Groove Korea September 2012 by Groove Korea

How to save Korea’s dying markets After government policies failed to bring customers back to traditional markets, vendors step up with their own ideas Groove is the No. 1 magazine for expats in Korea. Find out what’s new, whats news and what is there to do

KOREA •

Issue 71 / September 2012

www.groovekorea.com

5 places to shake it in Itaewon

Out with the old Whole communities in Seoul are leveled to make room for new housing

No Justin Timberlake here. These places spin some of the best noncommercial music in the city

ECLECTIC EATS • • • • • •

Namsan Kimchi Jjigae Mamas: Brunch for busy people Veg out with Vegan Beats The best ice cream in Korea Make your own mayo Do it yourself dressing

kimchi! Eat Your

In memoriam

Korea-based expats Kari Bowerman and Cathy Huynh are remembered one month after they passed away while travelling in Vietnam

How two Canadians rode to the crest of the Korean Wave

HisToRy ReflecTs THe fuTuRe

National Museum of Korea The Reflecting Pond, The National Museum of Korea The oval pond was made part of this receptacle as a pond is almost always seen in the gardens of Korean traditional houses and therefore serves as a mirror of the past, helping people look back in time.

Directions By Subway Take Line 4 or the Jungang line to Ichon Station and Exit #2. Opening Hours 09:00 ~ 18:00 Wednesday . Saturday 09:00 ~ 21:00, Sunday . Holidays 09:00 ~ 19:00 Closing Days Mondays, January 1st Admission Free (Excluding Special Exhibitions)

Seobinggo-ro 137, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Korea 140-026

+82-2-2077-9000

www.museum.go.kr

ARTS & CULTURE / Street art in Seoul

Taking the ‘pop’ out of K-pop

If you ask the Korean media their opinion on how K-pop is doing, they’ll tell you that the Korean Wave, or Hallyu, has taken the world by storm, and that the West is both dominated by and enamored with K-pop. From our perspective, though, and all of our work in K-pop’s place in the international sphere, the Korean Wave is only lapping on the shores of the West. Unless they’re already dedicated fans, most Westerners living outside Korea couldn’t name a K-pop group, yet Korean newspapers splash their pages with stories of sold-out K-pop concerts overseas. So, while K-pop is popular in some circles in the West, it’s not as popular as the Korean media makes it out to be. Expats living in Korea are oversaturated with K-pop. It blares on just about every street corner because, after all, K-pop is the mainstream pop of Korea, just as Rhianna, Lady Gaga or LMFAO can be heard in every mall in North America. K-pop, however, is not mainstream outside of Korea, and that’s what is crucial to its charm. K-pop is becoming a new underground subculture. The super-popular music you hear every day in Korea is an underground subculture overseas. It makes perfect sense, especially if you look back on your days as a high school student. When we were growing up in Toronto, most students were divided according to the music they listened to; those who liked rock music did not mingle with those who liked rap. Your musical taste dictated your clothing, attitude and selection of friends. Even though I attended a school that required uniforms, I could still pick out those students who were punk rock fans over those who loved dance music.

Guest editorial by Simon and Martina Stawski Eat Your Kimchi

Have something to say? mattlamers@groovekorea.com

Groove Korea Magazine September 2012 • Issue 71

Hot on:

www.groovekorea.com

So where does K-pop stand overseas? For starters, despite the language barrier, it’s still a lot more accessible than, for example, heavy metal. It’s pop music, after all. That it’s sung by really good-looking people doesn’t hurt, either. While mainstream pop dominates the charts, K-pop offers an alternative for those who don’t want to listen to the mainstream, but still enjoy pop-esque music. K-pop’s charm as a North American subculture is that it’s easily digestible. By listening to K-pop you can be different, but you don’t have to work so hard at it. K-pop is off the beaten path — but it’s still a pretty damn smooth path. With the sudden popularity of Psy’s “Gangnam Style,” we’ve seen a bunch of K-pop fans irritated that their friends (who knew nothing about K-pop pre-Psy) were Tweeting and sharing on Facebook their love for Psy’s song. I’m sure you’ve seen this kind of overprotective attitude with fans of indie bands who see that band become popular. And it’s hilarious if you think about it in terms of K-pop, since it has — for Western K-pop fans — that same kind of indie charm. Regardless of how you feel about K-pop while you’re living here in Korea, whether you love it or absolutely hate it, we find it interesting how K-pop is being perceived and received in the West. While most discussions we’ve read on it claim that K-pop in the West is either very successful or a massive failure, we’re interested in a more nuanced look at what people are saying about it. Whether K-pop is mainstream or not isn’t really as interesting as thinking about how it’s flourishing as a subculture.

Insight: Korean identity It always starts in the eyes. A question formulated in the back of the mind that works its way up to the surface until it practically begs for escape. They want to know: What are you? Jenny Na grew up under the gaze of a slow moving community of blue-eyed Scandinavians in rural Minnesota and eventually followed the tether tying her to Korea. Neither Korean nor American, she returned to unearth the pieces of a life not led, but remains in thrall of a more nuanced discovery. By Jenny Na Read it online in September or in print in October

Retraction An article published by Groove Korea in the print and online editions in the August issue possessed content that was taken from the website Seoulist without the necessary attribution. The Groove Korea article written by Ryan Noel and published in August 2012 took some sentences and ideas of Seoulist author Ruth Youn, which was published on July 18, 2011. The topic of both articles was the Metro Market in Cheongdam-dong, Seoul. Most of the second paragraph of Mr. Noel’s article, which appeared on page 50, was copied from the Seoulist article. It referred to the conditions of the food train. In another instance, the opening and closing hours of the train were taken from Ms. Youn’s article, as was a reference to Chuseok and the closing words of the article “just a train platform away.” Groove Korea maintains strict journalistic standards. Our guidelines stipulate that authors’ words and ideas be factual and original. Mr. Noel’s actions are therefore a violation of the latter. His work will not be accepted by Groove Korea for a period of one month. We will also conduct a workshop for all of our contributors and editors to remind them of the seriousness of plagiarism. We would like to extend a sincere apology to Seoulist and Ruth Youn and retract the Groove Korea article in question. Matthew Lamers Editor-in-chief

Jarasum Int’l Jazz Festival; a banquet of environment, families, relaxation and music. Jarasum Int’l Jazz Festival is chosen to be the ‘Korea’s Excellent Festival 2011 & 2012’ by the Ministry of Culture, Sports & Tourism after attracting 188 thousands visitors this year which was the greatest number ever.

제 9 회 자라섬국제재즈페스티벌 2012. 10. 12.(Fri) - 14.(Sun) In and around Jara Island(Jarasum), Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea GENERAL TICKETS 3 day pass: 80,000 won / 2 day pass: 60,000 won / 1 day pass: 35,000 won FIELD TICKETS 1 day pass: 40,000 won *All passes include a 5,000 won Gapyeong Love Gift Certificate. BOOKING ticket.yes24.com 1544-6399 CONTACT 031-581-2813~4(English available)

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Contents

14 16

sept. 2012

Calendar of Events Korea Beat: News from around the country

InsighT

18 26 28

Korea’s Dying Markets: Can they be saved? Groove Korea put that question to Seoul’s vendors, and asked them for some solutions. Most were surprisingly optimistic and modernization was at the top of the list

Banking advice: Financial advice for expats, by Michelle Farnsworth 7,000 miles of separation: Repatriation column, by John M. Rodgers

ARTS & CULTURE

30 38 39 40 41

Eat Your Kimchi: During the course of an afternoon with Simon and Martina Stawski in Seoul, Groove Korea saw firsthand how the increasingly popular website Eat Your Kimchi has propelled the couple towards stardom

Box office previews: The Bourne Legacy, Taken 2 Korean DVD reviews: Oasis, Green Fish Theater: The perversity of expat theater Exhibits: 20 exhibitions in September

FOOD & DRINK

42 44 46 48 50 54

Cafe mamas: Brunch for busy people Urbs & Spices: Make your own mayo Squid Ink: Make your own dressing The return of Namsan Kimchi Jjigae: Seoul’s best jjigae joint reopens La Crème de Korea: Survey results for Korea’s ice cream treats Veg out with Vegan Beats: Vegan blogger profile

COMMUNITY

56 64 68

Mysterious deaths shake expat community: Kari Bowerman and Cathy Huynh had just begun their week-long vacation in Vietnam when they suddenly fell ill and passed away due to unknown causes

www.kojects.com: If you like big things, you’ll like this blog Fitness column: No weights? No problem

MUSIC

Korean rock bands The best places to find new sounds are away from

Under the radar clubs: 5 places to shake it in September

Hongdae. Take in a new hood, a live show in Union, Ccott Dang, Jeonju Salon, Lowrise, and POWWOW

DESTINATIONS

78 84

Perfect your travel photos: Seoul expats launch photography venture Insects in paradise: Bijin Island

CAPTURING KOREA

Out with the old: Whole neighborhoods are flattened to make room for cookie-cutter apartment buildings for Seoul’s expanding middle class

ENTERTAINMENT

96 97 98 99 100

Photo Challenge Horoscopes Comics Games Where to find Groove Korea

KOREA 4th floor, Shinwoo Bldg. 5-7 Yongsan 3-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Korea. 010 5348 0212 / 02 6925 5057 / info@groovekorea.com

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF CEO

Matthew Lamers mattlamers@groovekorea.com Steve Seung-Jin Lee steve.lee@groovekorea.com

Editorial Desk TRAVEL & FOOD EDITOR MUSIC EDITOR ARTS EDITOR COMMUNITY EDITOR INSIGHT EDITOR CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Art & Design ART DIRECTOR

Josh Foreman joshforeman@groovekorea.com

DESIGNERS

Ethan Thomas mattlamers@groovekorea.com

Daniel Sanchez daniel@groovekorea.com Jumi Leem jmleem@groovekorea.com

Daniel Vorderstrasse danielv@groovekorea.com

Danielle Potgieter danielle@groovemedia.co.kr

Jenny Na jenny@groovekorea.com

Adela Ordoñez aordonez612@gmail.com

Matthew Lamers mattlamers@groovekorea.com

Advertising

Elaine Ramirez elaine@groovekorea.com

DIRECTOR

Doyi Kim doyi@groovemedia.co.kr

EDITOR-AT-LARGE

John M. Rodgers jmrseoul@gmail.com

MANAGER

Lee Sang-hyuk shlee@groovemedia.co.kr

EDITOR-AT-LARGE

John Burton johncburton3@gmail.com

ASSISTANT MANAGER

Claire Jung claire@groovemedia.co.kr

Marketing & Administration MARKETING EXECUTIVE MARKETING DIRECTOR ACCOUNTING

Consulting & Web CHIEF CONSULTANT

Jay Park jpark@groovemedia.co.kr

WEBMASTER

Peter Chong yschong@groovekorea.com Jang Eun-young

Michelle Farnsworth michelle@groovekorea.com Dan Himes dan@groovekorea.com

Contributors PHOTOGRAPHERS

WRITERS, PROOFREADERS Luc Forsyth, Rob Ouwehand, James Little, Lisa Pollack, Michelle Farnsworth, Colin Roohan, Nathan Schwartzman, Read Urban, Ara Cho, Daniel Vorderstrasse, Paloma Julian, Elaine Knight, Dean Crawford, Conor O’Reilly, Flash Parker, Rajnesh Sharma, George Kim, Tighe Burke, Gwen Devera Waden, Colin Owen Griffin.

James Little, Colin Roohan, Rayiaz Khan, Duk-hwa, Dylan Goldby, Romin Lee Johnson, Mike Hurt, Seok Oh-yu, Luc Forsyth, Galvin Hinton, Victoria Burgamy, Gwen Devera Waden, Ryan Noel, Oh Ju-seok, Melissa Hubley, Elizabeth Papile, Gavin Hinton.

PUBLISHER

Sean Choi sean@groovekorea.com

To contact Groove Korea for advertising, submissions or general comments, please email: info@groovekorea.com. The articles are the sole property of GROOVE KOREA. No reproduction is permitted without the express written consent of GROOVE KOREA. The opinions expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of the publisher. Issue Date: Sept. 1, 2012 Registration Date: January 25, 2008 Registration No.: Seoul Ra 11806

CREDITS / Connecting communities, On the cover

Connecting

On the cover:

Communities

Eat Your Kimchi

Introducing the editors, writers and photographers behind September’s issue.

How two Canadians, Simon and Martina Stawski of www.EatYourKimchi.com, rode to the crest of the Korean Wave, becoming the top source of information in English for K-pop. See the full story on Page 30

Danielle Potgieter

How to save Korea’s dying markets

South Africa

Danielle is a freelance designer from Cape Town, South Africa. After completing her graphic design degree, she worked for Ogilvy’s retail department for two years. Bored of the corporate world, she packed up and left town, arriving here in 2011. She likes to eat chocolate when she’s sad and is passionate about traveling, music and people. Danielle is one of our designers.

Read Urban USA

Read Urban hails from Virginia, where he spent years cooking in restaurants and learning how to make food from scratch. Since coming to Korea, he has explored the country’s culinary landscape, finding new uses for traditional Korean ingredients. His culinary creations include “getnip” pesto, kabocha squash risotto, and pork and barley stew. He is a graduate of Virginia Tech. Read writes the monthly column Urbs & Spices.

Jamie Keener USA

Jamie has a passion for arts and writing. With a profound theater background from Austin, Texas, and dabbling in the expat theatre community scene in Seoul, she’s currently pursuing her master’s in creative writing. She hopes to fill her time in Seoul teaching and learning about Korea’s culture. She loves movies, reading fiction, traveling, food and wine. Jamie is an intern at Groove Korea.

Daniel Sanchez Colombia

After government policies failed to bring customers back to traditional markets, vendors step up with their own ideas Groove is the No. 1 magazine for expats in Korea. Find out what’s new, whats news and what is there to do

KOREA •

Issue 71 / September 2012

www.groovekorea.com

5 places to shake it in Itaewon

Out with the old Whole communities in Seoul are leveled to make room for new housing

No Justin Timberlake here. These places spin some of the best noncommercial music in the city

ECLECTIC EATS • • • • • •

Namsan Kimchi Jjigae Mamas: Brunch for busy people Veg out with Vegan Beats The best ice cream in Korea Make your own mayo Do it yourself dressing

kimchi! Eat Your

In memoriam

Korea-based expats Kari Bowerman and Cathy Huynh are remembered one month after they passed away while travelling in Vietnam

How two Canadians rode to the crest of the Korean Wave

Cover photo by James Little / Design by Daniel Sanchez

Daniel is a graphic artist and typographer, born and raised in South America. Daniel enjoys playing music, letting loose at the noraebang and visiting jazz cafes. He loves sports, mini-golf and hunting for ethnic food venues. Catch him on the KBS show “Go Go Korea” as he and his brother explore Korea’s cuisine. He is a Visual Arts graduate student and Groove Korea’s art director.

Our past three issues:

Michelle Farnsworth USA

Michelle Farnsworth has been living in Korea for nine years. She is the foreign client relationship manager of Shinhan Bank’s Foreign Customer Department. While teaching, she completed her MBA at Sejong University. Michelle then worked as a market analyst at a Korean trade company and as a business development consultant before joining Shinhan Bank. Michelle is Groove Korea’s finance columnist.

August 2012

July 2012

June 2012

Korea’s rail adventures, studying Korean, The streets of Seoul

Multiculturalism, Jisan Rock Festival, North Korean defectors

Krys Lee, The sensational story of Lilly Lee, Brian Aylward’s comeback

Check out past issues at

www.groovekorea.com Groove Korea Magazine www.groovekorea.com

CONTENTS / Must Reads

Must Reads Can Korea’s dying markets be saved?

7,000 miles of separation

Page 18

Page 28

Groove Korea put that question to Seoul’s vendors, and asked them for some solutions. Despite two decades of falling sales, most of them were surprisingly optimistic and modernization was at the top of the list.

One of the reasons that many people move their life abroad is to put some distance between that life (with all its compartments) and other things, including family.

The final days of Cathy Huynh and Kari Bowerman

Eat Your Kimchi: K-pop for all

Page 56

Page 30

Kari Bowerman and Cathy Huynh had just begun their week-long vacation in Vietnam when they suddenly fell ill and passed away due to unknown causes.One month after their deaths, many questions are left unanswered about what happened to them.

During the course of an afternoon with Simon and Martina Stawski in Hongdae, Seoul, Groove Korea saw firsthand how the increasingly popular website Eat Your Kimchi has propelled the couple towards stardom.

Out with the old: Rebuilding Seoul

Seoul’s best under-the-radar clubs

Page 88

Page 74

Whole neighborhoods are flattened to make room for cookie-cutter apartment buildings for Seoul’s expanding middle class. Seongdong-gu is in a fairly early stage of dismemberment. Photographer Scott Hemsey climbed to a building’s roof and this is the view that awaited him: traditional-style roofs set against a sea of towering apartment blocks.

The Seoul club scene, vibrant as it is, can get a bit staid if you go out a lot. Through trial and error (and a good tip here and there), we’ve found a few places that rank as the best under-the-radar clubs in the city.

Groove Korea Magazine September 2012 • Issue 71

Feedback / The Inbox

Groove’s

Inbox

What’s on your mind? Share your thoughts on a Groove article: Did you love it? Did it suck? Are you planning a charity concert and want to spread the word? This is your page — get your message out! Facebook it; tweet it; e-mail it to submissions@groovekorea.com

www.groovekorea.com Re: Rail is right (cover story) Great article and an even better spread. The best travel section I have ever seen in a magazine in Korea; you did a truly commendable job. However, I was a little disappointed at the lack of Gangwon Province, particularly the northeast of the country. Lots of great stuff to see there and if you’re talking about trains don’t miss the Sea Train. Get out to Pyeongchang before the KTX (and the Olympics in 2018) have it overrun by tourists! — Amy Lee Re: Don’t stop the music I also started to incorporate Korean dramas into my language learning. I usually use K-pop as a fun way to test my ability to recognize Korean words, but Korean dramas are set in a more realistic setting so I can compare what I know to what I hear while watching my favorite dramas. — Nicole Re: Don’t stop the music I love listening to K-pop just for fun, but I find it helps me learn informal expressions, and on this basis I feel like were I to be friends with someone in Korea, I could casually talk to them. I use dramas as well, and through TTMIK lessons I am able to understand more and more each day. I stay motivated because I have pictures of my favorite Korean stars on my wall in simple wallet-sized photos and I tell myself every day, “I WILL be able to talk to you in Korean one day,” and it inspires me for a while :) — Angelica

Letter Korea’s markets The obligatory closure of discount stores such as E-mart and Home Plus two Sundays every month is not an effective way to help traditional markets. It is inconvenient for consumers. Traditional markets have their own problems. They are worn-out facilities and lack parking spaces. The policy has its limits. Their sales will decline unless their fundamental problems are addressed. The government has to offer viable solutions to reinvigorate traditional markets. — Yeon Ji-hwa, student at Soongsil University

Facebook Re: Korea Beat Quite disgusted to read in Korea Beat about the math tutor, who had molested a 1st grader 12 times. Disgusted that Seoul High Court felt he should get probation rather than a prison sentence, not just because he recognized and regretted his crimes (yeah, O.K...), but also because he paid the child’s family a monetary settlement. I’m sorry, what? What monetary value does one’s parents put on their child being molested? — Elaine Docherty Rockdo concert Come noon on Sept. 8, the coolest concert in Korea will kick off on Seoul’s Yeouido Floating Island with a kick-ass lineup that includes No Respect For Beauty, Love X Stereo, Angry Bear, Magna Fall and more. — Patrick Connor

Groove Korea Magazine www.groovekorea.com

This month’s

Events 1 - Saturday

2 - Sunday

3 - Monday

4 - Tuesday

5 - Wednesday

6 - Thursday

7 - Friday

Tour: Andong Culinary Tour with guide Daniel Gray of O’ngo Food Communications; ongofood.com

Food: Sunday Buffet Brunch @ Big Rock in Gangnam; 11,000 won; bigrockbeer.co.kr

Social: Open mic @ Tony’s in Itaweon (Mondays); tonysitaewon.com

Food: 2 For 1 fish & chips @ Wolfhound (Tuesdays); wolfhoundpub.com

Social: Standup comedy (Wednesdays) @ Tony’s in Itaewon; tonysitaewon.com

Music: PS I Love You @ POWWOW in Noksapyeong; 8 pm; 15,000 won

Happy hour: 2,000 won off beer/wine @ Craftworks in Noksapyeong; 4-6 pm; craftworkstaphouse.com

Baseball: Doosan Bears vs SK Wyverns @ 5pm in Incheon, Munhak Stadium

Festival: Intl Body painting festival @ Kolon Field Concert hall, 1-2 Sept: Duryu Park, Daegu dibf.co.kr/html

Exhibit: Closing of Pablo Picasso exhibit “Exploring Picasso” @ Insa Art Center; Anguk stn, ln 3 ex 6; on Insadong street

Beer: 15,000 won all-you-can-drink beer @ Beer Garden, Renaissance Hotel; (every day, 6-9 p.m.); (02) 2222-8630

Happy Hour: All-you-can drink @ Big Rock in Gangnam; 25,000 won for Big Rock beer or 15,000 for OB; 7-10 pm

Social: Quiz night @ 3 Alley Pub in Itaewon; win beer; 3alleypub.com

Music: Mingus Big Band @ LG Arts Center; 8 pm; www.lgart.com

Wine: Try 150 wines @ Dragon Hill Lodge with buffet of cheese; $30

Food: Sunday Roast @ Craftworks in Noksapyeong; craftworkstaphouse.com

Exhibit: Kohei Nawa’s exhibitiuon “TRANS” opens @ Arario Gallery; see exhibits page for info

Comedy: Stand Up Seoul Comedy Night @ Rocky Mountain Tavern in Itaewon; 9 pm; rockymountaintavern.com

Festival: Seogwipo 75 Chilsimni Festival in Seogwipo, Jeju; Sept 7-11; www. i70ni.com

8 - Saturday

9 - Sunday

10 - Monday

11 - Tuesday

12 Wednesday

13 - Thursday

14 - Friday

Festival: Rockdo Music Festival @ Yeouido Floating Island; No Respect For Beauty, ynot, Magna Fall, etc; rockdoseoul.com

Music: SAC Jazz Festival @ Seoul Arts Center 8, 9 Sept: Seocho-gu, Seoul www.sac. or.kr

Food: Wing night @ Craftworks in Noksapyeong (Mondays); craftworkstaphouse. com

Food: Wing night @ Rocky Mountain Tavern in Itaewon (Tuesdays); rockymountaintavern. com

Lecture: The Remarkable Tale of the Earliest Sound Recordings of Korean Music; 730 pm; Residents’ Lounge, Somerset

Social: Open mic @ Orange Tree in HBC (Thursdays); (02) 749-8202

Fundraiser: Friday Night Fundraiser for Cathy and Kari @ Sin Bin, Itaewon; from 8pm; on.fb.me/NEyPDx

Happy hour: 3,000 won off Orange Mint Mojito @ Noxa Lounge in Itaewon; 5pm-1am

Baseball: Doosan Bears vs Samsung Lions @ 5pm in Daegu

Happy hour: 3,000 won off Jack Daniels and Finlandia Vodka (all day) @ DOJO in Itaewon

Food: Half price fish & chips @ Big Rock in Gangnam; 500 won/wing; bigrockbeer.co.kr

Food: Cheese steak sandwich night @ Hollywood Grill in Itaewon; (02) 749-1659

Festival: Last day of Chungju World Martial Arts Festival in Chungju, Chungcheongbukdo; english. visitkorea.or.kr

Music: Maroon 5 live in Busan @ Busan Sajic Stadium & in Seoul on Sept. 15 @ Jamsil Sports Complex

Baseball: Kia Tigers vs LG Twins @ 5pm in Seoul, Jamsil Stadium

15 Saturday

16 - Sunday

17 - Monday

Festival: Irish music and Dance festival, the annual “hooley” @ D-Cube plaza, Sindorim; 2 pm

Happy hour: 3,000 won off Bloody Marys @ Noxa Lounge in Itaewon; 12pm-5pm

Music: No Respect for Beauty @ Dolce in Cheonan; 10 pm

Beer: 8th anniversary party for Rocky Mountain Tavern in Itaewon; rockymountaintavern.com

Self-help: AA meeting @ the International Lutheran Church; 5 p.m.

Food: Wing Night @ Big Rock in Gangnam; 500 won/wing; bigrockbeer.co.kr

SEPT. 8

For suggestions or comments email Matthew Lamers: mattlamers@groovekorea.com

*All the events published in this calendar are subject to unforeseen changes by the promoters. Groove Korea does not take responsibility for any missunderstandings or third party damage.

18 - Tuesday

19 Wednesday

20 - Thursday

21 - Friday

22 - Saturday

23 - Sunday

24 - Monday

Food: Wing night @ 3 Alley Pub in Itaewon (Tuesdays); 3alleypub. com

Social: Standup comedy (Wednesdays) @ Tony’s in Itaewon; tonysitaewon.com

Happy hour: 3,000 won off “bomb shots” (all night) @ DOJO in Itaewon

Arts: David Mamet’s: Sexual Perversity in Chicago @ Whitebox Theatre 21, 22, 23 Sept.; probationarytheatre.com

Grand opening: New Buddha’s Belly beside Berlin (on the bill); 9 pm to late

Tour: Join Royal Asiatic Society on a 1-day excursion to Suwon; 9 am; raskb.com

Beer: All-youcan-drink beer @ Ssada! Maeck Ju in Hongdae; 8,000 won (every day); (02) 3141-7011

Food: Pasta night @ Craftworks in Noksapyeong (Tuesdays); craftworkstaphouse. com

Happy hour: Allyou-can drink @ Big Rock in Gangnam; 25,000 won for BR beer or 15K for OB; 7-10pm; bigrockbeer.co.kr

Social: Open mic @ Orange Tree in HBC (Thursdays); (02) 749-8202

Festival: DMZ Korean International Documentary Festival in Paju, Gyeonggi-do; Sept 21-27; dmzdocs. com

Zombies: Zombie Walk Seoul in Hongdae; 4 pm; facebook.com/ zombiewalkseoul

Baseball: Kia Tigers vs Nexen Heroes @ 5pm in Mokdong, Seoul

Music: Keane @ Olympic Park Gymnasium; 8 pm

Beer: 15,000 won all-you-can-drink @ Beer Garden; Renaissance Hotel; 6-9 pm (every day); (02) 22228630

Exhibit: Closing of Blair Kitchener exhibition “Namsan More Beautiful Than Answers” @ Garage Gallery (Noksapyeong stn.)

SEPT. 21-27

25 - Tuesday

26 Wednesday

27 - Thursday

28 - Friday

29 Saturday

30 - Sunday

Lecture: The Decision, or War in Korea: Revelations from Russian Archives; 7:30pm; Somerset Palace; raskb.com

Social: Quiz night @ Craftworks in Noksapyeong (Wednesdays); craftworkstaphouse.com

Social: Quiz night @ 3 Alley Pub in Itaewon; win beer; 3alleypub.com

Exhibit: Closing of Felix GonzalezTorres exhibition “Double” @ Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art

Beer festival: try 16 home-brewed beers @ at bars in Itaewon/HBC; 10,000 won

Exhibit: Closing of Myths & Legends: Exhibition of Louvre Museum @ : Hangaram Art Museum, Seoul Arts Center

Happy hour: 2,000 won off martinis (all night) @ DOJO in Itaewon

Happy hour: 2,000 won off glasses of house wine (all night) @ DOJO in Itaewon

Beer: Men’s night @ Craftworks in Noksapyeong (Thursdays); 2,000 won off single malts and 1,000 won off all beers

Festival: Andong Maskdance Festival in Andong, Gyeongsangbukdo; Sept 28-Oct 7; maskdance.com

Festival : Grape Harvest Festival @ Ken Kim’s Winery 29, Sept: Anseong, Korea anseongwine.com

Baseball: Samsung Lions vs Nexen Heroes @ 5 pm in Mokdong, Seoul

Food: Wing night @ Rocky Mountain Tavern in Itaewon (Tuesdays); rockymountaintavern. com

Baseball: Hanwha Eagles vs Doosan Bears @ 6:30 pm in Jamsil, Seoul

SEPT. 14-15

KOREA BEAT / National News

Korea Beat National News

All stories translated by Nathan Schwartzman at www.koreabeat.com and edited by Groove Korea for length and clarity. The opinions expressed here do not represent those of Groove Korea. — Ed.

Korean students — no summer for you!

Fresh sex scandal hits Korea University

Most elementary-age students spent their summer vacation going from one special hagwon to another. One boy, Choi, a student at Yuljeon Elementary School in Suwon, told a reporter that he was actually busier in the summer than during the school year. His mother signed him up for a math hagwon and an English conversation hagwon. The 13-year-old said his summer objective was to get ready for middle school and improve his ability to get better grades in Korean, English and math. Young Choi had been attending a supplementary hagwon for three hours each day before the summer, but that increased to six hours per day through his month-long summer holiday. Another student, this one only 9, found herself in a similar situation. The Sukji Elementary School student was told by her mother that she “cannot simply stay at home” during her vacation, so she was enrolled in swimming, painting and dance academies. Kim spent more time with her hagwon friends than her neighborhood friends. “Arts and physical education lessons have to be learned at a young

More than six months after female students at Korea University accused a professor of sexually harassing them, the school is once again facing accusations that it is dragging its feet in the investigation. Two female graduate students went to the school with allegations that their advisor, a professor, had sexually molested them in March. They said the man, known in the media as “professor A,” “stayed with us at a motel to work on our theses … he frequently attempted to touch us.” According to Korea University regulations, action must be taken within 60 days of such an accusation. Once that period has passed, the victims are to be notified of the committee’s results. As of late August it had been 160 days since their report, and the school was still investigating. The committee established to deal with the accusation includes a women’s student union representative. “During the period of the investigation, the two accusers have been unable to submit their theses or schedule a defense, but the victims could have been able to do so in about two weeks if the chancellor had strongly advocated it.” In his defense, professor A is

age,” her mother said. “During the school year, she has no time for those lessons because of her academic hagwon, so it has to be during the (summer) vacation.” Private academies are more than eager to take parents’ children — and money — off their hands by offering dozens of different special summer classes. There are special month-long hagwon programs for math, English, science, dancing, painting, piano, violin, computers and pretty much every other subject that comes to mind. “During summer vacations when students have, relatively speaking, a lot of free time, there are a lot of special, temporary programs,” said one hagwon official. “During the semester students are barely keeping up with their lessons. So during vacations you would think they would try to make up for things they couldn’t do, but actually it’s all their parents’ wishes, not theirs.” The kids, however, aren’t without supporters. “I feel sorry for the kids,” said an official at an education office. “Education should be directed by one’s own free choices.”

calling the women “gold diggers,” saying they seduced him at the motel. The two students didn’t mention why they went to a motel with their professor in the complaint. Last year the school was accused of dragging its feet after a medical student was sexually assaulted by two classmates. “After the medical student molestation case last year, we expected the school to be more active in protecting students, and improve its attitude,” said Lee Ah-lim, a member of Korea University’s women’s student union. “But in this case we can see that almost nothing has changed.” Korea University’s public relations department said the investigation had been extended, but did not give the specific reason. Jeong Hagyeongju, an activist, said longer investigations only prolong the pain of victims. “If the investigation is extended after there has been a sexual assault, the victim’s pain increases and she can be ostracized at school and in other public places … the school’s Gender Equality Center needs to have a strengthened role and authority.”

In Brief Unemployed men in 20s are stressed: data

Flashing genitals ‘not sexual assault’: Supreme Court

More young men are being treated for stress-related disorders, according to data collected by the National Health Insurance Corporation. The number of male patients in their 20s being treated for symptoms stemming from stress increased to 6,562 in 2010, an increase from 5,034 in 2007. Out of every 10,000 unemployed men in their 20s, 227 are being treated for stress, a 47.4 percent increase from five years ago. Their female peers saw only a 13.9 percent increase over the same period.

The Supreme Court overturned the ruling and 4 million won fine handed down to a man who had been convicted for flashing his genitals at a women. Showing one’s genitals to someone else does not constitute sexual assault, the court ruled. The case was returned to the Busan District Court. “Merely removing one’s pants and displaying one’s genitals cannot be seen as ‘sexual assault,’ even if it engenders feelings of shame or revulsion or is accompanied by violence or threats.” The flasher, known only as Mr. Kang,

Groove Korea Magazine September 2012 • Issue 71

One man, Mr. Lee, 29, has been unable to find work in the two years since he graduated from college. Lee said he is constantly depressed and has noticed an increase in anxiety. “Unemployed men in their 20s are facing the crisis of long-term unemployment, even as women become more competitive in the job market,” said Shin Yeong-cheol, professor of psychology at Kangbuk Samsung Hospital. “With their future prospects dim, they are under intensifying spiritual and psychological stress.”

had been in an argument with “Ms. A,” whom he said he did not like. As the woman walked away, Kang insulted her, pulled down his pants and showed her his genitals when she ignored him. Both the trial and appeals courts fined him 4 million won. The trial court had acquitted him of sexual assault, finding him guilty only of threats and obstruction of justice, ruling there was “insufficient” evidence from the victim’s testimony. But the appeals court found him guilty of sexual assault and that it “violated the victim’s sexual freedom.”

KOREA BEAT / National News

Philippines a dangerous place for Koreans The frequency of Korean tourists going missing or getting killed in the Philippines has increased in the past 10 months, as has the number of Koreans going to the Philippines for tourism and language study. According to the Philippines Department of Tourism, 840,000 Korean tourists visited the country in 2011. In 2007 Korea became the Philippines’ largest source of foreign tourists. In June, one father posted on an internet forum: “I want to find my son.” His boy, “Mr. Hong,” 32, disappeared in September of last year while on a five-night, six-day backpacking trip in the Philippines. Three days before he was to return, his family received a phone call. Speaking in an urgent tone, their son said “I need settlement money, please send 10 million won ($8,725).” They sent the money but have not heard from their son since. His parents continue to make inquiries at the Philippine Embassy in Korea, searching for their son’s whereabouts. “So far I have contacted the embassy, but I haven’t even received a return phone call,” senior Hong said. The Philippines is becoming an increasingly dangerous place for Koreans. The Korea Institute for

Criminology published a study of crimes committed against Koreans in the Philippines from 2006 to 2010. In the past five years, 95 Korean’s whereabouts in the Philippines are unknown; 30 have been murdered; and 45 have been kidnapped for ransom. “There are very few cases of Koreans disappearing or being murdered in other Southeast Asian nations,” KIC Chairman Jang Jun-oh said. In the Philippines, “there are an increasing number of crimes linked to factors such as gun ownership.” The victims are diverse, from businessmen with money to international students and missionary teachers. Last year “Ms. Kim,” who was then 23 years old and a medical student at a women’s university in the Philippines, was found dead at a hotel in Manila. An employee opened the door and entered the room to find the woman and a 26-year-old Filipino man lying dead on the floor. Both the Filipino man and the Korean woman had gunshot wounds. Local police believe that the Filipino man killed Kim before committing suicide. However, the Korean Embassy said that, “because the Filipino man was neatly lying down facing the ceiling it is not possible for it to have been suicide,” raising doubts about the police investigation.

Other common crimes involve theft and kidnap-for-ransom schemes. In 2011, 34-year-old “Mr. Kang” had been travelling in the Philippines when two local women approached him as he sat on a bench in a public park. He walked away with them. After drinking two bottles of beer at a seaside restaurant, he passed out and woke up to find that 2.5 million won ($2,180) was missing from his bank account. In February of this year, 57-yearold “Mr. Nam” was kidnapped in the Philippines along with some police

officers and his guide. The men were only released after a ransom of 24 million won was paid. “I still cannot forget the moment when a gun was pointed at me,” he told Korean media. Lee Sang-yun, secretary of the overseas citizens department with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said that, “Working with Philippine police, we have created a department in Manila dedicated to crimes involving Koreans and are considering establishing another consulate general.”

1/3 of office workers have been bullied One in three office workers in Korea has been the target of bullying at the office, according to a recent survey. The employment website Saramin published the results of its survey of 3,035 office workers, finding that 30.4 percent had been ostracized or bullied at their workplace. In the study, more women (34.1 percent) than men (27.6 percent) complained of having experienced such treatment. When asked what happened in those situations, 57.2 percent said that “co-workers had secret conversations about me,” 34.7 percent said “I was the only person

not informed of company dinners and other gatherings,” 25.6 percent said “people ignored me when I greeted them,” and 20.8 percent said that “I was given trivial work such as running errands.” The average time period of the episodes was seven months, the study found. Forty-three percent of the episodes were instigated by superiors, followed by senior coworkers, same-level co-workers, then junior colleagues. Thirty-three percent of office workers said that they had quit jobs because of stress over being ostracized or bullied. Nine percent sought mental counseling.

In Brief Korean man protests at Yasukuni Shrine in Japan

Animal rights activists protest dog meat restaurants

Defectors defraud smartphone users, earning 11 million won

In Japan on Aug. 15, which is commemorated in South Korea as Liberation Day, a lone Korean man took a Korean flag near the infamous Yasukuni Shrine in Japan to protest its role in the ongoing disputes over the two country’s shared history. Video of Japanese police forcing him away has been making the rounds on the Korean internet. The shrine is dedicated to those who died in the service of Imperial Japan’s military. It includes over 21,000 Koreans.

After a photo of dogs crammed into tiny cages in the bed of a pick-up truck went virl on the internet in the summer, animal-rights groups launched anti-dog meat-restaurant protests around the country. Dogs for human consumption are beaten to death before being prepared for restaurant patrons. The more a dog suffers, the more “stamina” the customer gets, the theory goes.

A spokesperson with the Wonmi Police Station in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, announced that it is seeking an arrest warrant for two teenage North Korean defectors, one of which is 20-year old “Mr. A,” on charges of fraudulently earning 11 million won by pretending to sell new smartphones at low prices. Mr. A and his partner are accused of using the internet to advertise that

they could sell used smartphones for 150,000 to 300,000 won. They earned 11 million won by defrauding 41 victims. Investigators postulate that they had been struggling to adapt to South Korean society when they formed their criminal plan and spent their money on hookers, according to Korean media reports.

Groove Korea Magazine www.groovekorea.com

INSIGHT / Korea’s dying markets

Korea’s dying markets

Vendors speak about failed policies, suggest solutions Story and Photos by Dylan Goldby

INSIGHT / Korea’s dying markets

Korea’s traditional markets have seen a staggering decline within the last 20 years. As recently as 1993, most Korean housewives would head to a local market for fresh poultry, produce and groceries. When the first E-Mart opened in November that year, it introduced a whole new world of discount shopping to Korean consumers. Clean, modern facilities sprung up around the country, offering competitive pricing on almost anything one needed for a home. Instead of customers haggling for lower prices, economies of scale did it for them. It forever changed how Koreans shopped and brought on the decline of traditional markets. After E-Mart’s success, many have jumped into the market, driving competition up and prices even lower. Lotte Mart opened its first discount store in 1998 and now has 96 branches. Homeplus launched in 2000 and now has 130 locations. The aforementioned E-Mart is the market leader with 146 outlets. Korea’s markets are dying and there isn’t much anyone can do about it, but that doesn’t mean the government isn’t trying. On April 22, the government announced an ambitious plan to help struggling traditional markets and small businesses. What Korea calls “super supermarkets” (SSMs) and large discount stores all over Korea were forced to close their doors on the second and fourth Sunday of every month. The ordinance, known as the SSM Regulation, also limited their operating hours to 8 a.m. to midnight. But it’s not only large discount stores that threaten the existence of traditional markets. HomePlus Express and Emart Everyday are small

enough that they can be opened in neighborhood side streets quickly and cheaply. They also have the backing of the conglomerates and are able to offer goods at lower prices than the traditional markets that are usually just around the corner. All of this prompted the passing of the SSM Regulation. It has been met with a mixed reaction, but it seems the tide has turned against the law. Most people either think it’s completely ineffective or illegal. Only a small percentage of people think it achieved its goal. The regulation itself, although passed by the national government, was set up as an ordinance that could be reviewed by each of the local governments in the country, such as the district offices in Seoul. As such, local governments around the country have been striking down the ordinance one after another. In total, 760 of the 1,463 (52 percent) affected stores were still not allowed to open on two Sundays a month, while 699 faced no limitations because their local government overturned the ordinance as of the first week of August. The ordinance’s days seem numbered. By the time all 1,463 stores are allowed to open whenever they want, the ordinance will have accomplished nothing. Markets will scramble to find ways to attract more customers. The government will search for another plan. Can Korea’s markets be saved? Groove Korea put that question to Seoul’s market vendors, and asked them for some solutions. Surprisingly, most of the people we talked to were optimistic. As for solutions, modernizations was touted by many as the way forward, with others suggesting improved customer service and even more parking spaces.

INSIGHT / Korea’s dying markets

Name: Ahn Jeong-bun Age: 57 Occupation in market: Owner, producer of side dishes Market: Gubeundari Alley Market Why did you open your market stall? I love making food. People kept telling me to give it a go, so I started this store. It’s hard work, as we have to clean, cut and make everything ourselves. People like the kimchi, so many customers come here. After the SSM ruling was reversed in this area, have more or fewer people come to the market? As long as we have big supermarkets, there will always be people who go there. People still come here, too. Well, people like me come here. Why do you think people prefer big supermarkets? Well, I guess they’re just better. People don’t have time, and many don’t like to make food. Even when they do, it doesn’t taste very good.

“Well, I guess (supermarkets) are just better. People don't have time, and many don't like to make food. Even when they do, it doesn't taste very good.” — Ahn Jeong-bun, market vendor

In your opinion, did the SSM ruling help? Of course! If those places close for a day, people have to shop somewhere. People who need something urgently when the supermarket is closed will come here to get it. I think that’s great.

INSIGHT / Korea’s dying markets

Name: Kim Jong-ho Age: 62 Occupation in market: Vice president of market committee Market: Gubeundari Alley Market Do you think the regulation has helped? Certainly. Especially in the first few months. We have 84 stalls at our market. We never used to have empty storefronts here, but lately more and more are closing. I hoped that the Seoul city government and Gangdong district would have enforced the regulation more strongly. Large companies control everything, and that is hard for us to compete with.

“There are a lot of things we need to change to make people come here. We need modern facilities like parking areas. Also, even when I look at the awnings and signs, all I think is dirty. We need to improve those as well.” — Kim Jong-ho, market administrator

For the short time the regulation was in effect here, did you notice that more people came to the market? Yes. It wasn’t really apparent at first, but after two weeks, more people started to come. It was great. Sales increased significantly, but these days they are decreasing again. Especially on hot days like today. More will come in the evening, when it cools down a little. What do you think can be done to save traditional markets? First of all, we need to modernize the market. Take the signs for example: they need changing. Even I don’t want to look at them. They look messy. We need all the stalls to have the same sign, and we have to replace these old awnings.

INSIGHT / Korea’s dying markets

Name: Choi Tae-ja Age: 56 Occupation in market: 28 years operating a fish store Market: Gubeundari Alley Market Why do you think more and more people go to the big supermarkets? The big supermarkets are convenient and simple. You can go there and get everything you need without worrying. Are there any other reasons people might not choose a market like this? Before the subway came through here, many people visited the market. But since that time, the number of people has been getting smaller and smaller.

“Before the subway came through here, many people visited the market. But since that time, the number of people has been getting smaller and smaller.” — Choi Tae-ja, market vendor

INSIGHT / Korea’s dying markets

Name: Son Kyeong-seok Age: 28 Occupation in market: Runs fish stall with brother Market: Dunchon-dong Market Do you think that the SSM Ruling has helped? For us, we don’t really feel its existence. It has not had a significant influence here. We didn’t notice anything. There are large supermarkets close by this market. Do you feel that they are affecting your business? I didn’t notice it before, but these days I feel it a little. More people are going to those supermarkets now.

“For us, we don’t really feel its existence. It has had not had a significant influence here. We didn’t notice anything.” — Son Kyeong-seok, market vendor

INSIGHT / Korea’s dying markets

Name: So Chang-u Age: 32 Occupation in market: Butcher Market: Dunchon-dong Market Do you feel that the SSM Regulation has had much of an effect? If there has been an effect, the reason I don’t think it is significant is because people will go, or not go, where they want. Just because they made a law doesn’t mean people will automatically come here, or go to a big supermarket. We, as merchants, have to work hard at the markets to make sure the big supermarkets don’t take away our customers. Closing the big supermarkets for two days a month does not mean those people will come to our market. The media are saying that this regulation is bringing more people to traditional markets, but the truth is that it really isn’t. Even with that law, the SSMs are open more days than they are closed. On the days when they are open, we just have to work harder so they don’t take our customers. What can merchants at traditional markets do to bring back customers? We have to change the way we think. We have to work hard for all our customers, not just our regular or big buyers. We have our regular customers. But others come, too. They don’t buy a lot, just a bit of this and that. We have to treat these customers the same. We shouldn’t only greet our big customers with a 90-degree bow, and then just send the smaller customers away.

“We have to change the way we think. We have to work hard for all our customers, not just our regular or big buyers. We have our regular customers. But others come, too. They don’t buy a lot, but just a bit of this and that. We have to treat these customers the same. We shouldn’t only greet our big customers with a 90-degree bow, and then just send the smaller customers away.” — So Chang-u, market vendor

Groove Korea Magazine September 2012 • Issue 71

INSIGHT / Korea’s dying markets

Name: Jeon Sang-hui Age: 45 Occupation in market: Dried seaweed wholesale and Retail Market: Dunchon-dong Market How long have you operated your store? For seven years. Did you notice any effect when the regulation was in place? Our market is a little farther away from the SSMs, and so it didn’t really have any effect on us. Do you think that traditional markets are struggling because of SSMs? Certainly. It’s not like they don’t have any effect on traditional markets. What do you think makes your customers come to the traditional market? There are quite a few reasons. People live close by, and maybe they like the markets. There are some who come to traditional markets, and those who go to department stores. There are those that find what they need in a traditional market, and those who don’t even know about the market. People go to the department stores for processed foods, but come here for fresh foods. Maybe that is the biggest reason. What do you think can be done to save traditional markets? Rather than receiving help from outside, I think that we, as merchants, need to change. We need to make nicer displays, clean the place up a little bit, and be a little kinder. That’s probably the biggest thing. It doesn’t matter how much you beautify the market—people won’t come for that reason alone. We need to research, to find out what the customers want, but nobody is doing that. That’s the way I see it.

“Rather than receiving help from outside, I think that we, as merchants, need to change. It doesn’t matter how much you beautify the market — people won’t come for that reason alone. — Jeon Sang-hui, market vendor

Groove Korea Magazine www.groovekorea.com

INSIGHT / Dear Michelle: Financial advice for expats

Banking for kids How your foreign child can open a bank account

By Michelle Farnsworth / Illustration by Adela Ordoñez

About this column “Dear Michelle: Banking Advice for Expats” is a monthly column written by Michelle Farnsworth. Michelle is the foreign client relationship manager in the Shinhan Bank Foreign Customer Department. Please visit “Shinhan Expat Banking” on Facebook for more information. The banking information provided in this column is based on Shinhan Bank policies and may not be applicable to all banks in Korea. — Ed.

Groove Korea Magazine September 2012 • Issue 71

It’s never too early to start teaching your little ones about the value of money. Children in Korea can open accounts, too. Checking accounts, time deposits, installment accounts, and even online banking are available for minors and are great tools to help them learn to manage money at a young age. The regulations to access these products and services vary depending on age and nationality. Basically, if your child is not yet 14 years old, you will have to open all of his bank accounts, time deposits, and installment accounts on his behalf. You can even register for online banking on his behalf, although there are some limitations on the online transactions he will be able to make online. For example, he will

only be able to transfer up to 1 million won per day online. Also, children cannot be issued check cards until they are at least 14 years old (and of course they must have a valid Alien Registration Card in order to be issued a check card). The necessary documentation you will need to set this up will vary based on nationality – whether he is a Korean citizen (one of his parents is Korean) or whether he is a foreign citizen (neither of his parents are Korean). Your child need not be present when you set up his bank accounts for him. Once he turns 14, he can open his own accounts and register for online banking independently, as long as he has a valid passport and Alien Registration Card.

INSIGHT / Dear Michelle: Financial advice for expats

He can also get his own check card or you can give your child a family check card with access to your account. Both of these cards can be used internationally and parents can set a monthly spending limit on the child’s family check card. Regarding credit cards, it is never possible to issue one to anyone under 20. But it is possible to issue a family credit card,

Conditions

Types of transactions Open a checking account, time deposit or installment account

Child is < 14

Child is > 14

Child is < 18

Child is > 18

sharing your credit limit, to your children who are at least 18. It should also be noted that it is not possible for to open a fund account until age 20. However, a parent can visit a bank branch in person to open the fund account on behalf of the child, with the proper documentation.

Get a check card

Open a fund account

Parent must do on child’s behalf

Parent must do on child’s behalf with documentation

With Korean citizenship

Parent must do on child’s behalf with documentation

With Foreign citizenship

Parent must do on child’s behalf with documentation

With Korean citizenship

Child can do with Korean photo ID

Parent must do on child’s behalf with documentation

With Foreign citizenship

Child can do with passport & ARC

Parent must do on child’s behalf with documentation

With Korean citizenship

Child can do with Korean photo ID

With Foreign citizenship

Child can do with passport & ARC

With Korean citizenship

Child can do with Korean photo ID

With Foreign citizenship

Child can do with passport & ARC

Get a family credit card

Apply for a credit card

Not possible

Parent must do on child’s behalf with documentation

Parents can apply for this on child’s behalf

Not possible

Child can do with passport & ARC

Parent must do on child’s behalf with documentation

Parent and child, both need passport or ARC

Not possible

Child can do with Korean photo ID

Parents can apply for this on child’s behalf

Child can do with Korean photo ID

Child can do with passport & ARC

Not possible

Parent must do on child’s behalf with documentation

Banking transactions on behalf of a child with Korean citizenship

Banking transactions on behalf of a child with foreign citizenship

- Your passport (and Alien Registration Card if available) or if you are Korean, your Korean photo ID - A traditional Korean name stamp with the child’s name. This is called a “do-jang” ( 도장) in Korean - A Family Confirmation Certificate called a “kajok gwan-gye chungmyongsa” in Korean and which is available from your local government “dong” office. This certificate will usually show the child’s and the parent’s names and ID numbers -Another Family Confirmation Certificate called a Kibon chungmyungseo in Korean which is also available from your local government dong office. This document is only needed to register for online banking or open a fund account on behalf of your child. This certificate must have the child’s name on it.

- Your passport (and Alien Registration Card if available) - Your child’s passport (and Alien Registration Card if available) - A traditional Korean name stamp with the child’s name. This is called a "do-jang" ( 도장) in Korean. It doesn’t matter whether the child’s name is written on the stamp in English or Korean - A Family Confirmation Certificate for International Residents that proves you are the child’s legal guardian. This certificate is issued by Immigration and is called a “Weigukin deung-rok sashil jeungmyeongwon” (외국인등록사실증명원) in Korean.

Groove Korea Magazine www.groovekorea.com

INSIGHT / Repatriation

7,000 miles of separation By John M. Rodgers / Illustration by Adela Ordoñez

About the autor John M. Rodgers is a founding editor of The Three Wise Monkeys webzine and currently acts as Groove Korea’s editor-at-large. John is back in the United States after a long stint in Korea and will be writing about readjustment.

Groove Korea Magazine September 2012 • Issue 71

One of the reasons that many people move their life abroad is to put some distance between that life (with all its compartments) and other things, including family. Regardless of the advancement of technology, that physical distance still provides a buffer and a certain level of control over how much interaction with and influence on one’s life family has. That move, that gigantic schlep over the oceans, dwarfs the move away to college or the relocation from one coast to another. And as the years

pass and that space becomes part of life, the return grows all the more difficult. My move to Korea gave me absolute control over my own life and put me in a precarious position where only I could work things out, bar a family member boarding a plane for the 7,000 mile flight to Seoul. I remember the day that I told my closest college professor, an author who’d served in the Peace Corps where he nearly died in an African village, that I’d decided to leave behind the safety of a journalism job in Boston or New York for the far-flung Korean Peninsula. “This will be your Vietnam,” he said without a pause. He didn’t need to tell me to think about it. No, I wasn’t going to war, but I was going to go away to a place where I’d learn about myself in a way that I imagine most aborigines who go on walkabout find out what they are made of alone, away from family in the wild, or the way one extended family member told me he “grew up quickly” when as a 17-yearold boy he was sent on a 30-mile hike into the unmarked woods of Vermont

INSIGHT / Repatriation

BUMPER CASE

29 Built toug h, lig ht a s a feather

I remember the day that I told my closest college professor, an author who’d served in the Peace Corps where he nearly died in an African village, that I’d decided to leave behind the safety of a journalism job in Boston or New York for the far-flung Korean Peninsula. “This will be your Vietnam,” he said without a pause.

with a compass and a knife. In both cases, the individual must use what he knows, listen to and learn from what is around, and deal with whatever pitfalls or mishaps befall him. Self-reliance: as Emerson said, “None but he knows what that is which he can do, nor does he know until he has tried.” That feeling first filled my mind when I grasped the reality that I was aboard a plane headed for Asia with only two duffle bags and a backpack. I had this vision of a huge zoom lens or telescope sitting on the shore of the New Hampshire lake where I grew up focused in on my vacant face as I stared out of the airplane’s window. Then, that lens pulled back, way back, all the way to a wide-open, star-filled sky where a pin’s head moved off into billions of other dots, lost in space. Years later, that moment sits in a box like many of the other things I packed up and mailed out of the local Korean post office before I moved back across the seas, those same two duffle bags and backpack in tow. “You’ll never move back,” my stepmother had said time and time again during my years in Korea as if her assertion or challenge would prompt me to leave life in Korea behind. And for quite some time I thought she was right, though I never said so. Now I’ve been back for a couple months and the question of what home really is continues to toy with my mind. I’ve been gone for years and my family and friends seem to have gotten used to that fact. Moreover, my tentative “re-entry” has people wondering (albeit rather tacitly) when I’m going to buy a house, get a car, take a big job somewhere to prove that I won’t be back on another plane out of Boston. It’s almost funny. Every summer when I returned for a visit people asked questions, most of them direct: “When are you moving back?”; “How long are you going to live over there?”; “What is it that you are doing?” Over time, four, five years, the questions and questioners tired and conversations turned to politics or sports or travel. One friend often said, “We’ve lost you to Korea.” And it never bothered me much. The distance and separation started to turn me into an outsider like the long lost uncle who shows up at a rare family reunion with stories and an exotic air only to depart into that same unknown whence he came. When I think of the Vietnam that my professor spoke of, I think it also symbolized a place that those closest to me could not truly know about — regardless of visits, stories, photos — because they hadn’t lived it. I find myself having deeper conversations about life with friends that I made in Korea, especially those who have been there for a long stretch (long-timers as they’re called) simply because they took on a familiar unknown. By no means are these war stories, but they are thick threads that tie together a bridge that stretches from the woods of New Hampshire to the Korean Peninsula, across that long-established distance. My stepmother’s mantra about me never returning was always repeated with a surety and sadness that would leave me without words. Still, today, as I sit in an old New England home atop a cool stone foundation with the smell of the idle fireplace lingering, I’m not sure whether she was right or wrong.

Groove Korea Magazine www.groovekorea.com

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ARTS & CULTURE / Eat Your Kimchi

The rise of

Eat Your

kimchi

How two Canadians rode to the crest of the Korean wave Story & Photos by James Little

Simon and Martina Stawski were leaving a concert hall in Mountain View, California, they were mobbed by adoring fans. A twominute walk for the operators of the website Eat Your Kimchi took nearly 40 minutes. Fans wore Eat Your Kimchi T-shirts and held up Eat Your Kimchi placards. “They had signs – people had signs with our names for the concert, instead of for Super Junior,” Martina recalled about Google-YouTube’s K-pop concert in May. “It was one of the most memorable experiences ever. We got separated. People were coming between us begging for pictures and grabbing our arms and holding us back. It was insanity. They were screaming for us. It was just totally ... we were shocked.” In May the couple was flown to Google’s headquarters to help with YouTube Presents K-Pop Stars, where they interviewed some of the biggest acts in K-pop. The finale of the event was a showcase concert where several of the groups performed. Evidently, Eat Your Kimchi nearly stole the show. The scene was emblematic of the explosion in popularity that Korean music has witnessed in the West in recent years. Eat Your Kimchi has been made famous for dishing out the latest info on K-pop in English — both the good and the bad. It is more than riding the coattails of K-pop’s success overseas; it has played a part in making Korean music accessible for international audiences, too. The videos they produce for their website have regular viewers from 187 countries. During the course of spending an afternoon with Simon and Martina back in Hongdae, Seoul, Groove Korea saw firsthand how the popularity of Eat Your Kimchi has propelled the couple towards stardom in their small, but growing genre. While shooting a video in the trendy Seoul neighborhood, the couple was approached by at least three different groups of fans in the course of only a few hours and within only a city block. The fans, who were undeniably star-struck, blushed as they had their photos taken with Simon and Martina and remarked on how much, and how frequently, they enjoyed the website. All of the fans, except for one, were tourists. Meeting with Simon and Martina is in many ways like watching their videos.

Groove Korea Magazine September 2012 • Issue 71

The enthusiasm and quick-fire succession of their words matches the raw footage from their video shoots — quintessentially them, but lacking the finer polishing that editing enables. Simon and Martina responded enthusiastically and were genuinely gracious in the time they spent talking to people and answering their questions. Although they had been interrupted several times during their video production, they never responded with anything less than absolute friendliness. They also gave the impression that this was by no means the first time they had been stopped on the street. Simon admitted that although “the whole idea of celebrity is something that is very odd to us,” getting approached by strangers was a daily occurrence. “We’ve had people come up to us almost crying and asking for a hug. And for us it’s bizarre,” Simon explained. “I grew up under the impression that a celebrity is someone who is immensely rich and immensely talented at something, like Michael Jordan or Michael Jackson, and we don’t have any talents. We just make goofy videos.” Interestingly, most of their popularity doesn’t originate in Korea. Ninety percent of all traffic for their website comes from outside the country, with 45 percent arriving from North America and a sizable demographic in Singapore. Overall, the website receives regular traffic from 187 different nations. So it is no surprise that the majority of people coming up to Simon and Martina on the street did not live in Korea. K-pop has been extremely popular with audiences in Japan, China and certain Southeast Asian nations for well over a decade, but a growing appetite for Korea’s dramas and music has emerged in Western nations. It marks a major turning point for this genre of music (yes, we think K-pop is its own genre) that saw little fame outside Asia just five years ago. A massive English-speaking audience grew from almost nothing. These new fans were pining for news and information about their favorite stars and singers. Eat Your Kimchi answered the call. It has grown to play a key role in this market for English-language Korean Wave news. Every week the website produces three to four videos detailing various aspects of Korean culture, life in Korea and information about K-pop. Its success to date has been staggering. Eat Your Kimchi is now the top source of information on K-pop in English.

ARTS & CULTURE / Eat Your Kimchi

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ARTS & CULTURE / Eat Your Kimchi

The rise of Eat Your Kimchi Eat Your Kimchi started humbly enough. Founded in 2008 by recent newlyweds Simon and Martina, who hail from Toronto, Canada, the website began as a simple travel blog detailing the weird and wonderful adventures the couple had found for themselves in Korea. The couple — both registered teachers in their homeland — chose Korea over Japan in part due to Simon’s experiences teaching Korean students in Toronto. “When I was teaching in Toronto I remember being amazed because I taught at a high school in Canada as well as a Korean learning center and the Korean students at the center were angels. I was like … why not go to a country full of Korean students!” For Simon and Martina, a video blog was the easiest way to alleviate their families’ concerns about international travel. Eat Your Kimchi, which now tows almost a quarter million followers worldwide, started with a video featuring the couple eating a dish of sundubu jjigae, a spicy tofu stew.

“Our very first subscriber, his name was Steve, he was from the U.K., sent us an email saying he was moving to Bucheon (Gyeonggi Province). That was kind of the catalyst that made us realize that other people could use our videos to help them out for moving,” Martina explained. “I remember when we first saw the subscriber we were very suspicious. We were like … who the hell would be watching our videos? This is weird. Is this guy part of the Anti-English Spectrum (a group of Koreans who stalk foreign teachers)?” Simon continued. “We thought these guys were watching us and trying to kick us out for something, but it turned out he was a real human being.” From that point on the couple began a furious regime of producing videos, a regime that they have maintained to this day. The blog initially focused on life in Bucheon and Seoul, as well as very pragmatic topics such as how to use a transportation card and classroom teaching material. “As more people subscribed, we started doing

videos about K-pop for fun; that’s when the big boom happened as people were interested in Kpop and moving to Korea,” said Martina. It wasn’t only the Stawskis’ fans who were taking notice of their popularity. Two years after beginning the website, serious means for monetizing their videos began to appear. “YouTube offered a partnership. If you’re a YouTube partner they put ads on the bottom, and ads on the side and you get paid for that. We thought if we can make money off our videos, this could be a livelihood,” Simon said. He eventually was forced to quit his teaching job (more on that later) and decided to work on the website full-time “with his whole heart and soul,” even though initially the YouTube partnership was bringing in just $30 a month. Martina continued to teach English to ensure the couple could survive on more than just kimbap.

Dollars and sense The YouTube partnership quickly gained pace and the couple was starting to see more and more money coming in. “We started to up the quality; it wasn’t just about shooting on our Handycam. We upgraded our equipment, we put money into better computers and we tried to make the programs more succinct and shorter, not as rambling as much,” Martina said. The more the couple improved the quality of their videos, the more subscribers they got. The more subscribers they got, the more money they made from their YouTube partnership and the more the couple felt obliged to continue improving the quality of their videos. This cyclic scenario produced a dramatic improvement in both the quality and the editorial direction of their videos. Today, Eat Your Kimchi is a full-time venture for both Simon and Martina. Their registered company, as well as every single penny they have ever earned or paid in tax, is in Canada. This effectively sidesteps any visa or work issue they may be presented with while in Korea. Although the couple both started on E2 visas (language instructor) with Simon later holding an F3 visa (spouse of an E2 visa holder) the couple is now here officially as tourists, thereby allowing them to stay in Korea for six months at a time.

As well as money from YouTube, which the cou- companies occasionally approach us and be like ple describe as more of a “distribution platform” ‘Hey, we want you to do this video for us and we’ll than advertisers per se, Eat Your Kimchi makes pay you this much money if you do this!’ And money from selling advertising on its own website we’re like, this sucks, our audience won’t like this as well as the sale of merchandise. T-shirts of their whatsoever. We’ll never make a video we think super-famous dog, Spudgy, are a particularly hot our audience will be uncomfortable with.” They seller. said those companies, whose names they did not Simon and Martina, however, want to stress share on record, gave the impression that they emphatically that they have never received any were doing Eat Your Kimchi a favor. Cultural differences in the perception of blogassistance from the Korean government or any gers by Korean and overseas companies have Korean tourist board. also been eye-opening for Eat Your Kimchi. “North “For the record, I will say this because it irritates me: We don’t work for the Korean government ... American companies, European companies, even Australian and New Zealanders fully understand We’re not paid by the Korean government to do that there is value in the Internet and that it costs anything!” Martina said. “Korea hasn’t given us a penny, a single penny, money. Korea is always like, ‘Do this for me for free!’” for anything. I don’t think they even know that we Simon and Martina freely admit that the website, exist,” Simon added. and the businesses associated with the website, Complete editorial control of their work has are now successful enough that they do not have been of the utmost importance to Simon and to worry about the security of their livelihoods. In Martina. On separate occasions the couple has fact, their new financial freedom has allowed them gone as far as refusing to comply with producers to expand to the point that they now have a video while working on shows for both KBS and SBS. editor working with them part-time. Simon and Martina acknowledge that they are However, this hasn’t given the couple free rein in the privileged position of not having advertisers to interfere with editorial decisions and have to speak as they please. been blunt with potential partners. “We have had Far from it.

The backlash The couple finds themselves walking a proverbial tight-rope of editorial content on a daily basis. Attacks from one side, a majority of whom are misinformed expats in Korea, accuse the couple of being a shill for Korean popular culture and not being critical enough. This is the so-called “sunshine and lollipops” representation of Eat Your

Groove Korea Magazine September 2012 • Issue 71

Kimchi. On the other side, diehard fans of K-pop … for that. We want to focus on the positive things; that doesn’t mean that there aren’t things about and Korean netizens are often the first to jump on Korea that don’t upset us,” Martina said. even the slightest critique of Korea or anything The lowest point for Eat Your Kimchi came Korean that the couple may present. “We try to avoid talking about the negative aspect about innocently enough during the 2010 South of our personal experiences on our website be- Korean local elections. cause there are lots of websites out there already

ARTS & CULTURE / Eat Your Kimchi

“It seems like K-pop is less marketed as music, and more as a religion. If you look at the way in which these people are described it’s shocking.” — Simon

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ARTS & CULTURE / Eat Your Kimchi

Groove Korea Magazine September 2012 â&#x20AC;˘ Issue 71

“We’ve had people come up to us almost crying and asking for a hug. And for us it’s bizarre. I grew up under the impression that a celebrity is someone who is immensely rich and immensely talented at something, like Michael Jordan or Michael Jackson, and we don’t have any talents. We just make goofy videos.” — Simon

ARTS & CULTURE/ Eat Your Kimchi

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ARTS & CULTURE / Eat Your Kimchi

The couple, whose Bucheon apartment overlooks the town’s city hall, was plagued day and night by noisy electioneering trucks that projected piercing music and campaign slogans promoting local candidates. “We couldn’t sleep worth a damn in the afternoon because all you hear is these people blaring their trucks,” Simon recalled. “So instead of me going and flipping trucks over I said, let me try a creative output for this. So I did a video of me dancing with the ajummas. It was like Stockholm syndrome almost. I figured if I can’t stop it I may as well join in with it. Then I wound up asking one of the people running (in English) ‘If you are elected, do you promise to turn off this music?’” Martina interjected: “He didn’t respond to it. He just said, ‘Thank you.’” The backlash to the video, which has since been removed from their site, was almost instantaneous. Critics considered Simon’s actions to be “extremely rude” and that it was incredibly unfair to speak to a candidate in a humorous manner in a language the candidate didn’t understand, especially considering he was older. “People claimed that Simon was mocking the

process by dancing with them,” Martina said. “We simply responded to those comments by saying that it’s ridiculous (and) it has nothing to do with elections.” The original backlash had been confined to Eat Your Kimchi’s regular audience, with some Korean viewers even defending the couple and agreeing that they hated the trucks as well. However, all hell broke loose once the video made it to the Korean internet portals and was scrutinized by Korean netizens. “We just got, I mean, flooded with angry and racist comments. The problem wasn’t just that they were angry comments; they were racist. Like ‘Go home Americans!’ We’re not American, but okay, we’re white so we must be American,” Martina recalled. Their problems were just beginning. The couple’s schools began receiving angry and aggressive phone calls from outraged responders. This was especially surprising for Martina considering she wasn’t even present in the video. “People called my school anonymously and harassed my poor, poor secretary who is just the most adorable secretary, screaming at her, ‘Keep your foreigner in line!’, ‘Keep your foreigner in check!’, ‘You shouldn’t do these videos.’”

Following the response, the management from both Simon and Martina’s schools sat them down individually to discuss the issue. Martina sat down with her director. “They really supported me. They said that ‘We don’t care what they say, we know what you’re like, we’re there for you guys and I’m sorry this happened.’” The reaction from Simon’s employers couldn’t have been more different. “They were like, ‘We never want you to make another video again. What you did was terrible. We are very upset with you for it and you are a public figure and you shouldn’t be making any videos.’” The director from Simon’s school handed him a piece of paper. It was a contract explicitly stating that Simon was never to make another video again. He was expected to sign it immediately. Simon rejected this proposition and returned later in the day with his own piece of paper. This one, which he had signed, was a letter of resignation. “I said I’m done with this, forget about it.” The couple was on the verge of leaving Korea for good. If it hadn’t been for Martina’s loyalty to her school they most likely would have.

But if they say that, they are ripped into,” Martina said. “It seems like K-pop is less marketed as music, and more as a religion,” Simon added. “If you look at the way in which these people are described it’s shocking.” Aside from hesitation regarding the idol status of some of their favorite groups, the two both adamantly enjoy the genre and this is positively reflected in both their K-pop videos and with the passion they speak on the subject. “We’re big fans of the YG label; Big Bang and 2NE1 do very well.” Along with the YG acts, the couple is also fans

of T-ara and SHINee, and like, but don’t love, Super Junior. As much as they enjoy K-pop, and acknowledge the success it has brought them, they want the blog to continue to represent a mixture of topics surrounding Korea and not become a vortex for K-pop fandom. “People who hate K-pop seem to think that all we do is K-pop. They rip into us for that... We do K-pop once a week. We do one video on K-pop and then we do retro videos, then we do Korean indie music. Then we do food adventure videos and TL;DRs (Too long, didn’t read),” Martina said.

“It’s so exciting because we want to ask them stuff they’ve never been asked before and make them so uncomfortable! And we have skits planned with them that are ridiculous,” Martina said. “I want to say not one year but two years. Then we’ll be confident ... Summer 2014 is what I want to say, but should we stay for the (2018 PyeongChang Winter) Olympics?” Simon joked. Simon and Martina were very confident that a move to Japan would not necessarily mean the death of Eat Your Kimchi. With K-pop news and charts as well as their upcoming apps for iPhone/ iPad/Android, the website could remain popular even without them in the country. “Our future dream goal is to continue blogging

and to travel to different countries, but we don’t like the idea of (being) one- or two-week visitors. We want to saturate ourselves in a country,” Martina said. “When we go to Japan, I want to GO to Japan.” “After Japan, I would like to go to Europe somewhere and (start) Eat Your Baguette. But that’s difficult for people to spell,” the couple joked. To follow the magnitude of Eat Your Things and traveling as much of the world as possible, Simon and Martina’s long-term plan seems to be simple enough. “We will have a coffee shop called Drink Your Coffee. That’s the retirement plan.”

K-pop fever Although the couple had nothing but compliments and respect for their fans, they also acknowledged a growing trend among the fans of K-pop. “We’ve discovered that we are really the only blog online that actually says negative things about K-pop, and that’s really rare to find because K-pop fandoms are really scary. People will get clutched onto like, let’s just say Super Junior for example, and they will say, ‘Everything they do is gold’ and they never criticize them. And then there are those people at the back who are like, ‘I like Super Junior but I didn’t really like this video.’

Eat Your Sushi? Even before arriving in Korea, the couple knew that they would find themselves in Japan eventually. “We already bought the domain name, two years ago, because we thought we would be moving every year. Eat Your Sushi will happen one of these days,” Simon said with noted confidence. “Before the Google Wave (K-pop) concert we were sure; we said, ‘Summer 2013 we are going to be in Japan.’” But the couple admits that with the new opportunities that have arisen following their time in California with Google, along with the fact that they are on track to being the first foreign media to get direct access to many of these Korean groups, it would be ridiculous to throw it all in now.

Check out Simon and Martina at eatyourkimchi.com. Groove Korea Magazine September 2012 • Issue 71

ARTS & CULTURE / Eat Your Kimchi

“Our very first subscriber, his name was Steve, he was from the U.K., sent us an email saying he was moving to Bucheon. That was kind of the catalyst that made us realize that other people could use our videos to help them out for moving.” — Martina

Groove Korea Magazine www.groovekorea.com

ARTS & CULTURE / The big screen

At the box office September releases By Dean Crawford

The Bourne Legacy Directed by Tony Gilroy

Sept.

Action - Thriller 135 Minutes

When James Bond returned in 2006’s “Casino Royale,” many fans rejoiced. It was a new, edgy, violent Bond. One that wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty, was proficient in hand-to-hand combat and could break people’s necks. The style was more vibrant with hand-held shaky cams putting you right in the action. And arguably, the film that inspired James Bond’s renaissance was “The Bourne Identity.” The fact that Jason Bourne was the antithesis to the campy James Bond of the time made the “Bourne” series a surprise hit, with “The Bourne Ultimatum” alone grossing over half a billion dollars. As Hollywood is not one to let a cash cow rest, the decision was made to go ahead with a fourth “Bourne” film. However, Paul Greengrass’ decision not to direct led to Matt Damon also opting out of the franchise. The search for a new main man eventually led to Oscar nominee Jeremy Renner, who stars as Aaron Cross. “There was never just one,” reads the tagline on the poster for “The Bourne Legacy,” which is set during the events of “The Bourne Ultimatum.” With the leak of official CIA documents having revealed everything about Operation Treadstone, coupled with Jason Bourne having become public knowledge, the CIA is forced to scour the globe (including Seoul!) to clean house and assassinate all

Taken 2

Directed by Olivier Megaton

Sept.

Action - Thriller 105 Minutes

Liam Neeson has always been a solid, well known, dependable actor. Pre 2008, his biggest role was in Steven Spielberg’s “Schindler’s List,” where he earned an Oscar nomination for his role as Oskar Schindler, but the leading roles and fame he fully deserved never really materialized thereafter. Then in 2008, the surprise hit of the year was the relatively low-budget action film, “Taken,” which introduced Neeson as a bona fide action hero and propelled him to superstardom. Without “Taken,” there may have been no starring roles for him in “Unknown,” “Clash of the Titans,” “The A-Team” or “The Grey.” He is now returning to the film that gave him his second wind as former CIA agent Bryan Mills in “Taken 2.” The film picks up in the wake of the chaos and destruction caused by Mills after he rescued his daughter from an Albanian prostitution ring. In leaving behind a trail of bodies belonging to the Albanian mafia, he made them angry and desperate for revenge. Even though they did steal his daughter and try to force her into a life of sex and slavery, which would suggest they had it coming, it doesn’t stop them from feeling aggrieved. A year later, Murad, (Rade Šerbedzija), a gangster

Groove Korea Magazine September 2012 • Issue 71

those associated with Operation Outcome, which followed Treadstone. This is easier said than done, as one of those agents is Aaron Cross (Renner), who has had alterations to two different chromosomes and is “Treadstone without the inconsistency.” Along with Renner, Rachel Weisz stars as Marta Shearling, one of the creators of Operation Outcome, and Edward Norton is CIA agent Edward Byer, who is trying to kill all those who know about the project. I loved all three Bourne movies and I think this one looks set to be a worthy installment in the series. Renner is a great choice to continue the franchise, as he has proven he can carry a film (“The Hurt Locker”) and look comfortable in a Hollywood blockbuster (“The Avengers”). It was a great decision not to simply replace Matt Damon in the role of Jason Bourne, but to create a new character sharing the same cinematic universe, meaning the film will have an air of familiarity. Not to mention that this sets up the possibility of a sequel containing both Jason Bourne and Aaron Cross in the future. Producer Frank Marshall told the British film magazine Empire of his desire to see a “team up” and Matt Damon has yet to rule it out, so watch this space.

and the father of one of Mills’ victims, decides to take revenge by having Mills’ wife (Famke Janssen) “taken” and his daughter (Maggie Grace) “Taken 2.” (See what I did there?) Made on a budget of $25 million, “Taken” went on to gross more than 10 times that, which made a sequel pretty much inevitable. However, I personally failed to see what made the film so appealing. Sure, Neeson scowling, “What I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills that make me a nightmare for people like you…I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you” was great and gave me chills. But after that, it was just one scene of him punching people in the face after another. That’s fine if you like action, but with no real story plus some shocking acting, I lost interest after the fourth broken neck. But, if you were one of the many millions who did like the first “Taken,” I can’t see any reason why you wouldn’t like “Taken 2.” As the trailer says, watch this film if you want to see Neeson do “what he does best,” only this time with a bigger budget!

ARTS & CULTURE / The small screen

Korean DVD corner September reviews By Dean Crawford

Oasis (오아시스) Directed by Lee Chang-dong

Rated

Drama 132 Minutes

Recently released on a special edition DVD, “Oasis” follows convict Jong-du as he is released from prison for involuntary manslaughter. He is a twitchy, awkward man who appears to say the wrong things and has no idea how his actions affect others. While in prison, his family moves without telling him and seems dismayed at his return. Jong-du’s first thought upon his release is to visit the family of the sanitation worker he killed three years prior. Totally oblivious to the pain this causes, it is here that he meets Gong-ju, the sanitation worker’s daughter, who suffers from cerebral palsy. She, too, is abandoned by her family and left to live on her own in a run-down apartment while her brother lives in luxury, collecting the disability checks meant for her. Even her caregiver uses the time that should be spent working to have sex with her lover. Jong-du is fascinated by Gong-ju and attempts to rape her. However, this brutal act, which is her first meaningful human interaction in a long time, coupled with the constant rejection by her family, leads to an unlikely and at times beautiful relationship. We watch as the pair interacts and shares the most romantic of moments doing things most people take for granted, such as washing hair, finding out a favorite color or helping someone get over their fear of the dark. But

Green Fish (초록물고기) Directed by Lee Chang-dong

Rated

Drama 111 Minutes

After being blown away by “Oasis,” I decided to look into another of Lee Chang-dong’s films and thought it would be a good idea to take a look at his first, the winner of the Dragons and Tigers Award at the Vancouver International Film Festival, “Green Fish.” The film follows Mak-dong, who has just been released from his military service. On the train back to his hometown of Ilsan, he is beaten by three thugs who were harassing a lone woman. Upon returning to Ilsan, he finds not just his city, but his home changed and alien to him, with skyscrapers replacing the once-beautiful countryside and his family having drifted apart. Driven by the dream of one day owning a restaurant with his family, he heads to Seoul to find work and meets Mi-ae, the woman he saved on the train. She is the girlfriend of Tae-gon, a gang boss who she persuades to give Mak-dong a job. From car park attendant to gangster, Mak-dong quickly rises through the ranks of his new family. When Tae-gon’s former gang boss, Yang-gil, returns from prison and belittles Tae-gon, threatening to take over his empire, Mak-dong takes it upon himself to exact revenge and save face for his beloved leader, which leads to a violent and inevitable conclusion. This sums up Mak-

as much as we come to love this touching, yet unlikely, relationship, we can tell it is doomed to fail as we learn how troubling the relationship is to Jong-du’s family. We continue to watch with unease to see if this misunderstood couple can ever succeed in a society they have no place in, except by each other’s side. The film has a natural style with handheld camera work and long single takes, giving it a realistic feel. Despite the simplistic aesthetic of the film, director Lee Changdong manages to capture some moments of sheer beauty. Particularly as we peek inside Gong-ju’s mind to see how she can take the virtue out of most situations, whether it be reflections on a wall or a playful punch on the subway. While the film is well directed, the real stars are Sol Kyung-gu and Moon So-ri who play our lovers doomed for failure. Though Sol is great in his portrayal of the simple-minded Jong-du, Moon is simply stunning and her physical portrayal of Gong-ju earned her several major acting awards, including the Marcello Mastroianni at the Venice Film Festival in 2002. If you think Korean cinema is synonymous with violence and revenge, “Oasis” really is a refreshing change. At times it’s difficult to watch, but if you give it the time you will be rewarded with a great film.

dong’s situation throughout the whole film: He always seems to want do the right thing even though it might not be right for those around him, nor indeed, himself. Much like Jong-du, the misunderstood main character from “Oasis,” Mak-dong wants to do right by people but never fully understands the politics of the situation he is in. Despite it being a virtue of Lee’s characters, it’s sad to watch these people we come to care about perform with the most honorable of intentions knowing that one day it will be their downfall. And like “Oasis,” “Green Fish” deals with families and the problems that arise within them. Here, however, Mak-dong has two families, his biological family and the family he has sworn his loyalty to, and he can’t seem to deal with either of them particularly well. “Green Fish” was a good, early example of Lee Changdong’s talents — not only in storytelling, but particularly in his knack for directing actors, with Han Suk-kyu giving a huge performance as Mak-dong. And while the story isn’t original, Lee attacks it with a certain grace and a heartfelt style that draws you into the action. You really do care about the characters and the story, even though you might be able to predict the outcome. At times, the film does feel a little dated, but for fans of Lee’s work, “Green Fish” is a must-see.

Groove Korea Magazine www.groovekorea.com

ARTS & CULTURE / Probationary Theatre

The perversity of

Tickets:

expat theater

“Sexual Perversity in Chicago” runs for one weekend only (Sept. 21, 22 and 23) at White Box Theatre in Hyochang Park, three subway stops west of Itaewon. All tickets are 15,000 won and can be purchased at the door.

DIRECTIONS:

A look into sex in the minds of adults

For a map to the venue and booking information, visit www.probationarytheatre.com.

Story by Anna Sebel / Photo by Liam Mitchinson

Why shake off a reputation when you can embrace it? That’s the attitude White Box Theatre has taken. After its last two shows (its critically acclaimed June production of “Red Light Winter” and July production of “Gaucho”) both featured graphic sex scenes, this expat theater will open the doors for its next main-stage show, David Mamet’s “Sexual Perversity in Chicago.” Technical director Liam Mitchinson claims that it is not a deliberate theme. “Our directors happen to choose great scripts — scripts that are relevant, entertaining and accessible. It just so happens that the last two chosen contained sex scenes,” he said. Despite the title, “Sexual Perversity in Chicago” is probably the least controversial of White Box’s recent offerings, with no nudity or sex to be seen — merely discussed. Set in 1976, this comedy by renowned playwright David Mamet proves scene by hilarious scene that he has mastered the language of men and women alike. “It’s basically four single 20-somethings navigating their way through dating one summer,” said starring actor Stephen Glaspie. Think again before you label this one-hour comedy as “Sex in the City” for men or “High Fidelity.” This play is an abrasive but honest look at the state of

sex in the minds of adults during the post-collegiate and early career-building years. “It may be about relationships, and it may be funny, but no one is going to walk out labeling it a ‘romantic comedy,’” director Desiree Munro said. “It’s much funnier than any romantic comedy you’ve ever seen. And much more intelligent.” Munro is no stranger to the script, having produced and directed it in 2001 for the Melbourne Fringe Festival which earned her a “Best Newcomer” award, and is delighted to be tackling the show again. “I’ve got a great script that I’m familiar with, eleven more years of experience to draw upon and the chance to work with a native American cast. I can’t wait,” she told Groove Korea. Indeed the script holds a special place for Munro, as it was the first piece she ever directed. “The audience response ten years ago was astounding. People who had never seen theater before came back night after night, each time with different friends. I’d like to think it was my direction, but the truth is, it’s just that kind of play. Anyone can enjoy it. I’d feel confident inviting any circle of friends to see this. It’s entertaining to anyone with a pulse. It’s just plain funny.”

“It may be about relationships, and it may be funny, but no-one is going to walk out labeling it a ‘romantic comedy’. It’s much funnier than any romantic comedy you’ve ever seen. And much more intelligent.”

Groove Korea Magazine September 2012 • Issue 71

ARTS & CULTURE / Exhibits

Have an exhibit? You can add your exhibit by emailing Matthew Lamers at mattlamers@groovekorea.com

20 art

Artist name: Oscar Oiwa Exhibition name: Traveling Light Running Dates: thru September 2 Location: Keumsan Gallery (Myeongdong stn, Ln 4 ex 4; walk to intersection, turn left, near Namsan Platinum BLDG and 7-11) Medium: paintings and visual art

Artist name: Contemporary German artists Exhibition name: German Now Running Dates: thru September 2 Location: UNC Gallery (Cheongdam stn, ln 7 ex 13; walk straight and follow street veering left, turn left at Cheongdam BD, follow road around Cheongdam Daewoo Apt.)

Artist name: Pablo Picasso Exhibition name: Exploring Picasso Running Dates: thru September 3 Location: Insa Art Center (Anguk stn, ln 3 ex 6; on Insadong street) Medium: prints, ceramics, drawings

Artist name: Russian artists Exhibition name: Symphony of Light and Color Running Dates: thru September 16 Location: Asia Museum, Daejeon Medium: paintings

Artist name: Han Mook Exhibition name: Han Mook Solo Exhibition Running Dates: thru September 16 Location: Gallery Hyundai Gangnam (Apgujeong stn, ln 3 ex 2; do 180 out exit, follow main road to the right, turn right at S-Oil, turn left at LG Fashion, on the left)

Artist name: Victor Ash, Iepe Rubingh etc. Exhibition name: URBAN VOID Running Dates: September 13 – 17, 11 am to 1 am Location: Platoon Kunsthalle (Apgujeong stn, ln 3 ex 3; 15 minute walk or take a taxi, across the street from Nonoori Hospital) Medium: mixed media

Artist name: group exhibition Exhibition name: Korea International Art Fair Running Dates: September 12 – 17 Location: COEX Conference & Exhibition Center (Samseong stn, ln 2 ex 6) Medium: various

Artist name: Blair Kitchener Exhibition name: Namsan More Beautiful Than Answers Running Dates: thru September 19 Location: Garage Gallaery (Noksapyeong stn, ln 6 ex 2; near Hyatt Hotel on Kyungnidan, next to Olea Italian Restaurant) Medium: photography

Artist name: Felix Gonzalez-Torres Exhibition name: Double Running Dates: thru September 28 Location: Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, Hanam-dong, Seoul (Hangangjin stn, ln 6 ex 1; follow signs) Medium: installation

Artist name: collection from the Louvre Exhibition name: Myths & Legends: Exhibition of Louvre Running Dates: thru September 30 Location: Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, Hanam-dong, Seoul (Hangangjin stn, ln 6 ex 1; follow signs) Medium: paintings, sculpture, pottery

Artist name: Contemporary Japanese photos Exhibition name: Historical Parade Running Dates: September 7 – 30 Location: Nam Seoul Museum of Art (Sadang stn, ln 2/4 ex 6; behind Woori bank building) Medium: photography

Artist name: group exhibition Exhibition name: The Vertical Village Running Dates: thru October 7 Location: Total Museum of Contemporary Art (Gyeongbokgung stn, ln 3; bus 1020 or 1711 to Lotte,Samsung Apartment) Medium: installation, photograph

Artist name: Various Exhibition name: National Geographic Photo Exhibition Running Dates: thru October 11 Location: Hangaram Design Museum, Seoul Arts Center (Nambu Bus Terminal stn, ln 3 ex 5) Medium: Photography

Artist name: Lee Seung-taek Exhibition name: Earth, Wind and Fire Running Dates: thru October 21 Location: Sungkok Art Museum (Gwanghwamun stn, ln 5, ex 7; right at Seoul Museum of History, veer right 300m) Medium: Sculpture, ceramics, paintings

Artist name: Steve McCurry Exhibition name: Between Darkness and Light Running Dates: September 12 – October 21 Location: V-Gallery, Seoul Arts Center (Nambu Bus Terminal stn, ln 3 ex 5) Medium: photojournalism

Artist name: Avital Cnaani Exhibition name: Into Drawing 18 Running Dates: October 5 – October 21 Location: Seoul Olympic Museum of Art (Mongchontoseong stn, ln 8 ex 1; walk 200m to right inside World Peace Gate) Medium: drawings, sculpture

Artist name: Donata Wenders Exhibition name: Donata Wenders Photography Running Dates: August 30 – October 26 Location: Gallery Zandari (Hapjeong stn, ln 2/6 ex 3; go straight, cross street and turn right, turn left at GS25, turn left at Magazine Land, on the left behind the church

Artist name: group exhibition Exhibition name: Images of Silence Running Dates: thru October 31 Location: Sungkok Art Museum (Gwanghwamun stn, ln 5, ex 7) Medium: photography

Artist name: William Kentridge & Christian Boltanski Exhibition name: Media Art from the Museum Collection Running Dates: thru November 30 Location: National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea, Gwacheon (Seoul Grand Park stn, Ln 4; take a shuttle bus from ex 4) Medium: drawings, photographs, video

Artist name: Contemporary Korean artists Exhibition name: Korea Artist Prize; “Artist of the Year” Running Dates: August 31 – November 11 Location: National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea, Gwacheon (Seoul Grand Park stn, Ln 4; take a shuttle bus from ex 4) Medium: various Groove Korea Magazine www.groovekorea.com

ARTS &&CULTURE FOOD DRINK / Dining / StreetGems art in Seoul

restaurant review Groove Korea Seoul v2.0

Cafe Mamas: Brunch for busy people

This little slice of goodness is easy on the wallet and heavy on the cheese Story by Mishka Grobler / Photo by James Little

Buried in the bosom of Seoul’s business district is a small selfservice café. High-rise buildings of chrome and glass and the steady stream of traffic and business suits outside fade into chaos and color when you step into Mamas. Rickety tables, mismatched chairs, bustling servers and random quotes on the walls create a motley collection of European styles reminiscent of an Italian café. But beyond décor, Mamas is all about the brunch. Whether you’re meeting up with friends or on a casual date, this little slice of goodness is easy on the wallet and heavy on the cheese — ricotta, to be precise, if you’re going for their famed salad. Which you should do: The ricotta, cranberry and walnut salad is topped with cherry tomatoes, slices of baguette, drizzles of olive oil and balsamic vinegar and is by far the most popular item in the place. The menu, scrawled on a board behind the counter, consists mainly of light meals — an array of salads, gorgonzola and honey paninis, Philly cheese steak rolls, ham and cheese sandwiches and as much baguette as you can fill your stomach with. Also wildly popular are the black squid-ink paninis, and the freshly squeezed green and red grape juices are absolute must haves. At Mamas, you order and collect your meal at the counter. Expect to be put on a waiting list if you arrive after 6 p.m. any night of the week or during Seoul’s lunch crush. If you really want to enjoy Mamas, then go on the weekend. Mamas branches are set up to take advantage

of Seoul’s busy businesspeople, meaning they are busiest during the work-week and vacant on the weekend.

“The ricotta, cranberry and walnut salad is topped with cherry tomatoes, slices of baguette, drizzles of olive oil and balsamic vinegar and is by far the most popular item in the place.” Be warned, the café is popular with Koreans — Naver is alive with the buzz of Mamas and queues are long. Table turnover is quick and is well worth the wait. Entrees range between 8,000 won and 12,000 won. This isn’t the type of café to set up your laptop, kick up your feet, listen to music and get some writing done, unless you’re the kind of person who can block out the chaos of dozens of hungry people and changing tables. Mamas was such a hit when the first café opened not long ago that it has expanded and is now a thriving franchise. But don’t let the “F” word put you off, this place offers great food in a unique atmosphere.

About Dining Gems:

Getting there:

Dining Gems is a monthly column highlighting Seoul’s best restaurants and cafe. To contribute, email joshforeman@groovekorea.com. — Ed.

Walk out Gwanghwamun Station, exit 5. Walk along the right side of Cheonggyechon Stream and turn right at Mr. Pizza. Café Mamas is located on the left, behind the Seoul Finance Center building. It actually took over the vacancy after Quiznos shut its doors. Café Mamas also has branches in Yuhadong, Sunhwadong, Yeouido, Mugyodong and Seochodong.

Groove Korea Magazine September 2012 • Issue 71

FOOD & DRINK / Dining Gems

Groove Korea Magazine www.groovekorea.com

FOOD & DRINK / Urbs & Spices

Groove

Difficulty: Normal

Recipe

Preparation time: 50 minutes

mayo Make your-own

Forgo the store bought creamy white blobs and do it yourself

I always hated mayo on my sandwiches, and came to resent the blue jar of Helman's in the fridge. I never trusted the way it moved. The jiggle of creamy white blobs sitting on picnic plates. But when I finally had my first taste of handmade mayonnaise, I started to understand what I was missing. Groove Korea Magazine September 2012 â&#x20AC;˘ Issue 71

FOOD & DRINK / Urbs & Spices

I will admit that I have never been a big fan of mayonnaise. I always hated mayo on my sandwiches, and came to resent the blue jar of Helman’s in the fridge. I never trusted the way it moved. The slight jiggle of creamy white blobs sitting on picnic plates. When I finally had my first taste of handmade mayonnaise, I started to understand what I was missing. Store bought mayo and homemade mayonnaise couldn’t be more different. The texture and flavor is something much more subtle and begs for a lot more than egg salad and club sandwiches. Aioli, which is simply mayonnaise made with garlic and often olive oil, has become a popular condiment over the past several years. Restaurants and cooks tend to toss this word around and use it to describe any flavored mayonnaise, which I guess is fine seeing as there are several variations originating from different areas of Spain, France and Italy. I find pure olive oil to be too strong. Instead, I opt for a neutral oil. The two most important tips I can give the home cook when making mayonnaise are exercise patience and use room temperature ingredients. Adding the oil drop by drop in the beginning is the only way you can guarantee the emulsion will start. Keeping your ingredients at room temperature will make the process much easier. I find that room temperature egg yolks emulsify much better than eggs straight from the fridge. You can take the basic recipe for mayonnaise or aioli and tweak it to your taste. Try experimenting with different oils, acids (switching out lemon juice for lime juice) or just add new flavors. The addition of curry powder or gochugaru makes a great sauce. You will start to see how versatile this recipe is. Mayonnaise from scratch isn’t just a simple condiment; it extends far beyond the sandwich or burger. It is an excellent sauce for vegetables, roasted or steamed. It is especially good on grilled fish. I still might ask for no mayo on my sandwich, but I will always have a place in my heart for real mayonnaise.

Brine Solution • Aioli • ½ cup oil (half extra virgin olive oil, half grapeseed oil or another neutral flavored oil) • 1 egg yolk, room temperature • ½ tablespoon Dijon mustard • ½ small clove of garlic, smashed to a paste • Lemon juice • Salt and pepper

Instructions Place a damp kitchen towel on a table and a metal mixing bowl atop it. The towel will help anchor the bowl and keep it from moving around. Add the egg yolk, garlic and mustard to the bowl. Whisk to combine, and then slowly add the oil, one or two drops at a time. After you have incorporated at least a quarter of the oil, you can begin to add the oil in a steadier stream. When you have whisked in all of the oil, add the lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.

About the author: Read Urban, a Virginia native, spent years cooking in the United States before coming to Korea. He enjoys experimenting with Korean ingredients, eating at innovative restaurants in Seoul and creating favorites from home.

Groove Korea Magazine www.groovekorea.com

ARTS &&CULTURE FOOD DRINK / Squid / Street Inkart in Seoul

Groove

Difficulty: Easy

Recipe

Preparation time: 50 minutes

dressing It’s all in the

Redefining the salad

Humans spend eight-to-10 years of their lives just eating. Don’t waste any more time counting numbers on cardboard boxes. Do your body a favor and take a small step in reversing the negative eating trend you’re stuck in. Celebrate the seasons, health, nature and variety with creative salads. Groove Korea Magazine September 2012 • Issue 71

FOOD & DRINK / Squid Ink

It could be the heat, or maybe its days spent at the beach showing off my spare tire. But the humble salad has grown more and more heroic in my mind. I was on the Mediterranean coast for the summer, and shock therapy has begun. All these perfect bodies, no fat to be seen, and there I was, trying to hide under a beach wrap, a hat, an umbrella, a newspaper — all the while wondering why I wasn’y getting tanned. As much as I’d like to lose some weight, I would never want to go to the extreme I witnessed here: two girls, thin as rails. Skeletally, unhealthily, shockingly thin. It made me think about what society considers beautiful. I concluded that we took a wrong turn somewhere. Society seems to be bouncing between two extremes, obesity and anorexia. We need to redefine what it means to eat and what we should eat. We’re never going to cook like our grandparents did; our way of living, and eating, has changed too much. But it doesn’t mean that we need to feed ourselves frozen, pre-cooked foods from cans, bags, tubes and boxes. Salads represent the antithesis of our frozen/manufactured/pre-made food culture, which is at the root of many of our food-related neuroses. Salads can contain any number of ingredients, from nearly any vegetable to pasta, fruit, potatoes and rice. They’re fresh, alive and should be bursting with flavor. The dressing is actually the key to making delicious salads more than just a collection of ingredients. Humans spend eight-to-10 years of their lives just eating. Don’t waste any more time counting numbers on cardboard boxes. Do your body a favor and take a small step in reversing the negative eating trend you’re stuck in. Celebrate the seasons, health, nature and variety with creative salads. Here are a few recipes for dressings I love. Experiment with ingredients until you find the right combination for you.

Typical Spanish dressing Combine 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon of sherry vinegar (you can substitute red wine vinegar), salt and black pepper.

Avocado dressing Mix one mashed avocado, the juice of two lemons, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, several drops of balsamic vinegar, salt and black pepper.

Yogurt dressing Mix a cup of plain yogurt with a tablespoon each of lemon juice, olive oil, salt and black pepper. Add more yogurt for a thicker consistency. To add a special touch, add a pinch of curry.

Orange dressing Put in equal parts of the juice of one orange and sherry vinegar with sunflower oil or any other smooth oil. Add salt and black pepper.

Mustard and parsley dressing Mix 1 tablespoon of mustard, 3 of tablespoons white wine vinegar, 6 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 of tablespoon chopped parsley, salt and black pepper.

Hazelnut dressing Add chopped hazelnuts to the dressing above.

Tips: • To thicken the dressing, add an egg yolk. • Beat the dressing vigorously with a fork, or put it into a bottle and shake. • Don’t add the dressing until just before you eat the salad. • The amount of ingredients depends on your taste — feel free to change them!

About the author: Paloma Julian is Spanish to the core, although she hasn’t lived there in years. A woman of many talents, she enjoys bringing the nuances of Spanish food culture to Seoul’s English-speaking community.

Groove Korea Magazine www.groovekorea.com

ARTS &&CULTURE FOOD DRINK / Namsan / Street art Kimchi in Seoul Jjigae restaurant

restaurant review Groove Korea Seoul v2.0

The return of

Namsan Kimchi Jjigae Melt away the stress of a September night in Seoul

Groove Korea Magazine September 2012 â&#x20AC;˘ Issue 71

FOOD & DRINK / Namsan Kimchi Jjigae restaurant

In the community of Noksapyeong — amid an array of cuisines from all parts of the world — a sleeping giant has been stirred to once again offer what it does best. After a recent renovation, Namsan Kimchi Jjigae has a new, earthy atmosphere to perfectly match its accompanying fare. The menu is simple. In fact, the owners only dish out one exceptionally prepared bowl of kimchi jjigae. Korea’s wintertime soup staple, in its own right, is a seemingly simple item. However, this restaurant’s recipe has created something more than the traditional ingredients of water, kimchi, onions, garlic and a typical protein. Namsan’s jjigae comes in the form of a piping hot bowl filled with tender cabbage and savory slices of pork marbled with fat to add a tremendous burst of flavor. The meal arrives fast. Since the establishment and accompanying kitchen are about the size of a studio apartment, I barely had time to sit down and get settled before a fiery-red bowl of jjigae and banchan, or side dishes, were placed on the table. Be sure to take advantage of the complimentary water, tea or coffee because the sweats will inevitably hit in full force. With the dish going for 6,500 won ($5.70) it’s no wonder customers include families, businessmen, couples and expats alike. Everyone is there for one reason: to immerse themselves in the same dish. At least, that was my experience. I was in a trance-like state, with beads of sweat dripping off my brow, perfectly content at that moment of culinary pleasure. Upon entry through the automatic doors, there is a small seating area on the first level with four stools adjacent to the stovetops where the jjigae is prepared. All meals must be prepaid at the cash register. Customers can either sit down by the countertop, which offers a great spot to people watch, or they can head upstairs, past the John Hancocks of Korean celebrities on the wall to the more spacious second level. There you will find tables for two to four people with a total capacity for 25 or so customers. Judging by the foot traffic on a weeknight, people can’t seem to get enough kimchi jjigae in their bellies. Make a promise to drop in and plop down next to a fellow jjigae fan, and allow the fiery broth to melt away the stress of a September night in Seoul.

I was in a trance-like state, with beads of sweat dripping off my brow. Perfectly content at that moment of culinary pleasure.

Getting there: Take exit 2 out of Noksapyeong Station. Cross the road and then walk about 200 meters. The restaurant is located next door to Thunder Burger.

Groove Korea Magazine www.groovekorea.com

FOOD & DRINK / Ice cream delight

La Crème de Korea Any time of the year’s a good time for ice cream delight Story by Lisa Pollack / Photos by Dylan Goldby

Groove Korea Magazine September 2012 • Issue 71

FOOD & DRINK / Ice cream delight

Groove Korea Magazine www.groovekorea.com

FOOD & DRINK / Ice cream delight

When you crave something cool and delicious, Korea’s got you covered. The ice cream selection here is ample, and the prevalence of GS 25s, 7-Elevens, and Family Marts keeps satisfaction always a stone’s throw away. Korea has taken the individual ice cream experience and kicked it up. Subtle differences help each treat stand out. The standard vanilla World Cone, for example, features chocolate-covered peanuts throughout. The Jaws fruit bar has a stealthy shark design. We’ve even encountered a frozen ear of corn.

Knowing which frozen treat we prefer, Groove Korea was curious of the opinion at large. So we hatched a plan to tap into the masses. We inquired over the internet and in person on where loyalties stood, and the lines have been drawn. At the end of the day, if nothing else, at least we provided a forum for your innermost thoughts. To quote one interviewee: “I probably eat way too much ice cream.” Following are the results of the first countrywide Groove Korea Ice Cream Survey.

Cone á cone: packaged ice cream cones Survey says: Goo Goo Cookies & Cream World Cone Pistachio

Expats

Korean

33% 31% 18% 18%

38% 16% 38% 8%

This category holds the award for the toughest competition. After a respectable fight, it was whittled down to a standing rivalry. Due to its elusive nature, the pistachio cone was knocked out; it was harder to find than a fugitive at a costume party. Also eliminated, Cled’or’s Cookie & Cream cone faced limitations due to its price. The 500 additional won may constitute a steeper bill, but, quite literally, it’s peanuts: the difference between topping it off with the legume of the masses, or the almonds of the elite. Majority ruled, and it was a chilling rivalry between World Cone and Goo Goo. Groove Korea’s food editor Josh Foreman summed it up this way: “I’m partial to World Cone and Goo Goo. Which is superior, I just cannot say.”

People say:

“When I eat a World Cone, time slows down ... the cone is my world, and I am the cone. I devour it with a ravished passion usually reserved for garlic cheese fries.” — Bernard McNerney, Ireland “There’s something about the vanilla ice cream cone that’s kind of nostalgic.” — Katarina Bunge, USA “My taste buds have developed over the years to caramel.” — Scott Lynch, USA

Groove Korea Magazine September 2012 • Issue 71

FOOD & DRINK / Ice cream delight

It’s in the bag: Lotte milkshakes-in-a-bag Survey says: Flavour

Expats

Korean

Cookies & Cream Vanilla Coffee Strawberry

39% 24% 22% 15%

46% 18% 18% 18%

Lotte’s design of a milkshake-in-a-bag is the next best thing to ingenious. Complete with a twist-off cap, its mobility is commendable. With an efficient design, the only drawback is the possibility of imparting frostbite to your thumbs. Cookies & Cream emerged as the clear choice for neutralizing the stifling summer heat.

People say:

“Do you think I could borrow a pair of mittens?” — Josh Jones, USA

Milkman’s unclaimed offspring: Uncategorized icy spawn Survey says: Crucian Carp Dippin’ Dots Waku Waku Papico

Survey says: Expats

Korean

55% 47% 21% 18%

9% 36% 36% 45%

This category took ownership of those that did not fit the mold. Designed more to estimate the general appeal, the winner was unclear. Of Papico, the strange, tubular, plastic-covered treat, one respondent wrote, “I want to suck on a Popsicle, not suck Popsicle out of a plastic container!” Surprisingly, the vanilla ice cream and bean paste-filled waffle fish earned a respectable approval rating amongst the expat population. As the name “boong-oh” literally translates to the crucian care, it certainly secures bonus points for its likeness to the living fish. Whether it’s enough to seal the victory, I’ll let your taste buds be the judge.

People say:

“It’s a cute design and very distinctly Korean.” — Haley Osbourne, Canada

Tooty Fruity: Fruit bars

Melona Strawberry-Apple Watermelon ‘Jaws’

Expats

Korean

37% 22% 22% 19%

50% 25% 8% 17%

Sitting on a pedestal carved out of ice, this category shelters the one and only Melona melon bar. Creamy and refreshing, Melona’s performance carried it through as a stand-out contender. Owing its fame to an ability to refresh with an unexpected flavor, it stirred up quite the buzz. Thoughts from the survey ranged from the articulate “Meloooon!!^^” to “My boyfriend’s golden retriever is really obsessed with melon bars.” Street-side, it was always a crowd pleaser and trumped every last treat with 7-Eleven confirming it as its bestseller.

People say:

“There’s something in the melon bar that makes it so that as soon as I finish one, I immediately have to have another.” — Ben Cooper, USA

Visit the author’s blog at www.thaicurryinkorea.wordpress.com Groove Korea Magazine www.groovekorea.com

FOOD & DRINK / In the kitchen

Vegan Beats Veg out with

Groove Korea Magazine September 2012 â&#x20AC;˘ Issue 71

FOOD & DRINK / In the kitchen

By Rob York / Illustration by Adela Ordoñez Visit Sae-hee Burke’s blog, veganbeats.blogspot.com.

She grabs a set of vegetables and starts peeling, dicing and frying them in her one-room apartment in Seocho, southern Seoul. The resulting meal — a salad, a bowl of sweet potatoes and a spicy mixture of vegetables and rice — is not an elaborate one. That’s not her style. “I’m pretty much a very simple person,” says Sae-hee Burke, the author of the Vegan Beats blog. “I go shopping for food every day. I get fresh food.” She attributes this to her New England background, living not far from a market where vegetables and other natural foods were easily accessible. She also says it’s due to her inquisitive nature, one that drew her to fresh food and away from animal products. Now 25, she recalls how, a whole decade ago, she helped her parents gut some freshly caught fish, and the realization of where animal products come from was brought painfully to life as the fish gaped for their last breaths. After that tear-stained encounter, she turned away from meat and eventually all animal products. Her lean figure shows the benefits of the lifestyle, and she says her cooking has since had numerous benefits for her whole family, including the disappearance of her mother’s cancer and lowering of her father’s high blood pressure. But upon arriving in Korea, the birthplace of her mother, a little more than two years ago, she had to make even more adjustments. “The concept of veganism is widely spoken of (in America),” she says. “Korea is very unaware of the lifestyle. It’s just not comprehended.” The dearth of vegetarians and vegans – as well as the use of genetically modified organisms to get more food faster – has a lot to do with the need to feed a nation of nearly 50 million people in a terrain that’s mostly mountainous, densely populated and largely urban. There’s also the history of poverty, ending with “the miracle on the Han River” and rapid industrialization, yet which still manifests itself in people’s actions. We see it in the extravagant 100-day and 1-year birthday parties for babies, who in a prior generation might have been considered lucky to have lived that long. We hear it in the concerned voices of colleagues

and friends if one seems to have lost weight recently. For those looking to make the change away from animal-based nutrition, there are substitutes for meat and dairy, made from vegetable products. Burke can see how they are an easier transition for some, particularly those with high cholesterol, but she finds meat substitutes strange and sees no need for them if she’s getting enough protein through sources such as tofu or beans. Though it’s a lifestyle she’s passionate about – she named her blog for it, after all – she admits to not being the “model vegan.” Not being a morning person, her breakfasts rarely consist of more than coffee and grapefruit. Her lunches at the academy where she teaches contain more vegetables, as she eats Korean food daily and especially loves banchan (side dishes typically including kimchi, bean sprouts, broccoli and a variety of other veggies). At dinner is where she gets most of her protein, both before and after exercising, enjoying meals such as curry, stir-fry and salads loaded with nutrients. And after just two years here, Burke says that vegans — while still a distinct minority — are becoming more and more accepted. Lee Hyori, probably the most popular female singer over the past decade, is a vegetarian, and online communities such as the Seoul Veggie Club on Facebook have sprung up. “Because there’s not too many of us around we’re kind of a group of accidental friends,” she says. Workplaces, including her own, are growing more understanding of those who don’t enjoy meat or dairy and add lots of vegetables in their cafeterias. Dinner has been arranged at Burke’s apartment, and even her pet guinea pig and hamster have gotten in on the action, enjoying the carrot and cucumber peels left over. Burke, though, is eager to hear how her visitor reacts to her vegan cooking. “Is it horrible?” she asks with pensive grin. No, it isn’t. Not at all.

“The concept of veganism is widely spoken of (in America). Korea is very unaware of the lifestyle. It’s just not comprehended.” — Sae-hee Burke, author of Vegan Beats blog

Looking to go all-veg? Here are some online resources:

In Korea The Seoul Veggie Club – This Facebook group has more than 1,000 members, meets twice a month, has a map to the capital’s vegetarian restaurants, and is the best resource for meeting fellow vegetarians. Alien’s Day Out – Mipa Lee’s blog includes recipes, guides to vegetarian eateries, plus the Alien’s Bake Shop, which provides shipping within South Korea, of vegan-friendly items made with organic, unrefined cane sugar and organic soy milk. Visit Aliensdayout.com or Aliensbakeshop. com. Vegan Beats – Sae-hee Burke’s blog isn’t just about veganism, but does include reviews of new restaurants, information on baking fund-raisers for animal rescue, recipes and help in finding vegan-friendly drinks. Visit veganbeats.blogspot.com.

International Happycow.net – Includes recipes, a forum for discussion with other vegetarians/vegans, restaurant reviews and a guide to finding vegetarian dining anywhere in the world. iHerb.com – A source for finding natural products including groceries, dietary supplements, toiletries and much more. Forksoverknives.com – The makers of the hit documentary bring more information including interviews with nutrition experts, how to make plant-based meals and more books on making the transition away from animal products.

Groove Korea Magazine www.groovekorea.com

THE FINAL DAYS of Karin Joy Bowerman & Cathy Huynh After travelers die suddenly in Vietnam, family and friends search for answers Story by Elaine Ramirez / Photos contributed by friends of Kari Bowerman and Cathy Huynh

Karin Joy Bowerman

Cathy Huynh

(May 13, 1985 - July 30, 2012)

(Sept. 19, 1985 - Aug. 2, 2012)

A community mourns News of two Korea-based English teachers who died while backpacking in Vietnam in late July and early August has shaken the local expat community. Friends Kari Bowerman, 27, of the U.S. and Cathy Huynh, 26, of Canada had just begun their week-long vacation when they suddenly fell ill and passed away due to unknown causes. One month after their deaths, many questions are left unanswered about what happened to them. The most popular theory says they might have been poisoned, but it will take weeks to confirm the real cause. Friends of the girls say the Vietnamese government seems to be trying to put the incident behind them, while the families still yearn for answers. For expats in Korea, the story hits especially close to home. Many of us have traveled to Vietnam and elsewhere with open minds, free

Groove Korea Magazine September 2012 • Issue 71

Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa Province, Vietnam spirits and hardly an air of caution. Others were personally affected by the loss of like-minded friends who celebrated with them, went on adventures with them, and grew to be part of their family away from home. Even if we had never met them, the thought when hearing the story has inevitably crept into many of our minds: It could have been me. But friends and family want to prevent that. Groove Korea spoke with several friends of the girls, including one living in Korea who was in contact with Cathy via Skype and phone in the hours before her death. “We need to continue bringing attention, spreading awareness, and pushing for answers,” said the friend, who has asked to not be named. “These lovely and special girls cannot and will not be forgotten. This could have happened to any of us, and we need to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

It was 1 a.m. on Tuesday morning in Korea when a friend received a Skype message from Cathy Huynh, who was vacationing in Vietnam with her friend Kari Bowerman. “Are you on?” the message read. “It’s an emergency.” Cathy was panicked and urgently needed to get in contact with Kari’s family. Kari’s health was in serious condition and a relative had to come to Vietnam as soon as possible, Cathy told her friend. On Monday, July 30, the day after arriving in the small coastal town of Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa Province, some seven hours northeast of Ho Chi Minh, she and Kari had fallen ill and took a taxi to a nearby military hospital. Cathy, who could speak Vietnamese, suspected at the time they might have had food poisoning, according to the friend, and told doctors that both were tired and her friend had thrown up several times during the day. “The first hospital

they were at, Kari was gasping for air. Something was up and she wasn’t feeling well,” her friend said of that conversation with Cathy. A doctor at the military hospital later told Vietnamese media that Kari had been writhing upon being admitted. The friend said that Cathy was given medication and fell asleep. “They were in beds next to each other, and they got a little sleepy. And when she (Cathy) woke up, Kari was gone,” the friend said. News reports said that after some 10 minutes, Kari’s condition had worsened enough that she was transferred to a general hospital. Cathy was discharged the same evening and headed to Khanh Hoa Province General Hospital, to find her friend in grave condition. “At that point, they (doctors) said that her condition had gotten really serious. She was unconscious, incubated, on a respirator,” the friend said. She said Cathy described the

COMMUNITY / In memoriam

hospital as “not a really good place to be around.” “Cathy told me … ‘Man, this is a scary place. This is where people go to pass away,’” the friend said. “When she got to the hospital … it had gotten so serious that they told Cathy, ‘Since you’re a friend you can’t do anything. You need to get a hold of a family member.’” So Cathy returned to her hostel, where the two shared a room, to access the Internet, and that’s when she got in touch with the friend in Korea. Using contact info in Kari’s smartphone, Cathy was able to get in touch with Kari’s sisters, Ashley Bowerman and Jenny Jaques, who then tried to figure out how to come to Vietnam. Cathy told the friend that she would go to the hospital first thing in the morning to relay the news and then call her back in eight or nine hours. They hung up. But by the time Cathy returned to the hospital the next day, Kari had suffered acute respiratory failure as her blood pressure dropped to zero, and she passed away at 10:40 p.m., according to news reports. Cathy called the friend back around 9:30 a.m. and told her the news. “She was very calm. Both Kari and Cathy were very strong girls. The first time she called me she was very panicked, nobody knew what to do. But when she called me again, I knew as soon as she started talking. She had a very calm voice … I knew she didn’t have anything good to say just by the tone of her voice,” the friend said. “I broke the news to a lot of people and everyone (was in) shock. Just complete shock and disbelief. I think everyone is still in shock.” Cathy called the family to deliver the news and spent the day talking to police and relaying as much information as she could, the friend said. Since she was told by the hospital that she couldn’t do much as a nonfamily member, her usefulness was limited, but said she would try to contact the local U.S. Embassy to figure out what to do about Kari. She called the friend back at about 8:30 p.m. that night. “She told me that she’d spent most of the day talking to the police and telling them what they did hour by hour, what they ate, where they went,” the friend said. Cathy’s return flight was scheduled for Thursday, and having lost a friend, she was ready to go home, the friend said. But with many questions still unanswered in their investigation, the police did not allow Cathy to leave. “At that point she was also very worried because the police did not want her to leave the city. She couldn’t leave the city until they could find out more about what happened ... and she was worried about that (because) she didn’t have enough money.” Cathy’s main concern at the time was not her own well-being, the friend said, but arranging for finances to stay a few days longer in Nha Trang. The friend agreed to wire enough money to Cathy and the two were figuring out how to perform the transfer. “I do remember we talked for maybe about 10 minutes, and later on in the conversation she said she still felt sick,” the friend said. “And when she was walking around on Tuesday ... she said just walking felt like she had just run a marathon, that she was very winded. That struck me as very odd. “Both of them were pretty healthy girls and they ran in races and were pretty athletic. So it was very strange that she was having respiratory issues just like Kari was. At that point she didn’t make it a huge deal that she was sick. It (the conversation) was just to get her money to get her back to Korea.” As she was in the middle of a class, the friend promised to call Cathy back as soon as possible. Half an hour later, she tried to return the call, but there was no answer. She sent Cathy a message asking her to call back whenever she had time. Time ticked by, and by 3 a.m., Cathy had not called or gone online. “I was starting to get really worried. She was calling me in nine-hour intervals...So Wednesday night I had decided that in the morning if I haven’t heard from Cathy, I need to contact the embassy or do something and figure out what was going on or where she is. “In the meantime I was constantly checking their Facebook pages...

Groove Korea Magazine www.groovekorea.com

“It’s almost like the Vietnamese government is trying to forget about it and sweep it under the rug, so it’d be great to bring awareness to this issue and somehow try and get answers from someone – from Vietnam, from embassies, from whoever. This easily could have been any one of us in Korea, or any expat.” – Friend Cathy was pretty active on Facebook and Instagram. At the beginning of her trip she was posting lots of photos and doing lots of stuff, but it reached a point where she wasn’t posting anything.” In Canada, Jetty Ly, a close family friend, used to speak to Cathy every day, and spoke on Skype with her on July 27, when she had just arrived in Vietnam. “She spoke about how much fun she was having,” she said. Their usually frequent contact had become sparse. “I had this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach, an inkling that something was not right, because she did not email me as she did literally every day,” she said. “My last message to her was, ‘Are you alive?” Then Ly posted on July 30, Ontario time, to Cathy’s Facebook wall, asking for any information regarding Cathy’s trip in Vietnam. Meanwhile, the friend in Korea gave up and went to bed at 3, and woke up at 7 or 8. She logged in that morning to see Ly’s and other friends’ posts on Cathy’s page. “Some of her friends in Canada had found out and they were posting ‘RIP Cathy,’ so I found out about her death on Facebook. Absolute worst way to find out.” On Wednesday, Aug. 1, Cathy had taken a taxi back to the hospital after she “complained of tiredness,” the hostel owner told Vietnamese media. She was stable upon being admitted, but then suffered serious respiratory failure and blood pressure loss. Her body went into shock and she died early the next morning at 2:45 a.m. on Aug. 2, the media reported. In Canada, Cathy’s brother had first gotten news from the embassy around noon on Aug. 1 that Cathy had slipped into a coma. Hours later, Ly was with the family when they received the later call from the embassy with news of Cathy’s passing. “I will never forget her mom’s scream and falling to the ground in agony. I will never forget the cold and numb feeling I felt (when) we first found out. Till this day, it has been surreal and quite honestly, I still don’t believe it,” she said. “A lot of people were calling me at

Groove Korea Magazine September 2012 • Issue 71

that time,” asking if the news was true, the friend in Korea said. “I came to find out later that … she didn’t let her family know what was going on. I don’t think she told anyone else about the situation other than me and Kari’s sister.” The friend, who saw Ly’s post, was able to contact Cathy’s family in Canada. “They had no idea about the situation that I knew about,” the friend said. “At that point it was just initial shock. They were talking to the embassy, but that conversation was mostly me telling them everything I knew, and (about) getting a hold of her school and telling them the situation.” Kari’s family did not travel to Vietnam but worked with U.S. officials to make arrangements. After an autopsy was performed, Kari’s sister Jenny Jacques had the body cremated in Ho Chi Minh since transporting her body would have cost a weighty $12,000, she told U.S. media. Though the family changed their minds and tried to stop the cremation in order to have further tests performed, by that time it was too late. Afterward, the Vietnamese government delivered Kari’s ashes on Aug. 22 and belongings some time before that to the family. Two friends here told Groove Korea that they collected Kari’s belongings from her apartment in Seoul and shipped them to her family. A private funeral service was scheduled for Aug. 25 in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. The family has told media that Kari’s cell phone, which they thought could hold clues in pictures and messages as to what Kari was doing before her death, was not included

in the belongings they received. The friend in Korea said that in later calls, Cathy admitted that the phone “got lost somehow during the chaos of everything. I really wish we could find it now,” she added. Huynh’s mother, brother and uncle arrived in Ho Chi Minh City on Saturday, Aug. 4, to arrange the repatriation of her daughter’s body to Canada. Her mother, Huynh Thi Huong, refused to consent to an autopsy or blood test as the two travelers had apparently died from the same cause and one autopsy was already performed, as well as to keep the body intact for transport back to Canada, media said. Vietnamese media reported speculation from various doctors at the hospitals that treated the girls about the cause of death, including one doctor who said Cathy may have died from drinking too much wine. According to the reports, her mother refuted the idea, saying Cathy drank sometimes at parties but never heavily on vacation. She instead put the blame on the hospital that treated her, as Cathy died over 12 hours after being admitted. Cathy’s body, in a coffin, was placed in a pagoda in Ho Chi Minh and a traditional Vietnamese funeral service was held before the family accompanied Cathy’s body back to her hometown of Hamilton, Ontario, on Aug. 10. Looking for answers “There are so many questions that need to be answered,” the friend said. “When I talked to Cathy, she didn’t even know what it was or what could have caused it. She was just as confused as the rest of us as

far as what was happening.” A report by the province’s health department said both girls died of blood circulation failure, though the cause of it remained unknown. As of press time, the families were still waiting on Kari’s autopsy results, which typically take two weeks to analyze, to be announced from Hanoi, in hopes to shed light on the cause of the girls’ deaths. Yet two weeks following her death, Kari’s autopsy samples sat preserved in Khanh Hoa, where the girls died, with the Hanoi doctors saying that police there still hadn’t paid the fees for transporting the samples. They were finally transported on Aug. 14 but it would take another two weeks for the results to be released. However, a forensic examiner told Vietnamese media that the extended time of preservation may affect the results, even if the samples were well preserved. “The embassy has yet to give a firm date on when autopsy results will be released. They said ‘two weeks’ as of Aug. 1, but we have yet to receive the results,” Jason Von Seth, Kari’s high-school best friend who is in close contact with the family, said on Aug. 21. Cathy’s mother finally consented to an autopsy once Cathy’s body arrived in Canada, but similarly, the coroner in Hamilton told Canadian media that conducting it was limited because of the embalming methods used to prepare her body for transport. The results, which could take up to 40 days to process, had yet to be released as of press time, Cathy’s brother Michael confirmed to Groove Korea. When asked if Cathy’s family and friends seemed optimistic about the autopsy results, Ly said: “To be quite honest, no. There are a lot of factors working against us.” Ly said Cathy’s friends in Canada were still feeling scared, hurt and saddened. “Until we are able to figure out what exactly happened, we will not be able to move on.” Cathy’s body was placed in a funeral home on Aug. 12 for viewing and on the following day about 200 friends and family members attend-

COMMUNITY / In memoriam

ed a funeral service in Hamilton as Cathy was laid to rest, Michael said. The family has decided to freely share their story with the media “to help get answers in the mysterious death of both girls, and prevent it from happening to others,” he said. ‘Any one of us’ Friends here expressed concerns to Groove Korea that Vietnamese authorities seemed to be trying to play down the event, which they find important to publicize to raise awareness. “Now that both girls have gotten home, both of their bodies are back in North America, it’s getting to the point where there are still a lot of questions; we still don’t know what happened,” the friend said. “It’s almost like the Vietnamese government is trying to forget about it and sweep it under the rug, so it’d be great to bring awareness to this issue and somehow try and get answers from someone – from Vietnam, from embassies, from whoever. “This easily could have been any

one of us in Korea, or any expat.” Ly, who is close to Cathy’s family but was not commenting on their behalf, says the Canadian government and embassy was very supportive from the beginning, helping Cathy’s family with appropriate letters and paperwork and “smooth the transition” to repatriate Cathy’s body. But as for the Vietnamese government, she said it has not provided them with much information. “After leaving the hospital after Kari’s death, Cathy was interviewed and explained hour for hour what they did, ate, drank etc. but these details have not been communicated through,” she said. “The Vietnamese government has to do what they have to do, which is to protect their tourism so that foreigners are not scared to visit their beautiful country; I can appreciate their agenda. “Our agenda, on the other hand, is to protect our future citizens, friends and family from ever meeting this fate and having to go through this.”

Supporting the families Friends in Canada and the U.S. have set up online fundraisers to help the girls’ families with transport, funeral and related expenses. “Kari’s Army,” created Aug. 3, surpassed its $10,000 goal on Aug. 21. Kari’s high-school best friend Jason Von Seth also collected $3,000 for the family through a PayPal account. Cathy’s high-school friend Jason Gallant set up “Bring Cathy Huynh home” to raise $40,000. Created Aug. 2, the project raised over $25,000 as of Aug. 22. Meanwhile, friends in Korea plan to throw a party to raise funds on Friday, Sept. 14, at Sin Bin Sports Pub in Itaewon, Seoul. There will be a 50-50 raffle and beer pong tournament, and 50 percent of the sales of all Long Island Iced Teas purchased throughout the night will be sent to Kari and Cathy’s families. “Anyone and everyone is welcome to attend. Kari and Cathy were both very social and had so many friends, and would definitely say, ‘the more, the merrier,’” said co-organizer Megan McAfee.

More info Friday Night Fundraiser for Cathy and Kari Where: Sin Bin Sports Pub in Itaewon When: Friday, September 14 from 8 pm Featuring: 50-50 raffle, beer pong tournament, 50% of Long Island sales to go towards the families For information, search the fundraiser’s name on Facebook. For the fundraiser dedicated to Kari Bowerman, visit giveforward.com/Karisarmy. For the fundraiser dedicated to Cathy Huynh, visit gofundme.com/z81i8.

Groove Korea Magazine www.groovekorea.com

In memoriam Remembering the life of Kari Bowerman Friends of Kari Bowerman and Cathy Huynh were invited to share their thoughts, memories and photos. All contributions were subject to editing for length and clarity. The staff of Groove Korea would like to thank all of Kari and Cathy’s friends in Korea, Canada and the U.S. for their help in this tribute. Our thoughts and well-wishes are with you and the girls’ families. — Ed.

Karin Joy Bowerman

(May 13, 1985 - July 30, 2012)

“Kari and I met over three years ago in Ansan and grew to be close friends. She always had a way to brighten the mood in the room. She was always up for a new adventure and she had these special, secret powers that could convince everyone else to join her in them. She loved sports—DA BEARS! She is known among our friends to have these one-liners or chants to get people excited about whatever was going on. Any time it came to doing something new, I can hear her say so clearly, ‘I’m not afraid’ (from a popular Eminem song). She was such a strong woman, the most amazing friend anyone could ever have. I speak for all our friends in saying that our hearts are truly broken for the loss of our lovely Kari. We will never forget! Saranghae forever Kari!” -Deanne Colbert

“When I think back on my memories with Kari, it’s hard to envision her without a smile on her face. We spent most of our conversations joking and talking about sports. She had a great sense of humor. She invited me to join her fantasy football league named ‘Cutler Haters.’ The password was, of course, DA BEARS. She loved wearing her Bears jersey on game day for a chance to gloat about her team’s victory. I feel privileged to have known her. I really got the feeling she truly was having the time of her life in Korea.” -Nate Coleman

“Kari and I hit it off right away. We were introduced by a mutual friend, who later said she regretted it as Kari and I became ‘thick as thieves.’ Once I went away for a few days and when I came back Kari had posted a card on my door. Another time she was standing, waiting with flowers — tulips are my favorite but she couldn’t find any, so she made paper ones. Kari became like a sister to me. Even after Korea, we remained the best of friends. She was my good angel voice, the person I went to for advice. We shared stories we couldn’t with anybody else.” -Debbie McCarron

Groove Korea Magazine September 2012 • Issue 71

“A few months ago, my girlfriend and I went over to Kari’s to watch an NBA playoff game. While on our way, Kari called to ask if we wanted something from Subway. Midway through the first quarter we unwrapped three subs to find no meat on any of them. Apparently, everything on it excludes meat. We just looked at each other and burst out laughing. Kari was the kind of person who made everyone around her happier, even on those meatless days.” -Jacob Von Seth

“Everyone who has had a night out with Kari can tell you that she was a demon on the dance floor. Her spaghetti-like hair would show her excitement when her favorite tracks were played: swaying from side to side, up and down, flying in all directions—followed by that legendary one-armed fist pump, getting the music with everything she had! We attended all the dances together in high school, the Halloween dance being our guilty pleasure. Kari once decided on a costume months beforehand and wouldn’t give the slightest hint about it. The night of the big dance, there she was, dressed as her idol — Will Smith, suited up ‘Men in Black’-style even with a replica mask. I shook my head in disbelief until she took off the mask. My mouth hit the floor, followed immediately by uncontrollable laughter. Kari: the international woman of mystery.” -Jason Von Seth

COMMUNITY / In memoriam

“Kari could turn any ordinary day into an adventure. On my last birthday, 12 days before she left home, Kari called me while I was at work and asked how much free time we had “right now.” We had to meet my family for dinner in an hour. She said, “That’s pushing it – but get in the car.” I went outside and found her waiting in the parking lot. She handed me a hand-drawn treasure map of our city and said, “Surprise birthday treasure hunt!” Kari drove as I guessed where each of her hilarious, creative clues led us to. She took us all over the city, to our favorite places and popular landmarks. She also made a birthday playlist of all our favorite songs. As we stopped to find each clue, Kari had me complete “rites of passage” before we could continue. Needless to say, we all ended up being a bit late for dinner. It was worth every second.” -Carrie Meiners

“If “awesome” was a product Kari would’ve been on the billboard. From the first time I met her I knew we would be great friends. We first met at a bar in Ansan where a live band was performing. The whole bar was cheering and clapping for them; Kari and I looked at each other wondering if we were even hearing the same band. So she decided that we ditch the concert with our friends, and go to a noraebang to make our own bad music. We stayed there and sang until our throats were sore. And that was Kari: always making the best out of the worst.” –Jaryt Montgomery

“I’ll always remember her as the girl who couldn’t resist joining the Super Junior flash mob, the girl walking around Mud Fest with only one lens in her sunglasses, the girl who made friends with every Korean she met despite speaking no more than five words of Korean, the girl yelling ‘need to be answered DA BEARS,’ the girl who found out every event happening and invited (or forced...DMZ Marathon) everyone to go, the girl who wrapped herself both in an American flag on July 4th and a Canadian flag on Canada Day. Kari, you were my country music buddy and the best darts partner in the world. As sad as I am to have lost you, I’m just so lucky to have known you. Thanks for making Korea an awesome place to be.” –Sandra Durinick

“I met Kari on a trip to Deokjeok-do, where my first impression was, ‘Who is this curly-haired girl dancing and singing outside my room at 3 a.m.?’ That was Kari: full of positive energy and ready to make the most of every day. She challenged me to break out of my shell, to take chances, and to dance all night long if the music was still playing. I will always keep her in my thoughts and remember to celebrate life every day, just as she did.” –Stephanie Hoggan

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Bio Karin Joy Bowerman was born on May 13, 1985, in Illinois, U.S., and grew up in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, with three sisters and one brother, whose parents are deceased. Upon graduating from Winona State University in 2008, she moved to Korea to teach at Ansan Elementary School in Gyeonggi Province. After teaching in Korea for two years, she went home temporarily and returned this spring to teach at a kindergarten private academy around Gangnam, southern Seoul. Friends say Kari was a loyal friend with an easygoing, Midwestern vibe, and loved to bring people together and have a good time. “She knew more about professional sports than most guys,” one friend said, evidenced by her undying allegiance to the Chicago Bears and Bulls and her affinity for Korea’s Doosan Bears. One of her and her friends’ goals was to watch Doosan play at every Korean baseball stadium. She was notorious for wild dance moves, catchy one-liners and seizing any opportunity to cheer on her Chicago team, “Da Bears.” They recalled her goofiness and sense of humor. “We were gonna go to the Eminem concert (in Seoul on Aug. 19) and wear big, baggy wife beaters and maybe -- probably not -- bleach our hair and be ridiculous,” a friend said, laughing. “It was an idea that was tossed around.” “She was always up for a new adventure and she had these special, secret powers that could convince everyone else to join her in those adventures,” another friend said. She was also a fan of Will Smith as well as country music, according to a friend who has known her since high school. She loved the Country Thunder annual festival in the U.S. and looked forward to every time it came to Wisconsin. Upon Kari’s return to Seoul after a year-long absence, she dragged all her friends to the country-themed Grand Ole Opry bar in Itaewon and stayed until closing.

In memoriam Remembering the life of Cathy Huynh Friends of Kari Bowerman and Cathy Huynh were invited to share their thoughts, memories and photos. All contributions were subject to editing for length and clarity. The staff of Groove Korea would like to thank all of Kari and Cathy’s friends in Korea, Canada and the U.S. for their help in this tribute. Our thoughts and well-wishes are with you and the girls’ families. — Ed.

Cathy Huynh

(Sept. 19, 1985 - Aug. 2, 2012)

Everyone had their bad days, but Cathy had fewer. If you had a problem, she found a way to make it better. Maybe it was a joke or just sitting and listening to your complaints. That’s what a friend should be. They should be there in the good times and the bad. She warmed my spirits in the darkest of times. Her sparkling personality gave me a reprieve and this I will never forget. She was taken from us far too soon, but past memories will never fade!” -Daniel Vorderstrasse

“Cathy was always full of life, love and joy. Just her smile and the sound of her laughter alone would enlighten any room. She is unquestionably the definition of a forever friend; always there to listen, to laugh with, to enjoy the simplest things in life with. Forever friends are hard to find, difficult to leave and never forgotten. Cathy will never be forgotten and will remain forever in our hearts.” –Sophia Hoang

“One evening Cathy and I met up for dinner before a 10k run in the morning. Afterwards we walked around and before I knew it, it was almost midnight. After two hours of sleep, we met up at 4:30 a.m. and two hours later we arrived at the event. The team’s theme was ‘duct tape’ but to be funny we’d purposely spell it wrong. But before the race we’d lost each other and I couldn’t find her until two minutes before it started. The plan was to run next to each other, and together we would spell the team name. Cathy hadn’t put on her duct tape yet. I gave her the T and A letters on my back and I still had P and E, so we could spell at least the word TAPE. The race started and we were off. Quickly we realized that not training and sleeping only two hours were bad ideas. At some point we switched positions and now we spelled PETA. When she realized, Cathy ran in front of me yelling and screaming as I almost passed out from exhaustion and laughter. There was something hilarious about the way she yelled and screamed. She wasn’t angry; it was more comical and entertaining. Afterward, I got some duct tape and put DUCK on her back.” -Susan Thach

“This summer marks six years since I first met Cathy. Our friendship seemed effortless; she was the kind of person you could take anywhere and she’d fit in. She often came to visit on my parents’ farm where she loved interacting with our animals. And when I say interacting, I mean she would get right in there, having the goats climb all over her and wrestling our large dog until he went crazy with excitement. And that’s how Cathy approached life: not just watching idly from the sidelines but jumping right in, and truly living and loving every moment of it. Cathy was also extremely thoughtful. For our birthdays she would make huge cards covered in pictures. When I lived abroad she constantly sent mail and made time to Skype. That didn’t change when Cathy went to Korea. Everywhere in my room are little gifts she sent me and I was always trying to keep up with her flow of postcards and letters. Losing Cathy is the hardest thing I’ve ever gone through and I find it hard to imagine a future without her around. Although our time together was cut short I find peace in knowing that I have no regrets about our friendship and the years we did have together. Cathy touched so many people’s lives and now it is up to us to keep her memory alive.” -Juliet Prey

Groove Korea Magazine September 2012 • Issue 71

COMMUNITY / In memoriam

“It was through an assignment in high school photography class that I met Cathy’s brother when we went to his house to finish it. Through my eventual relationship with him, I also grew closer to Cathy. Last year, before visiting her in Korea we stopped in Beijing. She surprised us there and stayed with us before we met her again in Korea. My relationship with her was that of an older sister; we are the same age but I was always the responsible one. She came to me for life problems, career issues, etc. We talked almost every day. In almost every picture of Cathy that has surfaced recently, she was always smiling, being goofy and happy. THAT was Cathy. She never did take much seriously. Her passing has been surreal and quite honestly, I still don’t believe it. To me, she’s still in South Korea, teaching those kids she loved so dearly.” –Jetty Ly

“I’m so lucky to have been friends with Kari and Cathy. We were on the beach one night at this year’s Mud Fest, and they were tired and left for the hotel early. But instead of going straight back to the hotel, they found a place with ATVs and decided to go ATVing for a couple of hours. It was so funny and random, but that’s how Kari and Cathy were: such outgoing, funny girls, ready to take on any adventure or challenge that came their way. Thank you both for being my friends. I will never forget your strong and carefree spirits, your bright and vibrant personalities, and your kind and genuine hearts.” -Megan McAfee

“Cathy was a free-spirited, strong, compassionate, well rounded person. She was very open-minded, caring, loved traveling and loved her time in Korea. As soon as I heard the news, I felt my heart sink. I couldn’t believe that someone who was so full of life was robbed of a life. Cathy will never know how many lives she’s touched.” -Diana Cao

Groove Korea Magazine www.groovekorea.com

Bio Cathy Huynh was born Sept. 19, 1985 to Vietnamese parents in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, where she grew up with one older brother. After graduating with a social sciences degree from Brock University in 2010, she, too, came to Korea to teach English at a public elementary school in Ansan. After briefly going home, she returned to Korea this spring to teach at another public elementary school in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province. She loved children, which bode well for her as a teacher, but her passion was helping people. She wanted to return to school to become a social worker. Her brother was concerned about the employment outlook of her dream job, “but it did not matter to Cathy,” Ly said. “She wanted to help people. She wanted to be with people.” She also enjoyed photography and had a goal to post a photo every day to document her second year in Korea. Friends remember her as a thoughtful, caring friend with a loud, vibrant, infectious personality and say when they think about her, there’s hardly a time they can remember her not smiling. “In almost every single picture of Cathy that has surfaced since her passing, she was always smiling, being goofy and just being happy. That was Cathy. She never did take much seriously,” Ly said. “She always made things more fun when she was around,” another friend said. “She was very outgoing and social, and really enjoyed meeting new people and making new friends. She had a strong spirit and would often put herself outside of her comfort zone and try new things. “She was so goofy and funny and didn’t mind being the butt of jokes if it meant that it made the people around her laugh and smile.” She enjoyed cooking and baking. She played field hockey at Cathedral High School and continued her athletic interests in Korea by playing volleyball as well as club soccer with a team in Osan, north of Pyeongtaek. Cathy enjoyed running and signed up for several races and marathons in Korea. She and Kari were part of a running club dubbed “Team Dirt” which was, friends say, also well versed in flip cup. The two had been gearing up to participate in the DMZ Marathon in late August. Cathy had a proven thirst for travel since her first road trip in 2003 from Ontario to Florida, and took many opportunities to join tours exploring Korea. She had gone to Nha Trang, Vietnam, last year and was eager to return during her summer break. “Cathy loved Vietnam. It was probably her most favorite travel destination, having been once already. She loved the food, the people and the culture,” Ly said. When Cathy found out Kari had also booked a ticket to the country for the same week, the two became excited about their upcoming adventure. Friends say that Kari and Cathy were both fun-loving, photogenic, quirky individuals. “I’m starting to realize how alike both of them were,” a friend said. “They were very strong girls, they were very, uh, loud girls, outgoing, and so welcoming — always up for meeting new people and trying new things.”

COMMUNITY / Roads rule

Groove Korea Magazine September 2012 â&#x20AC;˘ Issue 71

COMMUNITY / Roads rule

ROADS RULE

Blogger turns an obsession into a community-building enterprise By Ara Cho / Photos by Dylan Goldby

With Korea set to host the Asian Games in 2014, the Korean Formula One Grand Prix in 2016 and the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in 2018, an unprecedented number of visitors is expected to descend upon the country in the coming years. To accommodate the influx of guests and thus bolster the tourism industry, a dizzying array of new buildings, stadiums, roads and rail lines are already scheduled for construction, with more projects on the way. For infrastructure enthusiasts like Andy Tebay, these are exciting times. Tebay is a 26-year-old MBA student in Seoul whose website, Kojects, has won over a dedicated following both here and abroad for providing information on transportation and construction projects around the nation. A New Zealander with a background in linguistics, Tebay developed a connection to Korea in college while living with a group of Korean students from Gyeongsang Province who sparked his interest in the country and left him with the same strong regional dialect that still colors his speech. His passion for construction and transportation projects sprouted when he first arrived in Seoul in 2007. He couldn’t help but notice the vast difference between the public transportation and construction projects in his home country and those in his new home: Auckland still had diesel-powered trains and the construction projects there took considerably longer to complete than the skyscrapers and bridges in Seoul that went up in what seemed to him like a week. Last autumn, after his observations had become something of an obsession, he started blogging in response to what he felt was a dearth of information about such a fast-growing field. “There are all these major projects going on but in actual fact not many people know about them. And when they do know, their information is often wrong,” he said. “Also, there are hardly any places which provide an accurate summary of information. That’s where I come in and that’s what I’d like

to provide.” Although Tebay, a good-humored bloke, initially laughed along with friends who jokingly teased him about his child-like enthusiasm for trains, he was surprised to discover through his site a legion of people both here and abroad who share his passion. “People are genuinely interested in finding out what shape the infrastructure will take and technical details involved in the construction,” he said.

He says he is also lucky to have made many good friends through the site who are quite knowledgeable and “actually have experience in the industry rather than just those who take interest as a hobby.” Tebay himself has since become something of an authority on Korean infrastructure projects and Kojects is frequently cited as a reference. Some such examples include Wikipedia, Advanced Technology & Design Korea (a governmentsponsored website aimed at promoting Korean products and brands), Travel Wire Asia (a travel and culture website affiliated with news website Asian Correspondent) and Kotaku (a popular tech blog). He has also had the opportunity to visit places such as the National Railroad Control Center, which is a highly restricted area, and the Korea Transport Institute, thanks to connections he’s made on his blog. He says it is the role that public infrastructure plays in people’s everyday lives that fascinates him most.

Groove Korea Magazine www.groovekorea.com

COMMUNITY / Roads rule

Groove Korea Magazine September 2012 â&#x20AC;˘ Issue 71

COMMUNITY / Roads rule

“There are all these major projects going on but in actual fact not many people know about them … That’s where I come in and that's what I’d like to provide.” “While I definitely love the nostalgia and character of very old buildings, I also enjoy seeing creation and development, and I try to focus on buildings or infrastructure that will be used by the general public and not just a new building down the road,” he said. “As for transport projects, it’s all about how people can connect to places faster. It’s exciting to think that soon there will be a subway line that will travel all the way across Gangwondo to Donghae, for example.” One project that has held his interest since construction began in 2010 is the urban maglev train at Incheon International Airport. When it begins operating in late 2013, the system will be the country’s first commercial line to use magnetic levitation technology, which according Kojects propels vehicles using the basic principles of magnets instead of wheels and engines, reducing both noise and vibration. “Despite its prominent location, the project seems to be relatively unknown and lots of people are interested in checking out the technology, which still isn’t so common globally,” Tebay said. “The reason this project was so interesting for (me), personally, is that during my research I found out about the huge number of projects going on in the Incheon area, especially near the airport.” He writes in a related post on the site about some of those projects, including a second terminal at the airport slated to open in 2018 -- just in time for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. A more recent post details the re-opening of several stations on the Gyeongwon Line connecting Dongducheon to the country’s northernmost rail terminus at Sintan-ri, hinting at a possible extension to reconnect the line with North Korea’s rail system. Although he started the site as a hobby, Tebay is serious about making sure that the information he is providing is legitimate, accurate and interesting. “Accuracy is quite important to me and I like to show from where the information comes and also provide ways that readers can find out more about a certain project or company,” he said. He draws upon a diversity of sources, including the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, news articles, the websites of construction companies, other blogs and direct interviews with industry insiders. Where possible, he tries to provide information not yet available in English. “I hope I can act as somewhat of a database for the various projects so people can know, for example, when the Wolmido Monorail will finally be open or when they can watch a game of baseball at the new Baseball Dome in Guro,” he said. Before he started Kojects, Tebay was already active online as an editor of Nanoomi.net, an aggregator of Korean blogs, and VentureSquare.net, which features Korean tech startups and information on new ventures. While he admits to the challenges of dividing his time between editing, his MBA program and Kojects, Tebay says the rewards have made it worthwhile for him. “The most rewarding aspect for me has been meeting new people. As I said earlier, I have made some good friends with similar interests who have introduced me to people in the industry. I have also gotten to know the great community of K-bloggers in Korea, which includes some very talented and smart people,” he said.

Groove Korea Magazine www.groovekorea.com

COMMUNITY / Fitness

No weights?

No problem! Use your body to build strength and the physique of a gymnast Story by Khaled Allen / Photos by Anna Pusack

At the London Olympics, people gathered to stare in disbelief at the astounding performances of gymnasts as they demonstrated unbelievable strength and coordination and eye-popping physiques. Would you believe these amazing athletes use little more than their own bodies to develop their abilities? There are no barbells, dumbbells or weight machines at gymnastics gyms. Most movement doesn’t involve lifting heavy things, so it makes sense that more of your workout should involve your own body. Weight-

lifting is great for some things, but the nature of weights limits what you can do with them. Learning to use your body for strength training gives you more options in terms of how and where you can train. So, how can you build the amazing strength, body awareness and physique of a gymnast? Start by incorporating these power- and strength-based variations of regular bodyweight movements. They can be trained individually or as part of a more varied workout.

Khaled Allen is director of fitness at Body & Seoul Martial Arts and Fitness Center. He can be reached at seoulmartialarts@gmail.com. — Ed. Groove Korea Magazine September 2012 • Issue 71

COMMUNITY / Fitness

Pull-ups The most common, and most useful, bodyweight strength move is the pull-up. Being chased by Korean mobsters and need to climb an alley fence to escape? Pull-ups would come in handy. If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re looking for bulging biceps, doing lots of pull-ups will serve you better than hundreds of curls. If not, being able to do a few pull-ups could still save your life. How to do it: Find a horizontal bar above your head but within reach. Grasp it with your palms facing away from you and let yourself hang. Now, tighten your abs and shoulders and pull the bar to you. Try to get it under your chin without craning your neck. Learning it: If you cannot do a pull-up, start with jumping pull-ups. Set up as above but use a small hop to get your chin over the bar. Now, lower yourself as slowly as possible. Once you can lower yourself over 10 seconds, try a chin-up, an easier version of a pull-up with your palms facing you. Too easy? Bring your hands closer together. Grip the bar with only one hand and hold on with the other at the wrist of the gripping hand.

Clapping Pushups A version of pushups that develops explosive power (especially useful for martial artists) is the clapping pushup. How to do it: Do a regular pushup, but push off as hard as you can from the bottom. The goal is to catch enough air to clap your hands before coming back down. Make sure to keep your body straight; no bucking your hips to give yourself a boost. Too easy? Try to clap behind your back. If you can do that, try clapping behind your back and then in front.

The Squat Jump Jumping is arguably more useful than being able to stand up with a lot of weight on your back, and training jumps will build powerful, resilient leg muscles. It will also teach you to safely absorb a fall, which will be useful after you get to the top of that alley fence. How to do it: Squat down to bring your hips below your knees. Now, explode up and jump as high as you can. Tuck your knees to your chest. Land as softly and quietly as possible, squatting all the way down to absorb your landing. Too easy? Jump onto and off of things. Limit yourself to no more than 20 per workout.

The Pistol Squat If you think the prisoner squat is the most difficult thing you can do without a barbell on your back, the single-leg squat, or pistol as it is affectionately called, will quickly set you straight. How to do it: While standing, raise one leg out in front of you. Push your hips back as you lower yourself on the standing leg, keeping your heel down and your shin vertical. Bend over and reach for the extended leg to maintain balance. Lower all the way to the ground. Stand up. Holding a small counterweight in front can help with balance. Learning it: On a smooth floor, stand with one foot on a towel. Squat down on the other leg, sliding the towel out to the side. When you can do 10 of these, try sliding the towel out in front.

Groove Korea Magazine www.groovekorea.com

MUSIC / Live music

Groove Korea Magazine September 2012 â&#x20AC;˘ Issue 71

MUSIC / Live music

Digging into

Recommended Korean bands

Seoul’s music scene Story by Leon Amaysen

There’s a lot going on in the music scene in Seoul that people miss. A push going on right now amongst musicians is to get out of Hongdae. The reasons are varied. Many would go to the common cry of our generation: gentrification. Too many corporations now go there to try to prove how hip they are, and it doesn't sit right in an artistic scene. Some sounds are tickling a tired spot in fans as well. The best places to find new sounds are away from Hongdae. Take

in a new hood, a live show in Union (Itaewon), Ccott Dang (Itaewon), Jeonju Salon (Yongsan), Lowrise (Mullae), and the new DIY venue POWWOW! designed by Open Your Eyes x Super Color Super in the old Laughing Tree Lab (Noksapyeong) space. Don’t just read this; check out one of these bands or venues for yourself. Let’s see what we can dig up now, shall we?

Groove Korea Magazine www.groovekorea.com

MUSIC / Live music

Bamseom Pirates

WeDance

Bamseom Pirates

WeDance

Hell-bent, tongue-in-cheek grindcore. Very fast, heavy and loud, some songs time-in at under 20 seconds. They sometimes dress up in Korean police uniforms with pro-President Lee Myung-bak and Swastika markings. When I saw them last, the drummer asked between songs: “Who likes soccer?” The crowd answered “YEAH!” and the drummer barked “FUCK YOU I HATE SOCCER,” before breaking into a thrashy song. Oh, and they had an ironic powerpoint presentation about politics, too.

This is some scrilly-willy multi-genre stuff. A quilting-together of soft singing, hip hop freestyling, punky guitar beats and handheld percussion. WeDance are reminiscent of Cibo Matto. Online: http://wedance.co.kr and look them up on YouTube.

Online: http://www.myspace.com/bamseom and look them up on YouTube.

The best places to find new sounds are away from Hongdae. Take in a new hood, a live show in Union (Itaewon), Ccott Dang (Itaewon), Jeonju Salon (Yongsan), Lowrise (Mullae), and the new DIY venue POWWOW!

Recommended live music venues You can find these and other indie bands regulary performing in the next venues. For more information about roster and/or schedule contact the venue directly

Groove Korea Magazine September 2012 • Issue 71

POWWOW!

Union

Where: Itaewon Directions: Noksapyung Station Exit 2 B1, 559 Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Korea Phone: 011-9109-2471 Online: http://powwowseoul.wordpress.com

Where: Itaewon Address: 72-1, Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Korea 14-863 Phone: 010-2787-1584 Online: www.facebook.com/unionlounge

MUSIC / Live music

Kuang Program

Jambinai

Kuang Program

Jambinai

Kuang Program’s drums and rocky guitar play along with glitchy sample and electronic bits. The guitarist is really bouncy and kicky. He gets a good garage, shreddy tone to de-dorkulate the electronic aspects. This two-piece is good for fans of Album Leaf, Interpol, old m83 and big rusty machines that don’t work (the latter is not a band).

They’ve been around awhile, but aren’t really up in people’s faces like they should be, even though they are very unique. Using traditional Korean instruments such as gayagyem and haeguem with a guitar, they make heavy folk post-rock. Epic explosions of guitar distortion balance the pluck and squeal of traditional Korean sounds.

Online: http://soundcloud.com/kuangprogram and find them on YouTube.

Online: www.myspace.com/jambinai and look them up on YouTube.

A push going on right now amongst musicians is to get out of Hongdae. The reasons are varied. Many would go to the common cry of our generation: gentrification. Too many corporations now go there to try to prove how hip they are, and it doesn’t sit right in an artistic scene.

Ccott Dang

Jeonju Salon

Lowrise

Where: Yongsan Directions: Hangangjin Station Exit 3 683-1 Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Korea Phone: 02-797-0833

Where: Yongsan Directions: Line No. 1, Yongsan Station, Exit 3 Yongsan-gu, Hangangro-3-ga 16-9 Jeonja Land, New Building, Number 34 Phone: 02-338-7624

Where: Mullae-dong Directions: Munrae Station exit 7 Address: Munrae-dong 3-ga 58-77, 3rd floor, Seoul, Korea 150-768

Groove Korea Magazine www.groovekorea.com

MUSIC / Dance in Seoul

Under the radar Itaewon’s best clubs for good old dance music Story by Zach McCullough / Illustrations by Adela Ordoñez

Groove Korea Magazine September 2012 • Issue 71

MUSIC / Dance in Seoul

The Seoul club scene, vibrant as it is, can get a bit staid if you go out a lot, and sometimes you need something different to spice up your night. Through trial and error (and a good tip here and there), we’ve found a few places that rank as the best under-the-radar clubs in the city. Though some of the clubs that made the cut don’t even have a dance floor, the one commonality among them all, besides being in Itaewon (which was just by chance), is an active approach to only playing good — noncommercial — dance music.

Venue

119-29 Itaewon-dong, B1 floor You can usually expect to hear a solid spread of deep, soulful house, and there’s a good mix of Koreans and non-Koreans drinking and going crazy. Venue is set right off the main road in Itaewon and buried under a set of stairs. It’s a bit of a hole in the wall — just dark and grimy enough that people aren’t scared about getting down (which is why we go there). One recent night we stopped in at midnight and it was so empty we just turned around. When we went back a few hours later people were spilling into the street. The DJ blew the speaker out that night, but nobody blinked and we ended up having a great time. The management and the foot traffic of Venue have changed some since we first started going there, so it’s a little hit or miss these days. But when Venue’s good, it’s really good and you don’t want to be anywhere else.

You can usually expect to hear a solid spread of deep, soulful house, and there’s a good mix of Koreans and non-Koreans drinking and going crazy.

Mystik

119-8 Itaewon-dong, B1 floor This European-style club draws a cool, trendy crowd. Though sometimes a little tight with the dimensions, it is nonetheless one of the best clubs in Seoul. And rarely do people get pushy. The staff of the narrow, low-ceilinged club always seem like they’ve really done their homework. A set by DJ T last winter was one of the best nights out I’ve ever had in Seoul. He played an assortment of old-school Chicago tunes, jackin’ DirtyBird house well into the morning. On a good evening expect to hear a lot of (new) classic and deep house. The resident DJ is Moritz, a lawyer from Germany who plays deep house most weekends. There’s also a pair of Korean guys calling themselves The Weekend who I’ve seen play there a couple of times, plus many more.

Groove Korea Magazine www.groovekorea.com

MUSIC / Dance in Seoul

Berlin

457-1 Itaewon-dong Berlin is a dinner club joint — like something from the American1920s (except you can drink) — with a small DJ setup in the corner. It’s a more sophisticated/hipster crowd of Koreans and non-Koreans in their late twenties to late thirties, usually drinking beer out of tall glasses or pounding mocha latte martinis. If you walk down to the end of the block past Starbucks and McDonGroove Korea Magazine September 2012 • Issue 71

ald’s, you’ll see Berlin’s glowing neon sign hanging over a big window across the street on the hill. Cross the street, head up the hill and you’ll find the place on your left, with the door down a set of wooden stairs. From about 9 to 11 p.m. on weekends (when there’s a DJ), you can expect to hear an eclectic mix that ranges from house/deep house to disco, garage to techno, and just about any other sub-genre in between. Even though there is no dance floor — except on New Year’s when it’s nearly always at capacity — I had to slip Berlin into the mix because some of the best breaks I’ve heard have come out of this little drinkery.

MUSIC / Dance in Seoul

At Venue, you can usually expect to hear a solid spread of deep, soulful house, and there’s a good mix of Koreans and non-Koreans drinking and being crazy — if you can stay up late enough for the party to start. LUV Superlounge

116-15 Itaewon-dong, B1 floor Not too different from Mystik, and right down the road, is LUV. The crowd at LUV is pretty hip: They’re not too young and not too old, and there’s generally an even mix of Koreans and non-Koreans who are mostly drinking, sometimes dancing. It’s a lounge more than a club, so it’s a good after-work spot during the week. It’s somewhat awkwardly shaped like an L, with a long bar and low seats on the perimeter, which is sort of awkward. But the music is usually so good that it doesn’t matter. The DJ booth, which is particularly interesting, is a pod-like vessel next to the bar. It’s raised off the floor just a bit and surrounded by a glob of big speakers. Recently, LUV, along with some music-minded people called Project Outings Pro, did a big hoopla night called “Stranger Than Paradise” with their resident DJ, Andi Numan from New Zealand, and The Weekend. They also flew in this great label manager/DJ from Japan. It was a destination-event with lots of balloons, hipsters with balloons and a huge free guest list until 11 p.m. Expect to hear a slew of genres including house/techno-house and nu-disco. LUV also makes people smoke in the bathrooms, which is a nice perk for the non-smokers — until you have to go to the bathroom.

Union

74-1 Itaewon-dong, 2nd floor Last up is a brand new, conceptual, social spot just opened this year. If you walk out of Taco Bell and head left down the street, parallel to the main road, you’ll eventually see a large rectangular sign on the left with camo print that says Union. On the second floor, there is a small soju-style restaurant/bar. Above the restaurant is a small, bare, mostly wooden room containing a table stacked on some cinderblocks with a couple of turntables and a brand new set of speakers on the floor. The last set of stairs goes up to the roof. The small roof space has about a half dozen or so knee-high tables and an amazing (typically unseen) back view of Itaewon. The crowd at Union is mostly young 20-somethings and mostly Korean, and usually they’re just hanging out or dancing a little. On a Saturday in July there was a Korean DJ mixing quintessential ‘90s hip-hop along the lines of old Beastie Boys and A Tribe Called Quest. The owner, who was very friendly, told me they don’t just play hip-hop. You can expect to hear a blend of non-commercial hip-hop/instrumentals, disco and house. This is a seriously cool, music-centric spot with an easy neighborhood vibe that’s highly worth checking out. The opinions expressed here do not represent Groove Korea magazine. Zach McCullough is the founder and writer of the blog dancetilyouredead.com. — Ed.

Groove Korea Magazine www.groovekorea.com

DESTINATIONS / Travel photography

Searching for the

RIGHT SHOT Korea’s expat photographers get creative Story by Josh Foreman / Photos by Shawn Parker and Dylan Goldby

For 17 years, no one knew Sharbat Gula’s name. Everyone knew her face, though — the haunting green eyes, olive skin, her apprehension and beauty. That face appeared on the cover of National Geographic in 1985 and instantly made her and her photographer — Steve McCurry — famous.

Groove Korea Magazine September 2012 • Issue 71

DESTINATIONS / Travel photography

Groove Korea Magazine www.groovekorea.com

DESTINATIONS / Travel photography

Gula was finally identified in 2002. By then, McCurry had cemented his reputation as perhaps the greatest travel photographer. Most of his images are iconic scenes from Asia: Burmese fishermen rowing with their legs; Shaolin monks robed in orange and hanging from their feet; Indian celebrants painted otherworldly shades of green, pink and purple. He has inspired throngs of younger photographers to rough it in Asia, looking for that perfect picture. With the proliferation of digital photography and the ease of doing research on the internet, being a travel photographer has never been easier. Being a paid travel photographer, on the other hand, has never been so hard. More competition demands not only traveling to the world’s distant reaches, but also thinking creatively when you get there. One Korea-based expat who has been doing just that is 23-year-old Mitzie van der Merwe. The South Africa native moved here recently and has been looking for unusual photo opportunities in the country. One of the most striking scenes she has found is an industrial facility on the southern coast. She went there to visit the Yeosu Expo 2012, but was most impressed by the lines, textures and shadows she found at the facility. She didn’t have a chance to photograph it then, but she plans to go back soon with her camera. When she arrived in Eumseong, a small town in North Chungcheong Province where she lives, she was struck by the beauty of the surrounding rice fields. She also realized that rice fields and other

beautiful but typical Korean scenes have been photographed many times before. Instead, she prefers to challenge herself with unique projects. One of her favorite subjects in Eumseong is the stuff people throw away. It’s fun to find beauty in things that most people perceive as valueless, she said. Van der Merwe sharpened her skills earlier this year at a photography workshop run by another Korea-based photographer, Dylan Goldby. Goldby, too, has found a niche in the world of travel photography. Two years ago, he and fellow expatriate photographer Shawn Parker began brainstorming about how to turn their love for photography into something more. Goldby, an Australia native who became interested in photography several years ago and also shoots for Groove Korea, now derives much of his income from it. He shoots mostly commercial projects, recently having done the photography for the Australian government’s pavilion at the Yeosu Expo. Parker, who is now based in the United States and Canada, has found success as a traditional travel photographer. His photos have appeared in Conde Nast Traveler, Lonely Planet, American Way Magazine and Action Asia, among others. Together, the two offer their expertise to others through their company, Flash Light Photography Expeditions. They’ve done five photography workshops in Korea so far. They’ll fly to Thailand in November for their first international one.

With the proliferation of digital photography and the ease of doing research on the Internet, being a travel photographer has never been easier. Being a paid travel photographer, on the other hand, has never been so hard.

Groove Korea Magazine September 2012 • Issue 71

DESTINATIONS / Travel photography

Groove Korea Magazine www.groovekorea.com

DESTINATIONS / Travel photography

The Korea workshops have focused on different aspects of photography, from the basics of composition to advanced techniques. Van der Merwe attended a workshop in Gangnam in the spring that focused on using flashes. Participants began by photographing their lunch using external flashes. Then they went to a wooded area nearby for portraits and finally to a bustling intersection, where they “froze” their subjects with a combination of flash and slow shutter speed. “(We were) literally in the middle of the street at night going crazy, just really enjoying it,” Van der Merwe said. Goldby echoed her words, saying, “It was good fun to see everybody going a little crazy to make a picture.” Chris Agbalog, a 28-year-old from Hawaii, also attended the flash workshop. He remembers being struck by one of the photos Goldby

Groove Korea Magazine September 2012 • Issue 71

took — a man doing a kick-flip on a skateboard, frozen by a flash and fast shutter speed. Agbalog took the course because he’s interested in developing his flash skills, and aims to sell his photos in the future. The upcoming Thailand workshop will last seven days, during which Goldby and Parker will teach participants everything they need to know to get started in travel photography, from lighting food to portraiture to using long exposures. They’ll even coach their participants on how to approach people on the street for photos. “The whole idea behind it is being able to make great photographs on the fly, particularly when traveling,” Goldby said. Half of the workshop will take place in Chiang Mai, and half will take place on the island of Ko Phi Phi. As part of the Chiang Mai leg, participants will visit hill tribe villages

DESTINATIONS / Travel photography

and shoot portraits of people using flashes and artificial light. They’ll also have the chance to take portraits of Thai kickboxers and action shots of them duking it out. There’s a major lantern festival going on at the time, and participants will shoot night scenes of paper lanterns ascending into the sky. The Ko Phi Phi leg will focus more on landscapes. Participants will roam the island, finding unique vantage points from which to shoot the lush tropical landscape. For now, though, Goldby has some advice for aspiring travel photographers: “You have to become a jack of all trades.”

For more info: You can learn more about Flash Light Photography Expeditions at flashlightexpeditions.com. Prices for workshops in Korea range from 50,000 won to 80,000 won. The Thailand workshops will run from Nov. 27 to Dec. 5. The price for the Thailand workshops is $100 per day, but participants who sign up for the full course will get a discount.

Groove Korea Magazine www.groovekorea.com

DESTINATIONS / Bijindo

paradise The insects of

Black-shelled bugs don’t besmirch Bijindo Story by Jenna Davis / Photos by Casey Malloy

Bijindo, Hallyeohaesang National Marine Park The toothpick slides into the snail shell easily enough, but when I try and pull out the fleshy innards, I am met with resistance. Finally, with a grimace and a suction noise, the pale blob comes free, and I pop it into my mouth before I can change my mind. My table applauds as I take a gulp of Hite to wash the whole thing down. I keep the chewing to a minimum, taking the easy way out. It is our first meal on Bijindo, a minuscule island in Hallyeohaesang National Marine Park that is a 45-minute ferry ride off the coast of Tongyeong in South Gyeongsang, difficult to even pinpoint on a map. We are in one of the few restaurants on the island, which is actually just a large, white tent with a few tabletop grills and plastic patio furniture. The ajumma who runs the place had brought us a pile of toothpicks and a large bowl of sea snails, setting them in front of us with a smile. “Service,” she said, letting us know that this little treat was on the house.

Groove Korea Magazine September 2012 • Issue 71

Bijindo is a bra-shaped island — two mounds of jungle connected by a thin strip of white sand —far from the luxurious shores of Jeju or the rowdy beaches of Busan. Our trip to Bijindo was motivated by a desire for a cheap substitute to an exotic paradise. We had blown any vacation money months before, and it was hard to beat 20,000 won a night for a pension. There was also a thrill in going to a place most of our Korean friends had never even heard of. As the sun sets, I subconsciously wait for the familiar glow of neon signs to temper the darkness, but not even the faint light of a GS25 can be found on the lonely island. This lack of consumerism — the blood that seems to run through Seoul’s pulsing veins — is the first indication that we are far, far away from the big city.

DESTINATIONS / Bijindo

Thick skin

I might be more alarmed by the situation if I wasn’t in paradise, stretched out in the sand, fingers sticky from the strawberry popsicle I’m eating, and watching the translucent sea fade to a bright blue in the afternoon sun. It’s hard to be troubled by anything under these conditions.

Insect island The second was the swarms of insects that befall this rural Korean land. In contrast to the roaches of Seoul, which hide themselves in daylight, enormous cockroaches here swarm the cracking sidewalk, scorning the daylight and scattering every time our feet hit the pavement on our walk to the beach. The women in our group are shrieking while the men kick the bugs with their feet and laugh. We joke that “bijin” must be the ancient Korean word for insect. One roach scurries over to the shore and plunges headfirst off a rock, then cuts through the water with the ease of a synchronized swimmer. “No way,” says my friend. “They can swim like dolphins.” The beach is pristine and looks just like the photos on the brochures at the ferry landing. There is plenty of unoccupied sand, fresh air and cloudless skies.

The white powder, however, isn’t impervious to creepy-crawlies either. Narrow, black-shelled bugs are burrowing out of the sand and onto my beach towel. They are extremely difficult to kill. I might be more alarmed by the situation if I wasn’t in paradise, stretched out in the sand, fingers sticky from the strawberry popsicle I’m eating, and watching the translucent sea fade to a bright blue in the afternoon sun. It’s hard to be troubled by anything under these conditions. The jungle trek we take the next day turns out to be not only the worst route on the island for escaping the insects, but also the most undeveloped hiking I’ve done in Korea. There are no asphalt paths or neatly laid out staircases. In fact, we don’t pass a single other person on our hike, and I realize with a sense of awe and admiration that this mountain is the only place I’ve been in Korea that denies me cell phone service.

Groove Korea Magazine www.groovekorea.com

DESTINATIONS / Bijindo

The island life

Life moves slowly here on Bijindo — even for sea roaches — and it’s easy to forget you’re still in Korea. There are no briefcases, smartphones or hordes of people rushing to get somewhere important. Instead, there are picnic mats, ocean views, warm cans of beer and good company.

A thick canopy of trees blocks out the sunlight, dangling vines make us work to find the trail and an array of arachnids in sticky webs leaves me continuously ducking my head and scratching my skin. But the scene from the top of the mountain is well worth the hassle: jagged cliffs plunging straight into the foaming water beneath us, mist-covered islands in the distance and absolute silence beyond the wind and our own heavy breathing.

Slow living The area near the beach is a maze of alleyways lined with dilapidated shacks and crumbling concrete. Laundry lines string them together. Weeds grow high and undisturbed. An old woman is squatting on the ground shucking corn in a red bucket, gossiping with her friends. We are headed to the beach with the mission of finding the lone freezer filled with beer we had spotted earlier. I smile at a barefoot toddler teetering past us down the street, his father trailing behind. “Hello!” the man says loudly, smiling. “How are you?” We return the greeting, but it’s obvious he doesn’t understand the rest of what we say, and that he is practicing the few English phrases he knows with

Groove Korea Magazine September 2012 • Issue 71

the “wayguk saram” on the island. We pass a group of old folks sitting on the ground, preparing dinner, chatting, sleeping, unfazed by the cockroaches scurrying over their mat. A particularly plump roach lounges on the corner of the mat, as if it were napping as well. Life moves slowly here on Bijindo — even for sea roaches — and it’s easy to forget you’re still in Korea. There are no briefcases, smartphones or hordes of people rushing to get somewhere important. Instead, there are picnic mats, ocean views, warm cans of beer and good company. We buy a few cans of Cass from a makeshift store selling sparse, dustcovered packages of ramyeon and crackers, and wander the darkening streets until we hit the shore. It must be peak tourist season, but the beach is eerily quiet and deserted, aside from a couple strolling hand in hand along the wet sand. No one is squealing and lighting off fireworks, and there are no boardwalk restaurants churning out laughter and thumping K-pop. There is only the sound of calm waves licking the shoreline and receding. Rewind. Repeat.

CAPTURING KOREA / Redevelopment in Seoul

Everyone loves beautiful pictures. Groove Korea is teaming up with the Seoul Photo Club to give readers tips on where to get the best snaps on the peninsula. Our photographers will share tips on how and where they shoot. To compete in the Photo Challenge and win great prizes from Groove Korea, head on over to the Seoul Photo Club on Flickr:

capturing KOREA

flickr.com/groups/seoulphotoclub

Seoul v2.0

NO RETURN ADDRESS reDEveloping seoul Interview by Dylan Goldby / Photos by Scott Hemsey

Groove Korea Magazine September 2012 • Issue 71

Redevelopment in Seoul

Oksu-dong, Seongdonggu, Seoul. This area is basically an old neighborhood built on a steep incline, overlooking what would be the Han River if it weren’t for the megaapartment buildings obstructing the view. After trekking up the road and turning around, it was hard to ignore the many contrasts between where I was standing and the “what-wouldbe” horizon line.

Groove Korea Magazine www.groovekorea.com

CAPTURING KOREA / Redevelopment in Seoul

Groove Korea Magazine September 2012 â&#x20AC;˘ Issue 71

Redevelopment in Seoul

Oksu-dong, Seongdong-gu, Seoul. After nearly breaking my neck falling through a roof that was covered in unassuming sticks and other debris, I found this vantage. Looking out over the roof, with the ramshackle outhouse in the foreground and modern buildings surrounding it, it felt like the modern incubating the traditional in some ways.

Groove Korea Magazine www.groovekorea.com

CAPTURING KOREA / Redevelopment in Seoul

Oksu-dong, Seongdong-gu, Seoul. This area is in a fairly early stage of dismemberment. I found an open door and climbed to the building’s roof. This view was what awaited me. Traditional style roofs set against a sea of towering apartment blocks.

Groove Korea Magazine September 2012 • Issue 71

Redevelopment in Seoul

Groove Korea Magazine www.groovekorea.com

ARTS & CULTURE / Street art in Seoul

No return address Seoul v2.0

Exploring remnants and reinventions of the capital Interview by Dylan Goldby / Photos by Scott Hemsey

I met Scott in 2009 when he first arrived in Korea, and we were both at a point when we wanted to take photography more seriously. We photographed anything and everything, and had delusions of grandeur that kept us in constant search for new techniques and tools with which to execute our ideas. We stumbled upon the idea of portraiture while exploring a drain one day, and spent months shooting ladies at sunset. Truth be told, I think we were more enamored with our f/1.4 lenses than anything else. Those were exciting times. We (re)discovered film about a year later, which brought us both through a permanent transformation. For me, it slowed me down and made me consider the frame. For Scott, it changed his workflow entirely. He no longer has a digital camera, and in fact has slowed down further by taking on a large format camera. Scott always had a fascination with lines and the abstract, and large format film has given him the pace he needs to express that fascination. Groove Korea: Give us a little intro into the photographer and the man that is Scott Hemsey. Scott Hemsey: I’m an American from suburban Chicago. My interest in photography kind of grew organically from just taking snapshots while backpacking in Europe after I graduated from university in 2006 and has grown into what is now essentially my life. I guess my photographic vision is more in the fine art realm than anything else. Typically, I begin with abstract structures such as lines, patterns and textures and build a frame around them. Regardless of the contents in my frame, the main aim is to capture more abstract elements and the interaction they have with the concrete—objects or people, for example. Aside from things of an abstract nature, I’m particularly inspired by people and places that are rather uncommon in our increasingly sterile and predictable environment. Obviously, you’re not a regular contributor to the SPC anymore because of a certain medium change. Tell us a little about that change. After taking a class on darkroom techniques and analogue technology in general, my already insatiable appetite for film was taken to the next level. I’d already been shooting on 35mm film exclusively for nearly a year. Shooting on film is an entirely different experience and I feel like my work that comes out of using film is better. For me, the shooting style is much different than with digital. I take my time, perfecting every aspect of the frame before making the shutter do its thing. The decision to shoot 4x5 was an extension of both the experience of shooting film itself and the improved control over every aspect of the frame. What would you say is the biggest change that large format has wrought on you as a photographer? Having a camera that is massive and fairly expensive to operate is somewhat limiting. When I am out shooting 4x5 my mind makes a switch and begins to evaluate scenes differently. I can’t just lift a large format camera to my eye like I can when using 35mm and snap a frame off from a roll of 36 exposures. I have to be confident that the frame I am going to make will be worth it. Setting up the camera, getting an exposure, and actually making the frame is a pretty intense operation. Another huge change, as I alluded to in the previous question’s answer, is the flexibility and versatility of shooting 4x5. My control over the frame is expanded greatly over 35mm which is fantastic. Also, having a postcard-sized negative is pretty excellent. Give us a little run down on the next year of Scott as a photographer. I’ll be moving back to Chicago in the fall and I’m hoping to connect quickly with the photography community there. My intention is to work on exhibiting my series titled “No Return Address: Seoul V2.0.” It’s work that has all been shot on 4x5 film and encapsulates the contrast between traditional Seoul-style living and modern living; the character and identity of individual homes versus the lifeless, tombstone monolith mega-buildings that are popping up all across Seoul’s skyline. The photographs included here are from that series. You spend a lot of time documenting the areas of the city under demolition and reconstruction. You have even had an exhibition of the pictures. What makes you do it? I guess in a word I just find those places fascinating. Being in a place that is in the process of being destroyed, that once was so full of life is such an interesting feeling. Seeing the things that are left behind in these places is truly captivating. Who was the owner? Why did they choose to leave it behind? Their remnants are amazing insight into the ghosts that called the area home. Also, the reasons for the gentrification are interesting. The choice to abandon an old style of life and living in favor of a more modern style is particularly interesting in Korea to me.

Groove Korea Magazine September 2012 • Issue 71

Redevelopment in Seoul

ARTS & CULTURE / Street art in Seoul

Groove Korea Magazine www.groovekorea.com

ENTERTAINMENT / Photo Challenge

Photo Challenge This month’s challenge: water

Winner: David Smeaton Shot in: Nam Han San Seong, Seoul Exif 1/1250 220mm f4.6 iso 100 Sponsor: Kasan Camera www.kasancamera.co.kr (02) 771-5711 Compete in the Photo Challenge for a chance to win a 50,000 won voucher from Kasan Camera. Go to the Seoul Photo Club’s website for more information. www.flickr.com/groups/seoulphotoclub

Groove Korea Magazine September 2012 • Issue 71

ENTERTAINMENT / Horoscopes

Horoscopes September 2012

Aries

Libra

Remember that it takes acorns and a lot of time and patience to make a shady oak tree, and that seeds planted now may take a long time to come to fruition. Avoid making enemies over minor matters, even if you feel you are right. An interesting evening could develop from what seems to be a very boring affair.

Be satisfied with getting the job done, even if the credit is claimed by people of little real ability. Wise observers will know who is responsible and arguments over a credit line could prove harmful. Financial matters should be handled promptly and advice should be sought from an older and more adept person if problems develop.

Taurus

Scorpio

The variety in your social life may have reached the bedlam state and you should take time to sort things out and do away with the unnecessary dates on your calendar so that you can enjoy the truly important ones. Give a thought to spending time with an older person who cares deeply for you.

Be careful not to assume the worst about a close friend or lover, particularly if someone comes to you bearing tales. If the charge is serious, face up to it and ask for an explanation — but don’t convict before the defense has a chance to speak. Absolute honesty in a work situation is vital.

Gemini

Sagittarius

A major purchase you have been planning should perhaps be delayed for a short while until you get some definite information on a promised promotion or pay raise. Consider becoming involved in some community project which could utilize your talents and yield personal pleasure as well as make a definite contribution to the community.

If at all possible, plan to get away for a few days in the near future so you can re-think some longmade plans. A change in direction now might be difficult — and even painful — but not as much as it could be later. Give up on a romantic project that has been hanging fire. It could be reopened later to the advantage of everyone concerned.

Cancer

Capricorn

Your ability to expend energy over and above your normal expected share is a rare gift — but you should be cautious of doing so much that you endanger your health. As the season begins to move more definitely into the cooler period, you should be careful of exposure and drafts. Expect an important letter in the mail.

A change of direction or profession is not impossible for you at this point. It is not advisable to throw away years of preparation on a lark — but remaining in a situation because it is easy is not the best move either. Seek advice from a person who has faced a similar situation. An old flame could make an amusing proposition.

Leo

Aquarius

Use that recently acquired bit of “found” money in ways that will bring personal pleasure. Saving is a good habit — but you also need to indulge yourself once in a while, in order to keep the creative juices flowing. Don’t go off the deep end over a new love interest. That is not to say you should ignore chances for fun and frolic.

Your love life may be in for an exciting, if bumpy, period during which there could be some exhilarating highs — and a few deep depressions. If you hang on for the entire ride, however, you will probably be glad that you did. Career choices could be many, but give full consideration to your present position before you grab for the brass ring.

Virgo

Pisces

Family illness or an accident could mar your plans for a long-planned outing or vacation. Keep your money in your sock instead of throwing it away on projects which will not do much for your personal pleasure or your long-range improvement. An introduction to a striking companion could set the stage for a highly interesting relationship.

Your business life could become inescapably involved with your private life, bringing a good deal of frustration and even unhappiness — unless you follow a strict rule about fraternization in the office. Keep your head down in any family arguments and avoid direct confrontations concerning your past.

Groove Korea Magazine www.groovekorea.com

ENTERTAINMENT / Comics

COMICS

Copyright Larry Rodney/Neil Garscadden 2012 (www.charismaman.com) By Lee Scott / See more of his work at: www.thethreewisemonkeys.com Groove Korea Magazine September 2012 â&#x20AC;˘ Issue 71

ENTERTAINMENT / Games

Crossword

SUDOKU

Across 1. Does a send-up 5. A way to get it down 8. Honey follower? 14. Act as a witness 16. Moliere’s trickster 17. ‘’The Maltese Falcon’’ novelist 19. ‘’Star Wars’’ heroine 20. Parliamentary vote 21. They may be deserted 22. Alphabet sequence 24. Biblical verb 26. Big advantages in sports 33. William Tell’s canton

34. Legal thing 35. A load of gossip 36. Neutral, to a decorator 37. Next in line at 22-Across 38. ‘’Barbara ___’’ (Beach Boys tune) 39. What candles sometimes reveal 40. Place of perfection 42. Word with Glory 43. Piece of advice 44. Social Security check, e.g. 48. Notorious Barrow 49. Word with dog or legs

50. It may seal the deal 53. Game animal 55. Development divisions 58. Results of imperialism 62. Kidnap 63. Like some stock 64. Precisely 65. Nickname for either of two AL teams 66. ‘’Desperate Housewives’’ Hatcher

18. 1944 Nobelist Otto 23. Still in rehearsals 25. Matters to be voted upon 26. Prankster 27. Emulate a valedictorian 28. Type of league 29. Gidget portrayer Sandra 30. ‘’___ worse than death’’ 31. Prepared to make a defensive stand 32. Wasn’t vigilant 37. Feature of many R-rated films 38. Swiss sight 41. Make a selection

42. Eyelike spot, as on peacock feathers 45. It comes to mind 46. Pound sounds 47. Zedong follower 50. ‘’Scram!’’ 51. Vagrant 52. ‘’Betsy’s Wedding’’ actor 54. Game of chance 56. Correct 57. Lifeline reader 59. Geologist’s suffix 60. Crossbreed 61. Bygone Reagan program, briefly

Down 1. Supplement 2. Sound from a chapel tower, perhaps 3. To be, to Caesar 4. Division in a church 5. Symbol of easiness 6. With dexterity 7. Intelligently planned progress 8. ‘’This ___ recording’’ 9. Hudson, on TV 10. It spins its wheels 11. Car manufacturer Fritz von 12. Wee arachnid 13. Tall Tolkien creatures 15. Gaucho’s rope

How to play Sudoku requires no calculation or arithmetic skills. It is essentially a game of placing numbers in squares, using very simple rules of logic and deduction.

Objective The objective of the game is to fill all the blank squares in a game with the correct numbers. There are three very simple constraints to follow. In a 9 by 9 square Sudoku game: • Every row of 9 numbers must include all digits 1 through 9 in any order. • Every column of 9 numbers must include all digits 1 through 9 in any order. • Every 3 by 3 subsection of the 9 by 9 square must include all digits 1 through 9.

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ARTS & CULTURE / Street art in Seoul

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WOORIDUL hospital World top quality center for neuromusculoskeletal diseases

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DOS TACOS Simply the best Mexican restaurant in Korea 02-593-5904

CAFE 4b/monomo International café and Japanese Ramen restaurant

ARTS & CULTURE / Street art in Seoul

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SEOUL Itaewon 3 Alley Pub All American Diner Amigo Bar Bliss BBB Korea Berlin Bistro Praha Bricx Bungalow CasAntonio Cold Stone Creamery Copacabana Cup & Bowl Don Valley Flying Pan Gecko’s Garden Gecko’s Terrace Gobble n’ Go Healing Hands Hollywood Grill Hillside Holy Chow International Clinic Itaewon Global Center Village La Bocca La Cigale Montmartre Loco Loca Meili’s Deli Moghul My Thai Nashville Neal’s Yard Old Stompers Pattaya Quiznos Rocky Mountain Tavern Santorini Seoul Club Skywellness Chiropractic Smokey Saloon Solution Sortino’s Taco Amigo Tony’s Aussie Bar What The Book Wolfhound Zelen

TG Brunch Thunder Burger Yongsan Recycle Center Yoons’ Oriental Clinic Café JeJe Dojo Noxa Loung

Gangnam, Sinsa & Chungdam areas AOC Baram plastic surgery Big Rock California Pizza Kitchen CK Chiropractic Dos Tacos Dublin Irish Pub Dunhill Hushu dental & skin clinic Jaseng Oriental Hospital Nova Skin Clinic Once in a blue moon Smart Dental Clinic TengTeng Skin Clinic Yonsei Mi Dental Clinic

Konkuk University Café 4B Monomo

Hongdae & Sinchon aA museum café Agio Beer O’clock Castle Praha Dos Tacos Hair & Joy Mike’s Cabin On The Border Tin Pan Yonsei Mi Dental Clinic Zen Art Center

BUNDANG & YONGIN

HBC, Kyungridan & Yongsan-gu

Underground Batman bar Travelers

Buddha’s Belly Chakraa Chili Chili Tacos Craftworks Green Banana HBC Gogitjib Hillside Pub Hwang Mi Seo foot care Istanbul Itaewon Animal Hospital Jacoby’s Jamba Juice Latte King Lazy Sue Le Vert Naked Grill Phillies Phillies Steak Res2Go Standing Coffee

Restaurants & Cafes

BUSAN Basement Breeze Burn’s Fuzzy Navel (Haeundae) Kino Eye (Daeyeon-dong) Mojo (Jangjeon-dong) Rock N Roll (Bujeon-dong) Taco Family (Jangjeon-dong) The SKOOL (Woo-dong) Wolfhound (Haeundae)

DAEGU Dijon The Holy Grill

INCHEON Fog City International Cafe

Bars

Companies

Hospitals & Clinics

DAEJEON Cantina

ILSAN Big Bread Yonsei Joshua Clinic

JEONJU Jeonju English Center

JEJU Zapata’s (Jeju city) Jeju tourism offices

CHUNGJU Road King

FRANCHISES Starbucks Dos Tacos Jamba Juice California Pizza Kitchen HBC Gogitjib Breeze Burn’s Wolfhound Cold Stone Creamery Quiznos

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES Incheon International Air Ports Kimpo Airports Korea Tourism Organization Seoul City Hall Daegu City Hall Gangnam-gu Tourism Office Seoul Global Center TBS eFM station

HOTELS Lotte Hotel Seoul Lotte Hotel Busan Grand Hilton Novotel Ambassador Gangnam Westin Chosun Hotel Grand Hyatt Hotel Seoul Somerset Palace Seoul JW Marriott Hotel Seoul Astoria Hotel (Myung-dong) Hamilton Hotel Novotel Ambassador Busan The Ritz-Carlton Seoul Millennium Hilton Oakwood Premier Coex Center Han Suites Serviced Residences Hyatt Regency Incheon The MVL (Yeosu) Hotel Inter-Bulgo (Daegu) Sea Cloud Hotel Busan InterContinental Alpensia Resort (Pyeongchang)

Hospitals & Health Clinics Lee Moon Won Oriental Clinic (Chungdam-dong) Seoul National Univ. Gangnam Health Center (Yeoksam-dong) Gangnam Severance Hospital (Dogok-dong) Wooridul Spine Hospital (Chungdam-dong) MizMedi Women’s Hospital (Daechi-dong) Samsung Medical Center (Ilwon-dong) NOVA Skin Clinic (Gangnam stn) Oracle Skin Clinic (Gangnam stn) UPennIvy Dental Clinic (Ichon-dong) ESARANG Dental Clinic (Gongduk-dong) Yein Dental Clinic (City Hall) A Plus Dental (Shinsa-dong) TUFT Denatal (Samsung-dong) TengTeng Skin Clinic (Shinsa-dong) CK Chiropractic (Nonhyeon-dong) Yonsei Mi Dental Clinic (Hongdae & Shinsa-dong) Healing Hands (Itaewon)

US ARMY BASES Yongsan Garrison Pyeongtaek Camp Humphreys Osan AB Chinhae Naval Base Daegu Camp Walker

Want in on this list? Be our partner by being a distribution point for Groove Korea, the country’s No. 1 English magazine. We’ll add your company’s name to this list and droves of readers will flock to you! Email info@groovekorea.com

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