Bongs reputation was on the rise. But

the monster movie took him to the next level, getting him

signed by one o the worlds biggest entertainment agencies,

CAA. Hollywood was taking him very seriously, even when

he said he wanted to spend more than USD 40 million on an

esoteric science-fction allegory.

It actually was not the frst attempt by Korean flmmakers to

go big—Shim Hyung-rae claimed to have spent around USD

70 million on his 2007 movie, the dragon epic D-War . Critics

panned D-War , but it was the most successul Korean flm ever

at the American box oce, making nearly USD 11 million, and

it also pulled in more than USD 50 million in Korea (not to

mention another USD 4 million in China).

Jang Dong-gun starred in the USD 42 million Te

Warrior’s Way , a mash-up o spaghetti westerns and Hong

Kong actioners, mostly shot in English and eaturing mostly

Hollywood actors like Georey Rush. Finally released in 2010,

it made just USD 11 million around the world, hal o that in

Korea.

Snowpiercer came out in Korea at the very end o July.

Despite a crowded box oce, it did quite well—just over 9.2

million admissions and taking in USD 61 million. Not quite

Host -big, but big. However, Snowpiercer s story has just begun.

Te amous Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein and Te

Weinstein Company bought the movies distribution r

last year or English-language territories, and they are

major release or the flm.

All told, rights to Snowpiercer have been bought or

the whole world, some 167 countries and territories,

the flm about USD 20 million beore it ever sold a tic

Recent preview screenings in France have been very w

received, and with big raves rom early reviews in mo

Western press, including Variety and Te Hollywood R

many think Snowpiercer is on the verge o taking Kore

standing in the world to a whole new level.

1

2 3

1, 2, 3. Snowpiercer features a cast of big-name Western actors like Chris Ev

Hurt, and Tilda Swinton along with Korean stars Song Kang-ho and Go Ah-s

4. Director Bong Joon-ho talks with Jean-Marc Rochette, the illustrator of Sn

source material, Le Transperceneige.

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7/27/2019 KOREA [2013 VOL.9 No.10]


1. Kim Sung-Han, former vice minister for foreign affairs and trade, addresses the Budapest Conference on Cyberspace, 2012

2. International Symposium on Cybercrime Response 2013, held in Seoul

Written by Max S Kim

eoul awaits the 2013 Seoul Conerence on Cyberspace

TAMING THE DIGITAL AGE

C I A L I S S U E

1

0

With the Internet occupying an increasingly

essential role in everyday lie, its no surprise

that virtual “cyberspace” has become a breeding

round or new, unconventional types o criminal activity.

or governments all over the world, cyberattacks are just

s legitimate a threat as any physical one, impossible not to

onsider as grave matters o national security. For ordinary

people, too, there is as much to lose. With the Internet now

a daily necessity (and even a basic human right) utilized and

even sometimes avored or its ease o use in an increasing

number o everyday tasks such as shopping, banking, and

communication, it's clear that cybersecurity is no longer

just a tech problem but also a political, social, and economic

one, exerting inuence on the lives o millions and growing

rapidly in importance.

Te Seoul Conerence on Cyberspace, scheduled to be

held at COEX rom Oct 17 to Oct 18, aims to address suchproblems on a global level and create a transnational public

orum in which representatives rom all around the world can

discuss pertinent topics, produce solutions and preventive

policies, and brainstorm strategies to promote and protect

economic growth, social benefts, and human rights in regards

to the Internet. Te Seoul conerence is the third o its kind,

its predecessor being the Budapest Conerence on Cyberspace

in 2012, which was preceded by the London Conerence on

Cyberspace, the frst global initiative to tackle problems in

cyberspace, launched by the UK government in 2011. “Te

Seoul Conerence on Cyberspace expects to have higher-

level agreements than previous conerences by dealing with

the matters discussed during the 2011 London Conerence

and 2012 Budapest Conerence and presenting directions or

uture discussions,” said Lee Dong-wook, a conerence ocial.

“Te Seoul Conerence will be signifcant in that we expect

it to produce a high-level chairmans summary like a ‘Seoul

Declaration and to shi the discussion rom a Eurocentric one

to a global one.”

Global Prosperity through an Open andSecure Cybespace

Presented under the theme, “Global Prosperity through an

Open and Secure Cybespace—Opportunities, Treats and

Cooperation,” the Seoul Conerence is expected to welcome

around 800 representatives, including ministerial-level

government ocials rom over 90 countries as well as delegates

rom regional and global organizations and the privat

For South Korea, it's a record-setting occasion, expect

the largest international event to take place on the pesince the inauguration o the new government.

With some additions to the program since Budapes

London, the Seoul Conerence will ocus primarily on

areas: economic growth and development, social and

benefts, cybersecurity, international security, cybercr

capacity building.

In tandem with the discussions on crime and securi

conerence will also direct much o its attention to mo

global eorts to close the digital divide between devel

and developing countries, ostering awareness and ex

in the latter by means o policy guidance and integrati

the Internet into local economies, the ultimate goal be

widespread distribution o the economic and social b

oered by the Internet.

In this endeavor, Korea has much to oer. Explaine

“Korea—a developed IC nation with world-class Int

inrastructure and where Internet use is rapidly sprea

through all sectors such as the economy, society and c

expanded the list o invitations to include not only Eu

also developing nations in Asia, Arica, and South and

America and led the addition o ‘strengthening capac

onto the agenda.” On Sep 5, the Korea Internet & Sec

Agency hosted panel discussions and ree debates on

strengthening involving 150 people rom 57 nations. T

this and other eorts, “Korea has created a place to di

reducing the digital divide between developed and de

nations,” said Lee.

7/27/2019 KOREA [2013 VOL.9 No.10]


making things on our own in order to enjoy a healthy liestyle

individually and with our amilies," said Kwon In-myeong, an

ocial with the upcoming DIY Show Korea (Nov 14–17). "Te

DIY market also came into being as it grew easier to share the

DIY culture and inormation through the Internet."

Te numbers dont lie. Korean online shopping sites Gmarket

and Naver both report spikes in auto repair tools and products,

including air compressors and tire pressure gauges to inate

and check car tires at home. Te same goes or automatic drills,

assembly tools, door handles, urniture accessories, paint, and

other home interior design products.

DIY ood accessories are growing popular, too. Te

Happycall Direct Gas Fired Oven—which unctions as an oven

even though it makes use o a gas range—became a hit product

this year, selling 180,000 units through V home shopping in

the frst hal o this year. Espresso machines and home wine-

making supplies are selling well, too.

Build-Your-Own Hanok

DIYers have long known how to build a Hanok, a Korean

traditional house, on the cheap. Te authors o the recent book

Healing Hanok Built for KRW 100 million demonstrate that by

doing it yoursel, you can cut the cost o building a Hanok by

two-thirds. For instance, most Hanok are built using imported

wood, driving up the cost. You can drastically reduce the cost

o construction simply by substituting the imported wood with

domestic timber, which is just as good as imported wood once

its been dried or a year or two.

DIY culture lets people not only express their inner

but also develop their skills. “Trough this culture we

directly purchase reasonably priced materials and ma

ood, sae housing, and personalized ashion without

on somebody else,” said Kwon. “It satisfes the purcha

needs o consumers who want to make the things the

and stimulates a spirit o challenge and creativity, as w

sense o accomplishment when we make and perect

our own and cultivate techniques, abilities, and talents

2

1. Craftmaking is taking on new life in the era of DIY.

2. Expectant mothers sew their own baby clothes from organic cloth.

3. Espresso machines are growing in popularity as more consumers opt to d

themselves.

4. Building your own Hanok is becoming an increasingly attractive option.

Not so long ago in Korea, it was

almost unheard o to design the

interior o your own home. Or fx

your car, or that matter. Tere were always

trained proessionals or that, and at any rate,

it was easier to simply buy new products

rather than fx broken ones.

Nowadays, however, more and more Koreans

are joining the so-called “DIY (do-it-yoursel)

tribe.” From painting their own walls to fxing

their cars or even building their own homes,

people are learning the joy and satisaction that

can be learned only through the application

o liberal amounts o elbow grease. Economic

actors are at work behind this growing trend

to be sure, but so are demographic trends and a

rising interest in quality-o-lie issues.

DIY Comes to Korea

Judging rom archaeological evidence, DIY has

been part o the human landscape since ancient

times. At one time, we made most o what was

in our homes, including the homes themselves.

Te Industrial Revolution changed all that.

Te urther commercialization o society over

the decades has similarly driven many to seek

alternative ways o living, including the DIY

movement. In the United States, theres even a

television station, the DIY Network, devoted to

DIY projects.

In Korea, DIY came into the public

consciousness in a ull-edged way ollowing

the 2008 global fnancial crisis. With economic

concerns on the rise, many Koreans began to

see DIY as a good way to save money. Tat it

also allowed or greater personal expression

didnt hurt, either. "DIY came to appear in all

parts o our lives because liestyles changed

as we grew more comortable and gained

more ree time with the introduction o the

fve-day workweek and because we could

express our own personality by designing and

DOING ITYOURSELFDIYers are taking joy in their work


RENT KOREA

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7/27/2019 KOREA [2013 VOL.9 No.10]


At the G20 Summit in Saint Petersburg, Russia,

President Park Geun-hye emphasized to the Group

o 20 the importance o co operation and a sense o

ommunity in seeking mutual growth.

“In a situation where global economies move in gear with

ach other . . . G20 members should step up cooperation under

sense o joint community,” Park said during the September 5

pening session under the theme “Te Growth o the Global

conomy.”

Discussing the prospect o a stimulus program exit strategy,

ark noted that advanced economies should take into

onsideration the diculties aced by emerging economies with “a

ense o joint community” and work together to minimize them.

Three Policy Directions

Park proposed three policy directions or G20 nations.

Firstly, she suggested strengthening the risk management

system in the international fnancial market, noting that

developed economies should take into account the negative

impact that changes in their monetary policies could have

on emerging economies as well as the global economy and

fnancial markets. She also said emerging economies should

work harder to improve their macroeconomic health in order

to ease external shocks.

Secondly, Park stressed the importance o fscal soundness

or achieving sustainable growth and market confdence. She

underlined that G20 nations must now strive urther to ulfll

their promises in light o the announcement o their mid-term

fscal soundness strategy or aer 2016.

She also highlighted a concerted eort on international

tax avoidance issues, noting that Korea will participate in

implementing agreements to be made at the G20 meeting.

Tirdly, Park encouraged G20 members to work toward

structural reorms and promoting ree trade or mutual

growth. She particularly stressed that ree trade was even more

signifcant at a time when there was a need to boost growth

potential globally, and that expanding trade was a “win-win

policy” that involved little cost, as it does not cause credit

bubbles or harm to fscal health.

Park also pointed out that developing nations should see

tangible results in development issues. Korea would tap its

own development experience, she said, and contribute to the

execution o promises to develop human resources and build

inrastructure as part o new action plans.

Meeting with the Russian President

While in Russia, President Park met with Russian President

Vladimir Putin on Sep 6 to discuss matters o mutual interest,

such as ways to strengthen bilateral economic ties and

cooperation in East Asia.

“Enhanced cooperation in Eurasian countries has been an

important priority to Koreas government projects,” sa

personally, have dreamed o a uture in which we can

journey rom Busan to Europe via Russia.”

Park added that Seoul would host an international

conerence on Eurasian cooperation and that she look

orward to Russias participation. “I have heard that P

Putin also has been paying attention to economic coo

between Europe and Asia as well as to the developmen

Far East region,” she said. “It will enhance the Korea-R

partnership and, urthermore, bring prosperity and p

the Northeast region.”

President Putin, meanwhile, expressed his gratitude

Koreas active role in the G20 Summit. “Korea is one o

priority partners in Asia,” he said. “Te total trade tur

between Russia and Korea amounts to USD 25 billion

has gone up three percent more in the frst hal o this

am very happy to have a bilateral talk on these variou

Noting that bilateral ties have grown exponentially

diplomatic relations were established in 1990, Park po

that “Russia and Korea have a lot to develop.” She said

have been inuenced by North Koreas nuclear armam

the situation on the Korean Peninsula. We should join

to overcome problems and raise the bilateral relations

higher level.”

1. President Park meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin © C

2. President Park addresses other world leaders at the G20 Summit. © C

PRESIDENT PARK EMPHASIZESCOOPERATION AT G20 SUMMITPark also discusses closer bilateral ties with Russian President Putin

MIT DIPLOMACY

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6

KOREA, VIETNAM UPGRADE TIESBoth nations agree to boost trade to USD 70 billion by 2020

MIT DIPLOMACY

in the construction o thermal power plants in the Nghi Son

economic zone in northern Vietnam.

Te two sides also agreed to push orward the Vietnam

Happiness Program, modeled aer Koreas rural development

project known as Saemaul Undong (New Community

Movement). Te program aims to contribute to Vietnams

regional development and its transormation into an advanced,

industrialized nation by 2020.

Vietnam agreed to work towards improving its business and

investment environment so that more Korean companies can

invest in the country as well as to encourage Korean frms to

participate and invest in Vietnams inrastructure construction,

advanced technology, parts and materials, and manuacturing

sectors.

Korea agreed to work towards reintroducing the employment

permit system (EPS), which ended in 2012, and to consider

measures to acilitate immigration procedures or Vietnamese

nationals.

Te two sides also agreed to consider expanding support or

multicultural amilies with Vietnamese and Korean spouses to

help bring the peoples o the two nations closer together.

Seven Other Agreements

Immediately aer the summit, the two presidents sign

another seven agreements, which include an agreeme

restart the EPS system, cooperation on a road constru

project in the northern Vietnamese cities o an Van

rach, and the establishment o both a Vietnamese br

Koreas Financial Supervisory Service and a science te

research institute modeled aer the Korea Institute o

and echnology (KIS), dubbed V-KIS.

During the summit, President Sang expressed supp

President Parks trust-building initiative with North K

He also lauded Parks vision o Northeast Asian peace

cooperation, which aims at building regional trust.

Te two sides also agreed to cooperate closely in the

international community through ASEAN+3, the ASRegional Forum, East Asia Summit, and Asia-Pacifc

Cooperation (APEC).

Both leaders agreed to deepen security cooperation

exchanges, hold summit meetings regularly in politics

security, and actively hold regular meetings between

ranking ocials rom Korea and Vietnam as well as st

dialogue meetings in the oreign aairs and security s

the two governments.

President Park Geun-hye made a state visit to Vietnam

rom Sep 7 to 11.

She held a summit meeting with Vietnamese

resident ruong an Sang on Sep 9 to discuss matters o

mutual interest. Te two leaders released a joint statement

ubbed the “joint statement o leaders or co-prosperity” in

which they expressed satisaction with the bilateral relationship

etween Korea and Vietnam since the establishment o

iplomatic relations in 1992, which has resulted in remarkable

evelopment in many areas, including politics, economy,

ociety, culture, and exchange o human resources.

Te two leaders also agreed to boost the strategic cooperative

artnership the two nations have been building since 2009. In

rder to do this, they agreed to make eorts to boost bilateral

trade volume rom its 2012 level o USD 20 billion to USD 70

billion by 2020. Tey agreed to take measures to extend trade

volume in a more balanced way.

Tey also agreed to accelerate ongoing discussions or a

ree trade agreement so that the two countries can fnalize an

agreement or a comprehensive level o ree trade by 2014.

Te two leaders also welcomed the start o a joint preliminary

easibility study between Korea and Vietnam this June or a

USD 10 million nuclear plant development project in Vietnam.

Te presidents agreed to cooperate and provide support or

Korean companies participation in the construction o an oil

storage terminal in Vietnams Dung Quat region and a thermal

power plant in southern Vietnam. Tey also welcomed the

signing o a memorandum o understanding on cooperation

1. President Park meets with Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang

2. President Park addresses Korean and Vietnamese business figures at a luncheon.

1

7/27/2019 KOREA [2013 VOL.9 No.10]


8

At 8:00 am on Sep 16, cars and trucks carrying

South Korean workers crossed the inter-Korean

border into North Korea. Teir destination was the

Kaesong Industrial Complex, the highly symbolic industrial

ark which had been closed or fve months due to elevated

nter-Korean tensions. By the end o the day, 820 South

Korean managers and workers had crossed over the DMZ on

he way to Kaesong; some 400 spent the night there.

Te reopening o the Kaesong Industrial Complex is a sign

hat aer several months o tension, inter-Korean relations are

hawing. Speaking in Vietnam, South Korean President Park

Geun-hye expressed hope that “North Korea will also make

the right choice by using the Kaesong Industrial Complex as

the starting point” or reorm and openness. Te development

even caught the attention o UN Secretary General Ban Ki-

moon, who said, “It is my hope that recent agreement on the

resumption o Kaesong Industrial Complex is just the frst step

towards resuming regular, normal dialogue.”

Reviving a Symbol

On Sep 13 the two Koreas agreed to reopen their joint Kaesong

Industrial Complex in the North Korean city o Gaeseong

on Sep 16. Tey also signed a package o deals to improve

its operations and attract overseas frms in the uture. Te

acility, said to be the last remaining symbol o cross-border

cooperation, was shut down fve months ago when all 53,000

workers were pulled out by the North Korean government.

Te two sides frst restored their military hotlines on the west

coast. Engineers and ocials rom state-run power, telecom,

and water providers then began repairing the acilities.

Prior to the test run on Sep 16, the government granted a tax

exemption to South Korean operators or the rest o 2013 as

compensation or the fve-month work halt. Tey also waived

the taxes that went unpaid in 2012 until the end o the year.

Te two Koreas also agreed to adopt an agreement or the

establishment o a dispute arbitration panel and easier access

to the complex by introducing radio-requency identifcation

devices within the year.

Attracting Foreign Investors

Te Kaesong Industrial Complex opened in 2004 as a landmark

eort to promote inter-Korean economic cooperation. Some

123 South Korean companies have acilities in the complex,

which is run by about 53,000 North Korean workers and 800

South Korean sta. On the frst day o renewed operations,

about 70 South Korean companies and 32,000 North Korean

workers took part in trial production.

Seoul hopes the restart o the complex may also provide an

opportunity to internationalize it. Te Sep 13 agreement called

or the two Koreas to actively promote oreign investment in

the complex by adopting international standards in regards

to labor aairs, tax, wage and insurance within the co

recognition o preerential taris or products rom th

complex in case o their export to a third country; and

holding o joint investment relations sessions abroad.

Eorts to promote the Kaesong Industrial Complex

internationally began almost immediately. In a summ

Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta on the sidelines o

summit in Saint Petersburg, Russia, President Park en

Italian investment in the complex. In Vietnam, Presid

stressed that the park should operate according to “co

sense and international standards” i it is to attract or

investors.

o give the complex additional stability, the two Ko

agreed to orm a joint-secretariat to oversee productio

by both South and North Korean personnel, the secre

expected to provide a stable communication channel

the two sides. Te secretariat is scheduled to begin op

around Sep 30.

I C Y R E V I E W

Written by Bae Ji-sook and Robert Koehler

KAESONG INDUSTRIALCOMPLEX REOPENSRestart o operations at symbolic industrial park a sign o warming

nter-Korean relations

1

3

1. North Kor

at Kaesong I

Complex

2. South and

officials sha

upon agreei

the Kaesong

Complex.

3. Kaesong I

Complex

7/27/2019 KOREA [2013 VOL.9 No.10]


ATIVE TECHNOLOGY

0

OLEV, a New Engine of Growth

Te OLEV project reers to an operation system where electric

wires buried under roads generate a magnetic feld, thus

making it possible or electric vehicles to recharge on the road.

Electrifcation o the road did not require major construction

work, as the recharging stations were buried only in fve places,

including bus stops.

A device attached to the bottom o the bus draws up power

rom the road using a technology called “shaped magnetic

feld in resonance.” Electric cables embedded under the road

create electromagnetic felds, which are then picked up by a

coil inside the device and converted into electricity. Te energy

transer rate rom road wires to the car has reached 75 percent.

Te 12 km route on the public road is the frst o its kind in

the world according to project developers, who added that 10

more public buses are scheduled to be added by 2015.

Te battery in the electric vehicle is less than one-third the

size o those in other electric vehicles, which helps reduce

not only the overall weight o the vehicle but also the amount

o carbon dioxide emitted during power generation, thus

improving the overall eciency o the vehicle.

A brainchild o ormer KAIS President Suh Nam-pyo,

the system has been developed by the university as part o its

new “growth engine” projects. Te researchers worked on the

project to cope with the grave reality that carbon emissions

South Korea has successully tested an “electric road”—

which will surely be remembered as one o the most

trailblazing and cutting-edge technologies o its kind

n the world—that enables electric public buses to recharge

heir batteries rom cables embedded in the roads over whichhe vehicles drive.

Te Korea Advanced Institute o Science and echnology

KAIS) has succeeded with the OLEV (online electric vehicle)

roject—under which electric buses provide passengers with

ublic transportation services—which experts say will be a

urning point or the buses commercialization

nd wider utilization or mass

ransportation.

wo electric public buses started operation on the electrifed

road in Gumi, Gyeongsangbuk-do, on September 6, 2013.

Aer a trial operation between September and December o

this year on a 24-km (15-mile) round-trip route linking Gumi

Station and the Indong district, they will begin their ocialdrive in January o next year. Te system in Gumi—a city

located some 260 km southeast o Seoul—had a fnal check-up

in July.

KAIST develops new system to wirelessly recharge electric buses

Korea Unveils anElectric Road’

Written by Sohn Tae-soo

0

u c rans or a on ser v ces—w c ex er s say w e

urning point or the buses commercialization

nd wider utilization or mass

ransportation.

OLEV

Pow

dev

Power supply rail

(installed under the pavement)

Absorbs generated

magnetic field and

converts it into electricity

Power li ne F eeding coil

Pickup coil

Core for

frequenc

Generates high-frequency

magnetic fieldSteel cor

rom conventional vehicles are contributing to climat

and that ossil uel deposits are being rapidly used up

the world.

Meanwhile, the new electric vehicle has been named

o the most promising technologies by the World Eco

Forum (WEF), KAIS said. Te WEF, also known as

Forum, announces the 10 most monumental new tec

every year through its Global Agenda Council on Em

echnologies.

Ocials at the Ministry o Land, Inrastructure and

ransport said that the actual commercialization o el

vehicles that wirelessly recharge on the road will help

nation lead the worlds electric vehicle market.

Skeptics both at home and abroad had warned that

costs involved in installing the equipment show that i

be less practical than other schemes, such as those in

vehicles recharge at designated locations or using cab

commercialization process has cost up to KRW 26.6 b

between December 2011 and June 2013. But experts s

that they see a lot o potential or the technology or p

transport applications, adding that the remaining que

how to cut down the cost.

1. OLEV bus that services Gumi, Gyeongsangbuk-do © KAIST

2. OLEV bus on a special road in Gumi, Gyeongsangbuk-do

1

2

7/27/2019 KOREA [2013 VOL.9 No.10]


examination services to US war veterans and give added

points to their descendants when they submit job applications

to Korean frms with branches in the US,” Kim explained his

vision or the oundation, which he pushed or with several

private companies.

Private Sector Takes the Lead

On Aug 27, the American Legion—the largest organization

o wartime veterans in Korea—presented its prestigious 2013

Patriot Award to Samsung in recognition o its generosity in

providing USD 5 million in education scholarships to nearly

1,700 descendants o US war veterans. It marked the frst

time the award has been given to a corporation. “Trough an

endowment unded since 1996, Samsung was able to show its

appreciation to the United States or coming to South Koreasaid during its struggle against Communist orces during the

Korean War,” said National Commander James E. Koutz.

Samsung is also running whats called “Samsung Academy”

in urkey, providing scholarships as well as I education to the

descendants o war veterans there.

LG, meanwhile, has turned its eye to Ethiopia, which sent

6,000 troops to fght on the Souths side during the Korean War.

O them, 120 died and 540 were injured. “Our work in Ethiopia

is a way o showing gratitude or sending troops during the

war,” an LG ocial said. “With our work, we also hope to

acilitate development in the country.”

Since early this year, LG has been running the LG Hope

Community Project, which helps turn underdevelope

into economically viable arming communities, teach

technology skills, and oers scholarships and opportu

work at LG aliates to the descendants o war veteran

Veterans Are Assets

Te medical community has also joined in. Since Dec

2011, Soon Chun Hyang University Hospital in Yong

joined orces with the Korean War Memorial Founda

to provide ree diagnoses and medical operations to th

descendants o oreign war veterans studying in Kore

Han Jong-woo, the project director o the Korean W

Veterans Digital Memorial, says that he was able to es

the memorial—which is a digital database o docume

recordings, and artiacts o Korean War veterans worwith the help o companies like Pantech, a handset ma

“o mark the 60th anniversary o the armistice, a teen

volunteers group to help war veterans was also launc

Washington DC—reminiscent o the Peace Corps vol

that came to Korea in the post-war 1960s,” he said. “S

group can help continue the interest in war veterans r

older generation to the younger one.”

He said that although war veterans endured the pain

war, they are also assets to Korea. “War veterans and t

descendents are all over the world, and they are pro-K

opinion leaders . . . Tey are state assets that can speak

Korea in international venues.”

1. Prime Minister Chung Hong-won hands out messages and medals of appreciation to Korean War veterans 2. LG Scholarship Program for Descendants of UN Korean Wa

© LG Corp. CSR 3. Descendant of Ethiopian veteran of the Korean War learns auto mechanic skills in Korea through KOICA.J

une 25, 1950, is a date that most Koreans are aware

o. Its the day that the Korean War (1950–1953)

broke out and let deep scars in the country, its

eople, and history.

However, many Koreans dont know the signifcance o July

7, 1953. Its the day that the Korean Armistice Agreement

was signed, ending the hostilities. As Korea marks the 60th

nniversary o the armistice, the political, corporate, and

medical sectors are extending various support programs

or Korean War veterans rom around the world and their

escendents.

Politicians Lend Support

On Aug 1, Prime Minister Chung Hong-won made a donation

o the Korean War Memorial Foundation in hopes that the

money be used on scholarships or the descendents o oreign

war veterans. wenty-one countries o the United Nations

Command sent troops and medical aid to support South

Korean orces. Tey sent more than 1.78 million people and

saw more than 150,000 casualties in the war. “I hope the

oundation gives more scholarships to the grandsons and

granddaughters o war veterans and that my donation triggers

more donations,” Chung said, according to the oundation. Te

amount is not known.

Meanwhile, Kim Jung-hun, the chairman o the National

Assembly’s National Policy Committee, has been pushing

or the creation o a new oundation to lend support to the

US soldiers who ought in the Korean War—who made up

the majority o oreign soldiers taking part in the war—and

their descendants. “Te oundation can help provide medical

A MESSAGE OF APPRECIATIONKorea thanks war veterans worldwide in commemoration of

the 60th anniversary of the Korean armistice agreement

Written by Kim Hyung-eun

2

O B A L K O R E A

1

2 3

7/27/2019 KOREA [2013 VOL.9 No.10]


E A T K O R E A N

JU SI-GYEONG

Written by Felix Im

Korean linguist and patriot realized language waskey to national identity

Ju Si-gyeong was born in a time when

the concepts o Korean identity and

nationality were in jeopardy —even in

danger o going extinct. Aer opening its

borders or the frst time, the nation was

divided into nobility who wanted to expel

oreign inuence while retaining their

power, democratic commoners looking

or political reormation and equality, and

a royalty that was le with the question o

how to modernize their country. Te Korean

Peninsula was being careully watched by

curious and oen greedy oreign powers,

including the uture imperialists o Japan.

Coming rom a background o ClassicalChinese and linguistics, Ju quickly realized

that the key or any nation and people

to retain their sense o identity was their

language and that the Korean language was

in danger o being diluted and weakened, or

even wiped out entirely.

A Newfound Love for HisNative Hangeul

Although born into an educated amily,

sudden poverty in Jus household resulted

in his adoption by his uncle in Seoul, with

whom he moved rom his birth town in the

province o Hwanghae-do (one o eight in

the Joseon Dynasty). It was during his time

in Seoul that his studies in Classical Chinese

intensifed, through which he gradually

realized the ineciency o stubbornly using

hanja (Chinese characters) and Chinese

pronunciation, which very ew people could

understand. Aer witnessing ellow students

struggle with their teachers explanations

in traditional hanja characters—which they

could only understand aer the teacher

explained in vernacular Korean—he quickly

concluded that it was ar more sensible

to simply speak and write in Korean and

4

avoid having to say the same thing twice. It was then that he

started harvesting his passion or Hangeul as well as his desire

to promulgate its use. It was also during this time that he

learned that all powerul and inuential countries stressed the

importance o their native language.

While earning his living as a Korean language teacher, Ju

eventually realized the need to standardize and strengthen the

oundations o Hangeul and, along with some o his devoted

students, quickly began delving into a research venture that

continued throughout the rest o his lie.

Linguistic Pioneer

Ju wrote extensively on topics such as Korean phonetics,

phonology, syntax, morphology, grammar, and lexicography,

choosing to write as much as possible in the Korean alphabetas opposed to the contemporary trend o using Hangeul as a

mere aid to hanja characters. He is oen credited with having

explored essential themes in modern linguistics even beore

Western scholars did, putting him down in history as a pioneer

and innovator who laid the path or uture Korean scholars.

Ju was also one o the frst Korean scholars to eectively start

1. Portrait of Ju Si-gyeong, painted by Professor Jeong Gap-ju of Dong-A Uni

© Jeong Gap-ju

2. Korean grammar text written by hand by Ju himself © The Korean Langua

3. Old Pai Chai Hakdang, where Ju went to school

standardizing ocial spellings and establishing unive

rules o Korean grammar—which, remarkably, didnt

exist until then. Hangeul, being an alphabet oen shu

and criticized by the elite nobility as being a lower-cla

writing system, hadnt had a chance to ully develop in

systemized and unifed usage. For example, beore Ju

research, nobody ever thought to establish the Korean

speech. Because Ju was the frst to start eectively diss

the Korean language in a scientifc and organized ma

in a way unseen since the days o Sejong the Great—m

Korean scholars credit him with being the frst major

in modern Korean language studies, giving him not o

academic signifcance but also patriotic reverence.

Independence through Language

Jus active involvement in the publication o all-Korea

newspapers was not only an eort to promote widesp

o Korean but also a vital campaign to instill educationthe masses, encouraging the public to engage in politi

philosophical, and conceptual discussions. Even when

Japanese imperialists took the Korean Peninsula and

education in the Korean language, Ju continued his le

and research in secret, always stressing that even thou

Koreans had lost their government, as long as they re

their language, independence was possible.

1

2

7/27/2019 KOREA [2013 VOL.9 No.10]


6

K O R E A

When you've got a camera in your hands, anything can happen

THE JOYS OFPHOTOGRAPHY IN KOREA Written by Peter DeMarco

ustrated by Kim Yoon-Myong

small temple on our way. Tere was a group o shamans and

their ollowers dancing and singing. Curious, I pulled out my

camera as we walked closer. I had always wanted to see one o

these ceremonies. Tey spotted us and invited us in. I asked i I

could take photographs and, surprisingly, the shamans agreed.

I thought we would just sit against the wall and observe

until the head shaman pulled my riend aside and started

questioning him. “Do you have any pains—mental or

physical?” she asked. Aer a ew more questions, she gave her

otherworldly prognosis: “You have the ghost o a dead relative

inside you. It must be exorcised.”

She perormed an ancient ritual to rid my riend o his

demons. It was like something out o a documentary movie.

Aerwards, they invited us to eat with them. We ended up

I always try to portray the essence o a place when I take

photographs. It doesnt matter i Im taking a picture o a

cityscape rom the rooop o a building or someones portrait.

I want to represent what is particular to Korea and share that.

Shaman on the Mountain

An experience that was particularly

memorable or me was when I saw a Korean

gut , or shamanistic ceremony. One day my

riend and I were hiking up a mountain

to photograph Busan. We passed by a

Inever knew I would all in love with photography when

I came to Korea almost seven years ago. What started

out as a simple hobby has turned into one o my greatest

assions. Being a photographer in Korea has made it an even

igger joy.

For me, having an endless variety o things to photograph

s inspiring. From mountainside temples to dynamic

ityscapes, theres always something interesting to capture.

ve seen bamboo orests, cherry blossoms, desolate beaches,

nowy hilltops, rice paddies, bustling markets, ultra-modern

kyscrapers, and colorul oliage.

Its not only the diversity o subjects that makes Korea such

great place to shoot. Probably the best thing is the spirit and

ense o camaraderie surrounding photography here. Its not

ncommon to see groups o 20 or more photographers trying

o capture a beautiul scene.

More oen than not, its at some remote place beore

he sun rises, like on a mountain peak or ocean shore.

veryone sets up their gear and then chats, shares someood or drinks, and socializes. Its easy to eel like you

re part o something bigger. Documenting daily lie

ecomes a major event.

spending the whole day. Ive already been back two m

to visit.

I think thats one o the things that makes taking ph

in Korea memorable. At any moment the unexpected

happen. A stranger will invite you into their home or

a meal. Living in a oreign country, its easy to eel like

outsider. o be a good photographer, though, you nee

close to your subject, to know them as a human being

as an object in your viewfnder. Te openness o the p

allowed me take photos I normally couldnt.

Korea has much to oer the avid photographer: bea

landscapes, opportunities to learn, and the sense o be

to something bigger. However, its the relationships Iv

here that I will cherish most.

7/27/2019 KOREA [2013 VOL.9 No.10]


IIIIII O

8

It was 1980 when Proessor Alok Roy frst set oot in

South Korea or a fve-year stint at Seoul National

University in pursuit o his doctoral studies in

international relations. He had recently wrapped up his

PhD in East Asian studies at New Delhis Jawaharlal Nehru

University, and his unexpected journey to Korean shores was

more by chance than anything else.

“It was one o those ukes, it was not that I planned it,”

says the 58-year-old Roy, speaking in his oce at the Busan

University o Foreign Studies, where he is an associate proessor

in the department o Hindi. “In India I was studying East Asia

so I would have done China or Japan, but then suddenly this

Korean department comes up. I thought, ‘Why not try it?”

It was the frst such program at Indias leading university and,

according to Roy, it soon became a highly sought-aer course

with his ellow students.

“At once it was popular. Te frst thing was that it was new

and the second thing was that nobody knew where Korea was.”

Aer arriving at SNU, he and a group o international

students set about pursuing their degrees in a program taught

entirely in Korean. Not all were as diligent and determined as

Roy. “We had 40-odd students, but only our or fve survived

the process,” says Roy.

Following fve years pursuing his degree, and while preparing

to make his way back to India to teach, Roy met the woman, a

Korean, who would eventually become his wie.

Over the course o his year back home, the two got to know

each other through letters and phone calls until Roys mother

sat him down and said he needed to take the next step and

ask or her hand. “I came back to Korea basically to marry my

wie,” says Roy. “My mother one day said, ‘I see a lot o letters

coming and I see a lot o phone calls. Have you asked anybody

to wait there? I dont know about you, but in India asking a girl

to wait is a very dicult proposition or her, so i you want to

marry her, go and marry her.”

Returning on a tourist visa, Roy married his long-distance

sweetheart, who now writes children's books and is mother to

their 23- and 24-year-old daughters.

Witness to Progress

In 2011, Roy became Koreas 100,000th naturalized citizen.

Having spent over three decades in Korea, he has witnessed the

countrys remarkable changes and studied its progres

has struck Roy most over the course o his time here

orderliness o the transormation that has taken place

“I realize that, living in Korea, I have seen more than

have seen living any other place,” says Roy. “I have see

place change, but I have never seen anywhere where th

comes so smoothly, without any chaos.”

Roy views Koreas emergence as a major economic p

one o the worlds leading countries as an almost preo

phenomenon. “Anything they have taken up, they hav

it as i they were ready or it,” says Roy. “I always tell th

when I frst came to Korea, Korea was like a woman w

carrying a baby, and it was in the last month. So, it ha

agony, the anxieties, the panicky situations, and yet th

that something will happen that is good.”

As or Roys uture, he anticipates that Korea will lik

remain his home. “I eel more comortable here than

place,” he says, with a smile orming across his lips. “In

there is a very good expression called janma bhumi. J

bhumi is your birthplace and karma bhumi is where y

your karma. So, Korea is my karma bhumi. As long as

healthy and working, Korea will be very important to

would love to be here.”

Prof. Roy takes the vow of Korean citizenship in 2011.

Professor Alok Roy

Written by Bobby McGill

hotographed by Peter DeMarco

After coming to Korea by chance, Indian professor becomes Korea’s 100,000thnaturalized citizen

7/27/2019 KOREA [2013 VOL.9 No.10]


ES FROM KOREA

Simcheong

Written by Curtis File

ustrated by Shim Soo-keun

One of Korea’s most beloved folktales demonstrates the beauty of filial piety

0

wo years ago I had the pleasure o meeting an elderly

Korean woman who had survived both Japanese

occupation and the Korean War o the early 1950s.

Her story, like many rom her generation, was a amiliar one.

While her relatives and neighbors had been taken away by

the war, she remained behind with the other girls her age and

worked in her amilys feld, helping the community carry on.

Years o dicult work had knotted her hands and maligned

her spine, but still she smiled as she talked about her lie rom

those days. It was hard, she said, but it was her duty to help

make sure her amily stayed in order. Her story is part o a

much deeper cultural narrative, where the burden o duty has

been a amiliar and ever present theme expressed in both lie

and art.

Perhaps it is no surprise, then, that Korean olklore is ull o

stories about great men that conquer and succeed and their

emale counterparts that sacrifce themselves or the good o

their husbands and amilies. Te legend o Simcheong is among

the most well-known stories o emale virtue. Her image has

been popularized in childrens books and stage perormances

across the country.

Simcheong, the story tells, was a beautiul young woman who

lost her mother at birth. Tough her ather, a successul sail

mender, tried his best to take care o her, he became blind and

could no longer work. Simcheong, ever the dutiul daughter,

stayed by his side as his sole care provider, only leaving him to

go to the market or ood and visit the local temple.

One day, while visiting the temple, she learned rom a monk

o a way to grant her greatest wish—the wish to see her

athers sight returned. He told her that i she oered

hersel as a sacrifce to the King o the Sea, the king

would grant her wish. On her way back rom

the temple she encountered a group o sailors

who persuaded her to sacrifce hersel to

the King o the Sea so that he would grantthem sae passage in his waters.

Upon meeting the king, Simcheong

begged or her wish to be granted. Te

great king took pity on the young girl,

returning her to land wrapped in a lotus

ower. When she returned, she married

the king and became the queen o her

land, fnally reuniting with her ather, whose blindnes

now cured.

Pansori Classic

Tough it is not known exactly when, the Simcheon

was adopted into a pansori, or Korean musical narrati

pansoriperormances convey the emotions o the stor

more deeply than the childrens book versions.

In the pansori, Simcheongs bravery is conveyed as s

prepares hersel to die. Rather than lament her death,

songs become prayers or her blind ather, creating a

emotional atmosphere or the audience. Te perorm

all the technical elements and musical nuances o a tr

pansoriand is widely acknowledged to be the most di

passage to perorm among the fve pansorinarratives

perormed today.

Much like the Cinderella princess stories o Western

Simcheongs image has served as a role model or you

girls in Korea, preserving the lesson that girls who sac

themselves or their amily will be blessed. It is no

wonder, then, that the virtues and amily

devotion she symbolizes are held

in such high esteem today,

even among younger

generations.

7/27/2019 KOREA [2013 VOL.9 No.10]


I B R S / C C R I N ° : 1 0 0 2 4 -4 0 7 3 0

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7/27/2019 KOREA [2013 VOL.9 No.10]


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2013OCTOBER

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іVery useul Not useul at allї

7/27/2019 KOREA [2013 VOL.9 No.10]


2

L A V O R

YeonnipbapWritten by Ko Yeonkyung

Photograph courtesy of Andong Festival Tourism Foundation

Y eonnipbap is not only one o Korean cuisines

most beautiul dishes but also one o its most

philosophical. Sticky rice and other grains

steamed in a lotus lea, this delicacy was originally a

Buddhist dish served at monasteries. In Buddhism, the lotus

ower has great symbolism: blossoming rom the muck, it

represents both enlightenment and spiritual purifcation.

Like other Buddhist temple dishes, its preparation and

consumption were meant not only as exercises in sustenance

but also a spiritual practice.

So resplendent is the dish that it is sometimes called

a “mandala on the dinner table,” reerring to the

symbolic paintings that depict the Buddhist cosmos.

basic orm

-아/어/여 주다orm

-아/어/여 드리다orm

-아

h on or i c o rm a

사다 sada 사 주다 sa juda 사 드리다 sa deurida 사

들다 deulda 들어 주다deureo juda

들어 드리다deureo deurida

들어deu

예약하다 yeyakada 예약해 주다 yeyakae juda

예약해 드리다 yeyakae deurida

예약 yey

* -아/어/여 주세요 is used when you ask or something politely.

네, 일곱 시에 예약해

모두 다섯 명입니다.

ne, ilgop sie yeyakae juseymodu daseot myeong-imn

Yes, please make a reser

7:00. We’re a party o ve

4

Hello. I want to make a reserv

Friday evening.

2

안녕하세요. 금요일 저녁에

식당을 예약하고 싶습니다

annyeonghaseyo. geumyoil jeonsikdang-eul yeyakago sipseumn

Please make a reservation for 7:00 Have you ever asked or something in Korean? What is the polite expression or

asking in Korean? Let’s learn the expression or asking in Korean.

알겠습니다.

이름과 연락처를 말씀해 주세요.algetseumnida.ireumgwa yeollakcheoreul malsseumhae juseyo.

I see. Please tell me your name and

your phone number.

5

네, 한국식당입니다.

ne, hanguksikdangimnida.

Hello. This is the Hanguk Restaurant.

1

잠시만요. 네, 금요일에

예약이 가능합니다.

예약해 드릴까요?

jamsimannyo. ne, geumyoireyeyagi ganeunghamnida.yeyakae deurilkkayo?

One moment, please. Yes, areservation or Friday would bepossible.

Shall I make a reservation or you?

3

예약해

ams mayeyagi g yeyakae

Letpra

Mak

conv

show

exam

예약하다

yeyakada

짐을 들다

jimeul deulda

주소를 읽다

jusoreul ikda

A: 제가 예약해 드릴까요?

B: 네, 예약해 주세요.

-아/어/여 주다

-아/어/여 주다 is used ater a verb to indicate that the

subject o a sentence does something or others. When

a verb stem ends with ㅏ, ㅗother than 하다, -아 주다

is used. In other cases, -어 주다 is used. When a verb

ends with 하다, -여 주다 is added, but it is contracted

to해 주다. I the beneciary is the elder, ‘-아/어/여 드리다’ is used.

7/27/2019 KOREA [2013 VOL.9 No.10]


korea [2013 vol.9 no.10]

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