Koreamagazine1609 en by KOCIS

CONTENTS

Special Issue

Korea in Brief

K-beauty 2.0

Korea Monthly Update

Cover Story

Policy Review

A New Frontier

Saying “I Do” Korea’s wedding scene includes everything from the traditional to the intimately personal

39 Brand Korea

Creative Korea

Travel

Summit Diplomacy

PyeongChang

2016 ASEM Summit

People 1

Creative Economy

Jazz-Gugak Band SE:UM

Biorobots

Global Korea

People 2

Korean Cultural Center Activities

Philosopher Alexandre Jollien

Historic Moments

1988 Seoul Olympic Games

Arts & Entertainment

Joseon Art Goes to America

48 Flavor

Nokdu Bindaetteok

Korea & I

Home for the Holidays

50 Korean Keyword

Gamchilmat

September 2016

KOREA

Publisher Kim Kabsoo, Korean Culture and Information Service Executive Producer Park Byunggyu Editorial Advisers Cho Won-hyung, Lee Suwan, Park Inn-seok Email webmaster@korea.net Magazine Production Seoul Selection Editor-in-Chief Robert Koehler Production Supervisor Lee Jin-hyuk Producers Kim Eugene, Im Ian Copy Editors Gregory C. Eaves, Eileen Cahill Creative Director Lee Seung Ho Designers Lee Bok-hyun, Jung Hyun-young Photographers aostudio Kang jinju, RAUM Studio Printing Pyung Hwa Dang Printing Co., Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without permission from KOREA and the Korean Culture and Information Service. If you want to receive a free copy of KOREA or wish to cancel a subscription, please email us. A downloadable PDF of KOREA and a map and glossary with common Korean words appearing in our magazine are available by clicking on the thumbnail of KOREA at the website www.korea.net. Publication Registration No: 11-1110073-000016-06 Cover photo © Namsangol Hanok Village

Special Issue

ÂŠ AmorePacific

K-beauty 2.0 Korean cosmetics generate a second big wave _ Written by Sheryll Donerson

ÂŠ AmorePacific

KOREA _ September _ 4

The K-beauty reign just won’t let up. From sheet masks to the revolutionary BB cushion foundation, Korean beauty products continue to climb in the international markets. Since the introduction of the ubiquitous BB cream, Korean cosmetics has seen an astounding amount of growth worldwide. Despite doubts about the strength of beauty products breaking into the international market, it seems that cosmetics are experiencing their second big wave. With the convergence of cosmetics and medicine, the enhanced skin care benefits of beauty products, and KRW 3 billion in exports (44 percent growth in one year), the cosmetics industry has reached KRW 10 trillion in annual revenue, ushering in “K-beauty 2.0.” Cosmetics using traditional Korean medicine, or Hanbang, have seen a tremendous amount of growth in the Korean beauty market. Hanbang cosmetics are specifically engineered with ingredients from traditional Korean herbal medicines. Hanbang’s holistic approach to skin care is on trend as consumers seek a more natural take on skin care. One doesn’t have to look far to see consumers flocking to Hanbang products. If you search for the hashtag “#Hanbang” on Instagram, you can find hauls from K-beauty enthusiasts featuring Hanbang favorites like illi’s Total Aging Care Cleansing Oil and Skylake’s Herbal Shampoo. Prestigious Hanbang brands like Sulwhasoo have seen tremendous growth and have given birth to cult-classic products like First Care Activating Serum. The popularity of Hanbang products isn’t slowing down. Another Hanbang-based brand, Whoo, reported record first-quarter revenues in 2016.

1 Customer tries on some cosmetics at an AmorePacific shop in New York. 2 Laneige Two Tone Lip Bar and BB cushion became a big hit thanks to actress Song Hye-kyo in “Descendants of the Sun.”

3 Customers try on cosmetics at a Whoo shop at a department store in China. 4 Shoppers check out the goods at the cosmetics corner of the Shinsegae Duty Free Store.

The China factor

Entry to the Chinese market, led by AmorePacific and LG Household and Health Care, has also been a factor in the growth of K-beauty abroad. Though they are competitors in Korea, AmorePacific and LG are teaming up to target the Chinese market. Chinese consumers are known to gravitate toward foreign brands, due to trust issues with shady ingredients and the high number of counterfeits. Innovative products such as AmorePacific’s BB cushion compact, paired with the reasonable price point of most cosmetic items, also attract Chinese consumers to K-beauty. In 2015, cosmetic exports to China totaled a record USD 1.4 billion. AmorePacific is specifically looking to target Asian tourists by expanding its influence in duty-free stores. AmorePacific brands such as Sulwhasoo, Laneige, IOPE, Innisfree and Hera draw in thousands of customers at duty-free shops across the region. As a result of this growth, AmorePacific, now the world’s 14th-largest cosmetics company, raked in a whopping USD 4.9 billion last year. Meanwhile, LG is looking to tackle the high-end cosmetics market in China, hosting VIP marketing events in Shanghai, Beijing and other major Chinese cities. To keep up with the soaring demand for beauty products, LG has also started construction on a large-scale manufacturing plant in Cheonan, with an investment of KRW 370 billion to build a state-of-theart research and development center.

KOREA _ September _ 5

Effects of the Korean Wave

The Korean Wave, known as Hallyu, is also a factor in the massive growth. The hugely popular Korean drama “Descendants of the Sun” was the smash hit of early 2016. While it was successful in Korea, “Descendants of the Sun” enjoyed even greater success overseas. It was streamed 2.3 billion times in China, and was so popular that the Ministry of Public Security issued a warning to Chinese citizens on its official Weibo account. “Watching Korean dramas could be dangerous, and may even lead to legal troubles,” the warning stated. The show’s popularity led to a boom in the beauty industry. Laneige, owned by AmorePacific, saw a 360 percent hike in sales since last year due to the show. Millions of fans flocked to the stores to stock up on the Laneige Two Tone Lip Bar and BB cushion that star Song Hye-Kyo wore on the series. In Myeongdong, the popular tourist shopping destination, Chinese tourists snapped up the lipstick in droves, and soon it was sold out nearly everywhere and had broken Aritaum’s sales record. Laneige in Singapore also reported double-digit growth after shoppers flocked to the makeup counters to snag their own Two Tone Lip Bars. Korean beauty is all about continuous improvement and new product innovations. Korean makeup companies have shorter product development cycles, which is why it seems that every week there’s a new hit product or ingredient that makes consumers go wild. Korean cosmetics have always been known for their unconventional

KOREA _ September _ 6

1 AmorePacific hosts a global pre-launch event for a new Laneige product in Singapore. 2 A Laneige shop at a department store in Shanghai, complete with ads featuring actress Song Hye-kyo.

ingredients like snail mucus, snake and bee venom, and starfish, to name a few. Now you can add ingredients like horse oil to the list. Smaller companies like Guerisson 9, producer of the extremely popular horse oil cream and sheet masks, have hit it big with Chinese tourists. Extracted from horse fat, horse oil creates an intensely hydrating protective barrier over the skin, which contributes to its anti-aging claims.

Fun and whimsical skin care for millennials

Unique design elements are also being pinpointed as instrumental to K-beauty’s success in the international market. In the United States, millennials are drawn to fun and whimsical skin care, not the stuffy, boring products that have long dominated the market. This is just one of the reasons Korean beauty products appeal to the younger generation, and are now being sold in popular stores like Urban Outfitters and Target in the United States. Most cosmetics aficionados are not only looking for functional skin care, but functional skin care with a big dose of fun. If you do a quick search on YouTube for “Korean beauty,” a majority of the results feature “beauty hauls” of quirky and unique Korean beauty products like The Face Shop’s “character masks” in fun animal prints like tigers, pandas and dragons. Unique products like the Berrisom My Lip Tint pack and Etude House’s Tint My Brow gel have gone viral in the United States for their trendy peel-off designs. Cleansing sticks,

bubbling face masks and aqua peeling sticks are all examples of functional yet fun skin care. Adorable packaging, like Tony Moly’s Banana Sleeping Pack and Holika Holika’s Lazy & Easy Egg Smooth Peeling gel, also contribute to K-beauty’s success abroad. The expansion of Korean beauty products into the U.S. and European markets, together considered the birthplace of the cosmetics industry, is yet another factor in the sector’s rapid growth. On May 23, Tony Moly launched at Sephora’s main store on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris. It is now sold in 825 stores throughout Europe, a first for a Korean cosmetics brand. Last year, beauty products saw a 64 percent growth in exports to the United States. Brands like AmorePacific, Belif and The Face Shop are sold in the United States. Aritaum, the popular Korean chain that sells brands like Laneige, Mamonde, Hanyul, IOPE and Sulwhasoo, recently announced plans to open 70 branches in the United States over the next few years, as well as a U.S.-based e-commerce site. In

3, 4 Tony Moly’s eye sticks (3) and cooler packs (4) are winning over young fans with their unique designs. 5 The Face Shop’s masks incorporate animal characters. 6 Tony Moly at a Sephora shop at the Avenue des ChampsÉlysées, Paris

July 2016, beauty products made headlines again for snagging two major investments, defining K-beauty’s moment as a major player in the cosmetics game. Even though Korean cosmetics seem to be everywhere, there was a time when it was nearly impossible for buyers abroad to find products. Fans of K-beauty had to scour eBay and shady third-party websites to get their hands on the latest hot items from Korea. Now the market is flush with retailers and shows no signs of stopping. Major retailer Sephora has an entire section in its online store devoted to Korean cosmetics, while popular online retailer Peach and Lily has opened two brick-andmortar stores and is in the process of launching a line of branded cosmetics. Another U.S.-based e-retailer, Soko Glam, launched the Korean beauty and pop culture website “the Klog,” a place to find out all about the latest trends coming out of Seoul. Glow Recipe, a startup that sparked a natural approach to beauty in New York, was featured on the popular show “Shark Tank,” and has recorded USD 10 million in revenue within two years of funding. As for those who doubted K-beauty’s influence and staying power, they may be eating their words. In just a few years, products like BB cream and sheet masks have entered the global lexicon. Korean cosmetics are no longer just a fad or trend ‒ they are shaping and revolutionizing the beauty industry in a major way. Products like the BB cushion are the new normal. Sheet masks are no longer a trend but are embraced as a way of life. Korean beauty is here to stay, and it shows zero signs of slowing down.

KOREA _ September _ 7

Cover Story

Saying “I Do” Korea’s wedding scene includes everything from the traditional to the intimately personal _ Written by Hahna Yoon

__ Korea’s wedding traditions are changing along with society. Whereas arranged marriages and big weddings were common in the past, today’s couples are not only together by choice, more and more of them are choosing to tie the knot in smaller, more personalized ways, too.

KOREA _ September _ 8

On May 30, 2015, actors Won Bin and Lee Na-young tied the knot after a long romance. That two A-list actors got married was not, in and of itself, especially surprising. What surprised the media, however, was the wedding itself. Star weddings can be giant events full of celebrities, fans and reporters. Won’s and Lee’s wedding, however, was a very different affair indeed. The couple held the ceremony in a beautiful wheat field in Won’s hometown of Jeongseon, a small community in the rugged mountains of Gangwon-do. Only a handful of well-wishers - mostly family and close friends - were on hand; not a single celebrity was invited. The couple planned out every aspect of the wedding over several months, from the tuxedo and dress to a table with a single flower placed upon it. After the wedding, the couple served well-wishers noodles, a traditional wedding dish, from simple iron cauldrons placed next to the river. Only a few years ago, it would have been virtually unthinkable that two top stars would get married in such a small-scale, rustic fashion. As society changes, however, so are its wedding traditions. As late as the 1960s, most weddings in Korea were arranged marriages, with couples placing the wisdom of their elders over passion and romance. As Korea grew increasingly affluent, however, more and more people began choosing their life partners out of

love. And today, many young couples are eschewing the pomp and circumstance preferred by previous generations in favor of so-called “small weddings” and “do-ityourself weddings” that prioritize intimacy and sentimentality over extravagance.

Marriage’s roots in Confucian culture

Although the typical quick and mechanized modern-day Korean wedding may seem unromantic, for much of history Korean tradition hardly factored the couple’s relationship into the equation at all. Rather, the emphasis was on the political, symbolic and economic consequences of the union. Contrary to what historical dramas may imply, it was simply the joining of two clans, heavily rooted in Confucian values, rituals and symbolic gestures. As a general rule, the peeking glances at the groom-tobe and the tearful pleas to be married to so-and-so that are depicted so often in films and dramas owe far more to fiction than history. While sogaeting, or blind dates arranged through family and friends, may be the most common way for young Koreans to meet today, things were drastically different during the Joseon Dynasty. The matchmaking process, called wihon, often took place through an official matchmaker or marriage broker who evaluated the families’ criteria. Their reputations,

Â© Park jonghee & Kim shinhyun

KOREA _ September _ 9

In a traditional wedding ceremony, the bride and groom bow to one another when they first meet. © Namsangol Hanok Village

The groom (right) and an attendant make their way to the bride’s home with a wooden goose. Wooden geese are given to the bride’s family_as a symbols KOREA September _ 10 of fidelity.

The bride displays the traditional wedding hairstyle and makeup.

__ Traditional weddings represented the joining of two clans, heavily rooted in Confucian values, rituals and symbolic gestures. Nowadays, couples can get married the traditional way at Korea House and Namsangol Hanok Village in Seoul.

financial assets, physical appearances and achievements would come to the forefront and, when the decision was becoming serious, the parents of the prospective spouses would meet. As with many arranged marriages, at no point would the two people getting married actually meet each other. Many brides even had their eyes glued shut during the ceremony and could not see the grooms’ faces until it was over. The betrothal was considered complete when the groom’s family sent an official letter of proposal to the bride’s family and the bride’s family responded with a letter of acceptance. The groom’s family would write the husband-to-be’s saju (the year, date and time of birth according to the lunar calendar) on a piece of white paper of precise measurements, folded five times evenly and ceremoniously wrapped. The bride’s family would use the saju of the two candidates to make sure the match was propitious, meaning that there was sufficient gunghap, or marital harmony. Using the saju, the fortuneteller would also advise on setting a date, a process called napchae. Once the date was set, the last necessary pre-wedding ritual would be the exchanging of gifts, or nappye. The groom’s family would gift the bride’s family with a large box called a ham, which would have three components: the honseo (marriage papers), chaedan (red and blue fabric) and honsu (gifts for the family). Of these gifts, the honseo was by far the most important as it contained the groom’s seal. For a woman, both her status and her life depended on remaining married and many women were even buried with their honseo. Weddings were a large, costly affair involving a feast. This ceremony, called the daerye, took place at the home of the bride. Everyone in the village would come and admire all the sights and colors. The groom would approach the house on a horse, with his attendants nearby, and maintain a stoic face at all times. Upon arrival, the groom would present a wild goose to the bride’s mother on a small table. As geese were

Preparing the wedding table

KOREA _ September _ 11

__ Often a hybrid of Western and Confucian philosophies, sinsik weddings might more closely resemble those of modern times in terms of aesthetics.

known to mate for life, this gesture was symbolic of the groom’s fidelity. Afterward, there was a bowing ceremony in which the bride and groom would be in each other’s presence for the first time. The groom would stand at the east end of a wedding table while the bride stood at the west end. The bride would bow twice to the groom, who in turn would bow once. The heavily made-over bride would be dressed in a long silk topcoat with billowing sleeves called a wonsam. Red on the outside and blue on the inside, it had embroidered flowers on the back to symbolize wealth and longevity. The groom would come dressed in samogwandae, a traditional pants-and-jacket combination resembling the uniforms of the lowest court officials. They would take several sips of traditional liquor (depending on what region of the country they were in) and then take turns bowing to their parents and in-laws. The bride would return to her parents’ home, where the husband would visit for the first three nights. On the third visit, the bride would go to live permanently at her husband’s house. While upper-class men (yangban) were able to remarry, women had to stay loyal to their husbands until death.

Sinsik weddings

KOREA _ September _ 12

As Christianity began to take root in Korea, new-style (sinsik) weddings began to emerge in the 1890s. Around this time, child marriages were banned ‒ in 1907, the legal age of marriage was 17 for boys and 15 for girls. Often a hybrid of Western and Confucian philosophies, sinsik weddings might more closely resemble those of modern times in terms of aesthetics. According to a 2010 article in the Ewha Voice titled “Earliest WesternStyle Wedding Marches by Ewha Students,” most people having sinsik weddings were newly converted Christians and Christian missionaries often officiated. Since, previously, brides had not even been allowed to see their future husbands during the ceremony, it was a radical shock to have

ÂŠ Jang Huijin

The father of the bride walks his daughter down the aisle in a modern wedding.

ÂŠ Jang Huijin

The groom gives flowers to the bride in front of the guests.

KOREA _ September _ 13

a wedding where the bride would hold onto the groom’s arm. Though the weddings themselves were varied, the brides were usually dressed in all-white Hanbok, traditional Korean attire. Instead of the traditional bowing ceremony, moreover, there was often a Christian worship service. In some cases, the weddings entailed both bowing and Christian worship. According to UCLA Korean studies professor Jennifer Jung-Kim’s “The New Woman and New-Style Weddings in Colonial Korea,” when the Japanese colonial period began several years later, Japanese customs influenced the hybrid weddings and the Western aspects grew stronger. Wedding receptions began to

KOREA _ September _ 14

take place, families began sending out invitations in advance, and rice cakes (tteok) were distributed as thank-you gifts. Industries that specialized in weddings began to sprout up. This included the establishment of venues such as wedding halls and community centers.

1, 2, 3 The mother and father of the bride escort their daughter down the aisle in an outdoor wedding. Some young couples are choosing natural wedding venues.

Changing perceptions of marriage

4 Korean traditional Hanok, too, are becoming increasingly popular for weddings.

After World War II, the new Korean constitution made monogamy official in 1948 and a few years later, in 1953, having a concubine was made illegal. According to Korean studies scholar Andrei Lankov’s 2007 book, “The Dawn of Modern Korea,” it was around this time that two distinct

5 A couple holds a “small wedding” at Jeju’s Woljeong-ri Beach.

3 © Kang Sungyoon

__ More young people are choosing so-called small weddings, in which they invite a small number of family and friends to ceremonies held in memorable, meaningful spaces.

forms of marriage came into view: jungmae (arranged marriage) and yeonae (marriage for love). Lankov goes on to say that yeonae didn’t catch on quickly. “As late as 1960,” he writes, “a poll of married Koreans indicated that 22.9 percent of their marriages were arranged by their parents without any prior consultation with the would-be couple. A further 43.8 percent wed a person chosen by their parents but were given a chance to express their own opinion.” As Korea began to recover from colonization and the Korean War, and the economic boom was in full swing, many began to question the Western, capitalist influence on Korean culture, including its influence on marriage and wedding traditions. In her 1997 book “Getting Married in Korea: Of Gender, Morality and Modernity,” anthropology professor Laurel Kendall discusses how women’s issues also became a major catalyst for the change of traditional Korean marriages as there was a deep patriarchal undernote to many of the customs.

Marriage today

Today, the modern Korean wedding bears the influence of many aspects of the country’s history and culture. Most commonly, weddings are still held in

large convention centers with somewhere between 100 and 300 guests. The couple rent Hanbok as well as Western-style wedding outfits, and women hire professionals to do their hair and makeup. Typically, a photographer is hired a few months in advance, and elaborate wedding photos are taken in a variety of settings and poses. At the wedding itself, two tables are set up outside the doors ‒ one for the bride and another for the groom. Guests are expected to give congratulatory money to the couple in the form of crisp, clean bills in white envelopes. The ceremony is short, and the feast afterward normally includes an emcee and a buffet meal. Through the eyes of many a Westerner, it’s far from romantic. While Korean wedding traditions have changed greatly since the days of women having their eyes glued shut, similarities remain. Though it is less explicit, a young person’s family background and financial status still play a large role in his or her choice of spouse. Despite the results of a 1999 poll cited by Lankov in which 90.5 percent of Korean men and 88.3 percent of Korean women said they would prefer a relationship that resulted from love as opposed to an arranged marriage, matchmaking is still big business here in Korea. Once a mate is chosen, it’s still common

KOREA _ September _ 15

Well-wishers give congratulatory money to the couple at this table. © Gonggam Photo

A father reads a congratulatory address.

__ Today, the modern Korean wedding bears the influence of many aspects of the country’s history and culture.

KOREA _ September _ 16

to seek approval from parents before the wedding goes ahead. Often, it is only when both sets of parents meet in a formal setting and give the wedding their stamp of approval that the engagement is considered official. As Korean culture becomes more individualistic, however, parental interference is increasingly seen as a nuisance. In a 2015 survey carried out by the matchmaking companies Bienaller and Only You, 39.5 percent of men and 35.3 percent of women said they wished their parents would stay out of their wedding plans. Luckily for young Koreans, many of the customs have either been watered down or abandoned altogether. Other customs still exist today, but in an adapted form. One example is the pyebaek. Traditionally, this was a small ceremony that took place a few days after the wedding. During a traditional pyebaek ritual, the parents of the groom would sit on cushions in front of a silk screen while the newlyweds sat facing them across a small table. The couple would then perform a deep bow, starting from a standing position until they were both kneeling with their foreheads pressed to the ground. In some versions of the ceremony, the bride would bow this way as many as four times and would sometimes offer her in-laws jujubes or chestnuts to represent the children (preferably sons) that she hoped to bear. In some cases, the couple would offer the parents a cup of rice wine (cheongju); the parents might or might not offer one back. In some variations on the ritual, the parents offered a piece of wisdom or advice about married life. While many couples choose to make the pyebaek part of their weddings, nowadays it often takes place right after the ceremony. Today, there are many companies that guide families through the ritual and explain its rules and formalities. The modern-day version also includes the bride’s family and sometimes the bride receives gifts of money in white envelopes. In the United States, where many KoreanAmericans opt to have a pyebaek, it might take place a few days before the wedding.

Other customs, such as hitting the soles of the groom’s feet (a practice that dates back to the early Joseon Dynasty), have taken on a comical spirit. In this ritual, the groom would traditionally be hung upside down and beaten severely on the soles of his feet, either with a cane or a dried fish, as a symbolic way of making sure he could not run away. In a modern-day wedding, a similar ritual might take place ‒ but mostly for comedic effect alongside a song after the wedding.

Small weddings

Wedding traditions continue to evolve even today. Small weddings and do-it-yourselfweddings, in which the couple prepare for the event instead of hiring professionals, are becoming the rage. More and more couples are opting not to have the typical 300-person, 30-minute 21st-century wedding. Wedding and online beauty magazines are teeming with articles with titles such as “How to Have a DIY Wedding on Jejudo Island” and “How to Do Your Own Makeup.” Typical of this trend is singer and model Lee Hyori, who secretly married longtime boyfriend Lee Sang-soon at their villa on Jejudo Island. Many interpret the small weddings as a sign of Korea becoming a much more individualistic culture and in many ways, the nature of the ceremony allows for much more freedom on the individuals getting married. The bride and groom may choose to spend more of their finances on their honeymoon or on getting a larger apartment instead of inviting great numbers of people. If fewer individuals are invited, those members are normally close friends of family of the bride and groom. In an article by the Korea Joongang Daily this past August entitled “Small Weddings Are The Next Big Thing,” Dongguk University professor Jang Jae-sook predicts that small weddings are here to stay. “Unlike the past, the emphasis is being more put on the values and choices of the parties who are actually going to live together.”

Interview

A Wedding of Your Very Own Wedding director Ha Cheon-yeon says Korean weddings are changing to reflect the tastes of a younger generation _ Written by Robert Koehler

Ha Cheon-yeon, the director of Seoul-based RGB Jigumat, is one of a small but growing number of artisanal wedding planners who are helping change Korea’s wedding scene. “We are ‘wedding directors.’ We plan and conduct the entire wedding ceremony,” she says. “There are times when we do everything from making the space beautiful, including flowers, to planning the bride and groom’s clothing and even the food.” From the wedding cake to the photos, they handle it all. “In some cases we do it ourselves, and in other cases we work together with other teams.” Demand for RGB Jigumat’s services have been on the rise since Ha started the company four years ago. The company offers couples a freer, more personalized experience on the proverbial big day. “In a way, you can say we offer a ‘tailored wedding ceremony’,” says Ha. “The reason more couples are coming to us is that more and more couples want their own kind of wedding, whether its the actual content of the ceremony or the style.”

Substance over showing off

No longer will a set-in-stone, one-sizefits-all wedding ceremony in a wedding hall or hotel event room do, especially for Korea’s increasingly individualistic youth. “Young people want substance and things with personality, that reflect their own stories,” says Ha. “So it seems weddings, too, are going in that direction. She explains that until now, Korea’s wedding scene reflected the practice of pumasi, the communal exchanges of labor that were necessary in old Korea, when the country was

an agricultural society. I went to your wedding so you should come to mine. I gave you this amount of money so you should give me the same amount. Too many people worried about the number of people who showed up at a wedding. ”Young people are tired of that, I think,“ she says. ”Young people want to do things differently.“ One particular trend among young couples is the so-called “small wedding” of 100 guests or less. Ha explains, “Before, people gathered lots of guests for a wedding to show off to the old people, but the trend now is towards small weddings.” Stars such as Lee Hyori, Lee Na-yeong and Won Bin have helped popularize smaller weddings. Outdoor weddings, too, are in. “We get many couples who want to have an outdoor weddings,” she says. “When you do a wedding in a wedding hall or hotel, you feel confined. Many celebrities have done outdoor weddings, too.” Many couples are choosing to get married at home or in parks or restaurants. “It seems weddings are getting more natural,” she says. “People want to do them outdoors, with nature in the background.”

KOREA _ September _ 17

Travel

The Roof of Korea Return to nature in the highlands of PyeongChang _ Written and photographed by Robert Koehler

Green meadows and giant wind turbines, such as here at Eco Green Campus, dominate the landscape of Daegwallyeong. KOREA _ September _ 18

KOREA _ September _ 19

You can feed the residents of Daegwallyeong Sheep Farm.

The New York Times had skiing in mind when it placed PyeongChang on its list of 52 places to go in 2016. The host city of the 2018 Winter Olympics is one of Korea’s top winter sports destinations, to be sure, but it’s also a delight to visit any time of year. This ruggedly beautiful land of soaring peaks, deep canyons, meandering rivers, rolling highlands and flower-covered fields is an outdoorsman’s paradise, offering limitless possibilities for hiking, trekking, camping, rafting and more.

Green meadows of Asia’s Alps

Most of the county of PyeongChang rests on a high inland plateau in the heart of the Taebaeksan Mountain Range, the mountains that form the Korean Peninsula’s craggy spine. Roughly 65 percent of the district sits at elevations

KOREA _ September _ 20

True to its “Alps of Korea” moniker, the Daegwallyeong Pass is lined by endless rolling hills of green.

of 700 meters or higher. The highland topography creates a local micro-climate with blissfully cool summers and cold, snowy winters. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the Daegwallyeong, a highland pass that connects the east coast city of Gangneung with the rest of the country. Billing itself as the “Alps of Asia,” the Daegwallyeong area gets the country’s coolest summers and its coldest winters. The mountains, the northeastern airstream and the Siberian High combine to make the area Korea’s “snow country.” The Seonjaryeong, a 1,157-meter-high ridgeline that overlooks the low coastal strip into which Gangneung has been squeezed, is an especially snowy spot, receiving more than a meter of snow in an average winter. Unsurprisingly, the Daegwallyeong area is home to some of Korea’s best ski

Giant fir trees line the path to Woljeongsa Temple.

resorts, most notably Yongpyong Resort, which will host the upcoming Olympic Games’ Alpine ski events. The sprawling Alpensia Ski Resort, meanwhile, will host the cross-country skiing, ski jumping, Nordic combined, luge and several other events. In spring, summer and autumn, however, visitors come to Daegwallyeong to take in the region’s spectacular panoramic views. True to its “Alps of Korea” moniker, the pass is lined by green rolling hills topped by imposing wind turbines. Korean visitors often remark on the “exotic” surroundings, and indeed, the landscape is more akin to what you’d expect to see in Scotland or New Zealand than to other places in Korea. Much of the hilly landscape is occupied by large sheep and cattle ranches. These were founded in the 1970s, when the opening of the Seoul-

Woljeongsa is surrounded by thick forests.

Woljeongsa’s nine-story pagoda is a National Treasure.

Gangneung expressway through the Daegwallyeong Pass made possible the economic development of the region. The most popular with visitors is the Daegwallyeong Sheep Farm, which is home to a herd of over 200 sheep. The picturesque ranch, frequently featured in Korean films, dramas and advertisements, is a pleasant place to stroll around, especially on the higher trails that offer fine views of the surroundings. Children especially enjoy feeding the sheep. Near the entrance to the farm is a shack selling lamb kebabs – good for you, not so good for the sheep. The biggest of the ranches, the Eco Green Campus (formerly Samyang Ranch) is Asia’s largest pastureland, occupying nearly 20 million square meters of space. At 1,140 meters above sea level, the top of the ranch provides stunning views over the East Sea and

KOREA _ September _ 21

2 © Lee Hyo-Seok Memorial Hall

1. Baengnyong Cave is famous for its dramatic rock formations. 2. Jeong Gang Won’s clay jars are used to store sauces and pastes. 3. Alpensia Resort offers golf and other leisure opportunities when it’s not ski season. 4. Bongpyeong’s buckwheat fields inspired writer Lee Hyo-seok.

Bongpyeong has plenty of places offering buckwheat dishes, particularly chilled buckwheat noodles, or makguksu. KOREA _ September _ 22

alpine meadows. It’s a 4.5-kilometer hike from the entrance to the top, but frequent shuttle buses will take you from the bottom to the very top in comfort. From the top, it’s a long but very enjoyable walk down though inspiring highland scenery. Don’t forget to say hello to the sheep, cows and ostriches along the way. Eco Green Campus’ neighbor on the hills is the Daegwallyeong Sky Ranch, founded by Hanil Cement in 1974 and opened to the public in 2014. While not as large as the Eco Green Campus, this ranch allows visitors to enter the pens and touch the sheep. It also offers tractor rides and horse-riding programs. If you’re looking for a bit more of a workout, the Seonjaryeong Ridge is a popular hiking destination. It’s a 5-kilometer hike from the Daegwallyeong

Rest Stop to the top of the ridge, but the climb is gentle and not especially strenuous. From the top of the ridge, you can gaze out upon the sea and the endless hills of eastern Korea. The hike is a bit harder in winter, when the ridge is often covered in deep snow, but the beautiful wind- and snow-swept landscape will reward the extra effort.

‘The Buckwheat Season’

One of PyeongChang’s favorite sons was modernist novelist Lee Hyo-Seok (19071942), whose 1936 short story “The Buckwheat Season” is one of the country’s most beloved pieces of 20th-century literature. The story, which tells the tale of a traveling merchant and a younger man who may be his son, is set in Lee’s home

village of Bongpyeong, an agricultural hamlet renowned for its high-quality buckwheat, one of the staples of this mountainous region. The place where Lee was born, now called “Lee Hyo-Seok Culture Village,” still retains the bucolic beauty the author described in “The Buckwheat Season”: “The burgeoning flowers of the buckwheat, growing thick in the surrounding fields, looked to be a profusion of sprinkled, white salt on the terrain.” While lovely any time of year, the buckwheat fields of Bongpyeong are most captivating in early September, when the white buckwheat flowers bloom. This is also when the village hosts the Hyoseok Culture Festival, which features a variety of literary events, musical performances and plenty of good food. The highlight of the festival, of course, is the opportunity to stroll through the buckwheat fields as Lee must have done in his time. The fields are captivating at night, too, when the light of the moon illuminates the blossoms. In addition to the fields, the village is also home to a museum and memorial hall, Lee’s old home, a traditional waterwheel and several good restaurants serving buckwheat noodles, buckwheat crepes and other tasty buckwheat dishes.

Wild, wild nature

PyeongChang’s most abundant resource is nature. With fewer than 50,000 people, most of whom live in the narrow valley strip along the Seoul-Gangneung highway, the county is mostly rugged, untamed wilds. Mountains account for over 80 percent of its total area, with many of those peaks well exceeding 1,000 meters in height. If you’re a hiker, you’ll be in paradise. One of the most beautiful, and most accessible, of the mountains is Mt. Odaesan, the centerpiece of Odaesan National Park. True to its name, which

WHERE TO STAY The Alpensia Ski Resort alone is home to several Holiday Inn facilities and an InterContinental. The Yongpyong Resort, too, has a number of options for the well-heeled traveler, including luxury condos modeled on North American and European ski resorts. Budget travelers, meanwhile, will find some motels and plenty of pension houses in and around Hoenggye.

WHAT TO EAT Bongpyeong has plenty of places offering buckwheat dishes, particularly chilled buckwheat noodles, or makguksu. The Daegwallyeong area, meanwhile, is noted for its high-quality beef, or hanu. The lamb skewers in front of the Daegwallyeong Sheep Farm are tasty, too. One special place to eat is the Institute of Traditional Korean Cuisine, or Jeong Gang Won. Not only does its restaurant serve exquisitely prepared set meals, or hanjeongsik, but it also operates a Hanok guest house where you can spend the night.

GETTING THERE From Seoul’s Dong Seoul Bus Terminal, there are frequent buses to Gangneung that stop at PyeongChang’s main traffic hubs of Jangpyeong, Jinbu and Hoenggye, all of which are along the highway.

PyeongChang

translates as “five-peak mountain,” the massif is crowned by five peaks, the tallest of which, Birobong Peak, tops out at 1,563 meters. Unlike nearby Mt. Seoraksan, whose craggy topography makes for some challenging hikes, Mt. Odaesan’s inclines are much gentler, making for a much easier climb. Mt. Odaesan is covered in thick old-growth forest, especially between Birobong Peak and Sangwangbong Peak. At the base of the mountain, the walking path to Woljeongsa Temple cuts through a beautiful forest of fir trees, many of which are over 80 years old. Mt. Odasesan is home to several old temples, hermitages and shrines. The biggest and best-known of its temples, Woljeongsa Temple, was torched during the Korean War but beautifully restored afterward. Its ornate, nine-story stone pagoda is a national treasure. Another large temple, Sangwonsa Temple, boasts Korea’s oldest bronze bell, cast in 725. If you want to get really off the beaten track, however, head to PyeongChang’s incredibly rugged southern limit, where the meandering Donggang River cuts a long, loopy and deep valley through the limestone cliffs. Deep in the valley is Eoreumchi Village, a small community named for the small fish native to the area. Just getting to the village is an adventure – access is via a single road through the mountains, and buses to downtown PyeongChang are infrequent. Your ordeal is rewarded, however, with opportunities for trekking, rafting, kayaking and other outdoor activities amid wild natural beauty. A popular trek is the 2-kilometer hike to Chiljongnyeong Path, where there’s an observation deck overlooking the Donggang River as it twists and turns through the landscape. Spelunkers, meanwhile, should check out the Baengnyong Cave, a 1.8-kilometerlong limestone cave with plenty of dramatic stalactites, stalagmites and other rock formations.

KOREA _ September _ 23

People 1

Bringing Music Worlds Together Jazz-gugak band SE:UM shares its recipes for broadening genres and making great music _ Written by Hahna Yoon Photos courtesy of The Culture Factory SE:UM

KOREA _ September _ 24

“We don’t like to confine ourselves to specific genres. We bring that by which we’ve been influenced in the past into the music and try to synthesize with one another.”

Talk to the members of fusion gugak band SE:UM about music and they’ll talk to you about food. “Our music is like jjolmyeon,” producer Yoo Sewoom explains, referring to the spicy and chewy Korean cold noodle dish. “Jjolmyeon was created by accident at a naengmyeon factory. They overcooked the noodles and in order to reconcile that, they added some hot pepper sauce ‒ and likewise, SE:UM’s music is a series of unforeseen events and instruments working together.” Although initially derived from the producer’s own name ‒ that is, from “Sewoom” ‒ the band’s name has evolved in significance and now stands for the “s” in possibility, the “e” in creativity, the “u” in communication and the “m” in impact. Though the group started out trying out sounds together, SE:UM’s music has come to represent that which its members believe is the essence of all Korean music: cyclical breaths. Slowly but steadily, beginning and ending each line with a breath, they are beginning to share their delicacies with an international audience.

Mixture of personalities and styles

Alongside the ensemble DANARU as well as various other experimental contemporary artists and musicians, SE:UM acts as one major component of The Culture Factory SE:UM, an art collective that hopes to create a freethinking and individualistic environment where artists can thrive. Similarly, the band SE:UM is more focused on encouraging its individual members to bring in their own particular sounds and synthesize them, as opposed to the group-centered approach where the focus is on creating a sound together. Often crossing over into the jazz genre, SE:UM also incorporates uniquely Korean elements such as samullori (traditional Korean percussion using traditional instruments), pungmul (traditional Korean folk music that relies on drumming, dancing and singing) and pansori (traditional Korean musical storytelling). Originally an eightmember band, the group is currently made up of Kim Sungwan on the alto saxophone, Ha Seungkook on the trumpet, Kim Sungbae on the bass, Lee Minhyung on percussion and Lee Joon on the gayageum.

Don’t box us in

SE:UM is often asked about its musical identity as a group. It tends to be pushed into either the world music category or lumped with ethnic fusion. “We don’t like to confine ourselves to specific genres,” says Joon. “We bring that by which we’ve been influenced in the past into the music and try to synthesize with one another.” SE:UM first performed in 2013 with a work titled “The Reign of Peace is Here” and debuted with its first extended play “SE:UM” shortly thereafter. During the same year, 2014, the group also performed “Korean Breath” at the Incheon Asian Games.

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“The process of making our music is always different. Sometimes, we have a recipe in mind that we’re trying to master. Sometimes, we just have a few of the ingredients and sometimes, we look for what we can farm.”

“The reaction to our initial sound was mixed,” says Sungwan. “Our gugak friends loved it. Our classical-music friends thought it was good. Our jazz friends were like, ‘What’s this?’ The music didn’t exactly fit anywhere.” When people get confused, Sungbae says he likes to explain using noodles as a metaphor. “Flour noodles came from China, and then they eventually made their way to Italy where the dish became spaghetti. When in Japan, it became udon. It’ll take on the specialties and traditions of that particular region and adjust to fit where it belongs. As artists, our role is to take music and see how best we can serve it.”

A savory dish with an explosion of tastes

For a representative taste of what SE:UM serves, the band might suggest “Seven Steps One Bow,” a song that starts with the slow, repetitive beating of the kkwaenggwari (handheld gong). Seconds later, the double bass sweeps in with a deep, low cry and the two sounds circle one another until an explosion of feeling invites the other instruments to play. “Sure, there are Buddhist undertones

SE:UM performs at the Incheon Culture & Arts Center last October.

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to some of the music, but our group is made of many different backgrounds and we’re not trying to make a religious statement,” explains the song’s creator, Sungbae. “The song’s title references the traditional Korean rhythms it uses and there’s even a psychedelic feeling to it.” The members of the band keep up a group chat where they are constantly growing their ideas and concur that they find inspiration in everything from doing the dishes to taking a shower. Sungwan explains, “The process of making our music is always different. Sometimes, we have a recipe in mind that we’re trying to master. Sometimes, we just have a few of the ingredients and sometimes, we look for what we can farm. ‘Oh, this? This looks edible. How can we cook it? What flavors can we get out of it?’ We ask until we get the image or the story that we’re looking for.”

The talk of the potluck

While SE:UM really began gaining attention in 2015 when the band was nominated for both Best Crossover Artist and Best Performance at the Korea Music Awards, its international presence became known in August of that year when it was invited to the 2015 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Sewoom says he was so terrified that he barely had time to be excited. “Every single audience that you meet is different,” Sungbae explains, “and I was anxious about what the reactions would be like, especially outside of Korea with such traditional music.” In retrospect, the group now laughs at those early anxieties and boasts about the five stars it received from UK website BroadwayBaby, which praised its “emotional attachment to each song” and described it as “genuinely exciting.” Sungwan says one of the best parts was the reactions from the audience. “An elderly Scottish woman even approached Sungbae with tears in her

SE:UM holds a concert at Edinburgh’s Adam House last year.

“Every single audience that you meet is different, and I was anxious about what the reactions would be like, especially outside of Korea with such traditional music.”

eyes and told him how moved she was by his music. It was amazing to witness an experience like that.” Joon, who spent a lot of time carrying around the 12-string zitherlike instrument, adds that people were particularly interested in the traditional Korean instruments. “People were fascinated by the gayageum, since it’s not an instrument that you often see outside of Korea. … It gave me a lot of hope to see how much curiosity it inspired in others.”

Self-satisfaction first

Since branching out abroad, the group has often been referred to as one that “represents Korean music.” This intimidates SE:UM, however. “There are so many different kinds of music that ‘represent Korea’ and we’re

working incredibly hard to earn the title,” Sewoom says. “Whether it’s pop music or hip-hop or rap, it’s all ‘representative’ of Korea,” Joon adds. Just this past July, SE:UM performed at the Korean Cultural Center in Washington, D.C., as part of the institution’s “Jazz Meets Korea” series. Later this year, the band is planning to tour parts of Abu Dhabi and Nigeria. Additionally, this coming October, the band members are looking forward to releasing their second official EP. They are overwhelmed by the support they’ve received and grateful to everyone who has encouraged them. However, none of the members strive for awards or outside recognition. “Goals?” Sewoom ponders. “I suppose our first and foremost goal is to make music to the best of our ability.”

KOREA _ September _ 27

People 2

Out of the Fog, Toward Happiness Philosopher Alexandre Jollien finds joy in both the ups and downs of life _ Written by Ben Jackson Photographed by RAUM Studio

KOREA _ September _ 28

Alexandre Jollien apologizes for the lack of chairs in his flat. “We’re moving back to Switzerland in 10 days,” he explains. Thus ends a three-year period spent in Seoul studying Seon meditation (better known as Zen in the West) as part of a quest for wisdom, during which Jollien has produced two more books. So what drew the Francophone writer and philosopher to Korea in the first place? Born in 1975 in the Swiss canton of Valais, Jollien has been living with cerebral palsy all his life. At age three he was placed in a center for children with disabilities, where he spent the next 17 years. “What struck me was their joy,” he says in fluent English. “Others were handicapped but deeply joyful. How could it be possible for them to be this way in such a situation? “I tried to find happiness outside of me, and by being exactly the way other people are,” he says. “But it made me even more unhappy.” That’s when Jollien began grappling with philosophy, especially the works of Socrates. “I realized the quest for happiness is an inner one,” he says. “Socrates said, ‘Know yourself and you will know the universe.’ He also said that no one does wrong willingly.” After leaving the center, Jollien decided to study philosophy and ancient Greek at a university in Fribourg, Switzerland, and at Trinity College in Dublin. “I like Greek philosophy because it is a way of being,” he says. “They propose tools for coping with reality, for managing trouble and for being more in the present. “After that, I published some books, but I didn’t feel that joy, even after having studied philosophy. So I decided to try Zen meditation. For me it was important to find a Zen master who was also a Catholic priest, because I used to go church in my youth. I always believed

in God. So I went to Sogang University, because there is a Canadian Catholic priest there who is also a Zen master. I studied there for about three years.”

Discovering Korea

“Three Friends in Search of Wisdom” is a best-seller in France. A Koreanlanguage edition was published in June.

“The main source of suffering is not the world but ourselves, and the way to cope with that is not easy to find. It’s a daily practice, to see how much I project to the world and to other beings my desires and prejudices.”

Upon his arrival in Korea, Jollien was surprised at how few Buddhists he found. “I had thought that Koreans were Buddhists,” he says. “I was quite surprised, especially after visiting Nepal, where you can feel a strong sense of spirituality in the streets.” Jollien was disappointed to see Korean society “copying the American model,” as he put it. “It’s a pity,” he says. “Because Korean people have a huge and deep tradition: spiritual life, generosity. Now they’re copying the American side too much. They’re losing something.” He continues on a more optimistic note, however. “I was struck by the generosity of people here. They are deeply kind.” The first book Jollien wrote in Korea was “Living Without Why: The Spiritual Journey of a Philosopher in Korea.” In it, he talks about his spiritual development and observations in Korea on a path where Buddhism and Christianity overlap. It was followed this year by “Three Friends in Search of Wisdom,” which Jollien co-wrote with psychiatrist Christophe André and Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard. “We often meet to talk about issues like what happiness is, and how to cope with suffering,” Jollien explains. “We decided to write a book together, so we met for 10 days in a kind of spiritual monastery and talked about the great topics of life. Our goal was to transmit tools that can really help people. The book is being translated into Korean and English this month.” Four concepts that recur throughout Jollien’s work are happiness, joy, wisdom

and fog ‒ the last of these, he explains, is best understood as the illusions that cloud a person’s mind. “There is always fog in the mind, because it is always judging reality and making comparisons,” he says. “That’s why we suffer a lot. The main source of suffering is not the world but ourselves, and the way to cope with that is not easy to find. It’s a daily practice, to see how much I project to the world and to other beings my desires and prejudices.” When asked about happiness, he says, “I think happiness is something stable and unreachable by human beings, except very wise people or Buddhist monks. As Aristotle said, ‘When you’re happy, you cannot go down.’ In my eyes, that’s a very difficult state of mind to achieve. For me, joy is more compatible with the ups and downs of life. Joy is to say ‘yes’ to what happens. It’s something more accessible than happiness. “In our society there is this pressure to be happy. It can be very oppressive for people who have no goal, or disabled people ‒ for everybody. Joy is more accessible. The big issue is how we can enjoy the here and now.”

Importance of daily practice

“For me there are three things that can help us to enjoy ourselves,” Jollien continues. “The first is to be on a spiritual path, with a daily practice of some sort. It could be praying or meditation or whatever, but it’s good to have a daily practice and not to simply be on autopilot. “The second is to have spiritual friends who can help you, and whom you can help to remain honest and to encourage each other. “The third is to practice generosity. As Nietzsche said, the best way to start the day is to ask ourselves, ‘Which person can I help today?’ It’s very easy but it can change a lot of things.” Having made an impression on Korean readers, Jollien has no specific plans beyond continuing to write, he says, but hopes above all that his children will never forget the fluent Korean they have picked up over the past three years.

KOREA _ September _ 29

Arts & Entertainment

Visitors take in the “Munhwa and Court Painting of the Joseon Dynasty: Munjado and Chaekgeori” at Seoul Arts Center.

Joseon Art Goes to America A rare still-life collection is set to begin a yearlong tour of the United States _ Written by Lim Jeong-yeo Photos courtesy of Seoul Arts Center

Chaekgeori are Korean still-life paintings that depict books as aesthetic objects. Book lovers will undoubtedly appreciate the 58 works on display at the Seoul Arts Center’s Calligraphy Museum, some of which date back to the 18th century. Alongside the chaekgeori are calligraphic Chinese character designs called munjado, which complement the paintings with splendid curved strokes and vibrant colors. The collection is worthy of note because it is the first time these beautiful pieces have been gathered together in one place. Some 20 museums and private galleries, not to mention a few private owners, opened up their vaults and contributed works for the occasion. Participating museums included the National Museum of Korea, the Leeum

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Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul Museum, Gyeonggi Children’s Museum and Jeju National Museum. The Seoul Arts Center, which put the project together in cooperation with Hyundai Hwarang, said the exhibit was a chance to bridge the gulf between calligraphy and contemporary art, and that it would help to globalize Korean art and reestablish its identity. The show runs through Aug. 28, after which it will cross the Pacific for a yearlong tour in the United States with stops at the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Charles B. Wang Center at New York’s Stony Brook University and the Spencer Museum of Art at the University of Kansas, among other destinations.

Chaekgeori Munjado, eight-panel screen, each screen 95 x 32 cm.

The colorful choice of objects depicted in Chaekgeori shows that the intellectuals of the late Joseon era wanted to understand the world through technologically advanced goods from abroad. (Top to Bottom) Munjado, eight-panel screen, each screen 61 x 36 cm. Embroidered Chaekgeori, ten-panel screen, each screen 81 x 36 cm. Chaekgado, ten-panel screen, 149.5 x 450 cm.

Origins of chaekgeori

Chaekgeori is believed to have evolved out of the Italian Renaissance art form called studiolo, which depicted studies filled with books. The studiolo tradition traveled from Italy to England and France and then to China. From there, it drifted into Korea sometime in the 18th century in the course of Korea’s trade with Qing Dynasty China. The paintings began to take on a Korean aesthetic, and they remained popular into the early 20th century. Chung Byung-mo, a professor at Gyeongju University and the incumbent president of the Korean Folk Art Society, said the genre continued to retain a Western technique for depth of field and contrast, making a chaekgeori “the most Korean, yet the most global, realistic painting.” The paintings in this exhibit depict books and bookshelves, either standing alone or juxtaposed with luxury items such as expensive furniture and ceramics ‒ and often with imported foreign goods such as alarm clocks and eyeglasses. Fruit considered exotic at the time, such as watermelons and peaches, are other common inclusions, along with flowers. According to the museum, this colorful choice of objects shows that, “The intellectuals of the Joseon era came out

from a dark age wanting to understand the world through technologically advanced goods from China and the West.”

Culture and history reflected in folk art

This exhibit has drawn acclaim, as it showcases irreproducible masterpieces of significant historical value. One example is a folding screen painted by Lee Hyungrok, a royal painter who served under King Jeongjo (1752-1800), the 22nd king of the Joseon Dynasty. The work, provided for the exhibit by the National Museum of Korea, is the original folding screen bearing Lee’s depiction of a bookshelf. King Jeongjo, who commissioned the artist to paint the folding screen to replace an earlier and more traditional one that stood behind his throne, did much to advance the popularity of chaekgeori. Though skeptical of what he considered extravagant foreign imports, the king was nonetheless a great fan of the book paintings. His laudatory comments about the new folding screen are recorded in the historical archives. Upon seeing it, King Jeongjo said he had finally come to understand the saying that one can find solace just by looking at books.

The royal trend quickly spread to aristocrats, who rushed to get their hands on the fashionable art pieces. In time, commoners began to hang reproductions of the paintings in hopes of becoming successful and achieving happiness. The paintings, which show in sophisticated detail quaint objects from the days of old, are fashionable even to this day. Not only are they pleasant to look at ‒ they also offer a valuable window into the culture of the time. The Leeum Samsung Museum of Art contributed a prized eight-section folding screen measuring 128 centimeters by 355 centimeters and depicting a leopardprint curtain that has been lifted partway to reveal a scholar’s room. A pair of eyeglasses sits on an open book atop a wooden table. Exquisite imported goods are strewn across the table in a decorative manner: a candlestick, an incense burner, a peacock feather. Lee Dong-guk, the department head at the Seoul Arts Center’s Calligraphy Museum, told local papers that this would have been an obscene display of luxury to the people of the time. The painting, he said, reflected the aristocrats’ desire to usurp power amid a disintegrating social order and a weakening Joseon hierarchy.

KOREA _ September _ 31

Korea & I

Home for the Holidays How Korea’s harvest celebration marked a new spouse’s acceptance into a new family _ Written by Elizabeth Black Illustrated by Kim Yoon-myung

It was the night before we were due to board a dawn bus from Seoul to Busan for my first family holiday at my soon-to-be husband’s house, and I was panicking. The huge, carefully wrapped package of fruit I had selected from the rows of Chuseok gift sets at the store was proving to be a hindrance we might not be able to manage along with the luggage. Of course, it wasn’t really about the present. Meeting the family is never easy, but I was dealing with a few extra obstacles. I had never celebrated Chuseok before, and while I understood the main idea, I also knew there would be an elaborate ceremony, called charye, a memorial for the dead, that I didn’t know much about. On top of that, while my Korean was conversational, I had learned to speak it in Seoul. My in-laws were from Busan and spoke in a strong dialect that was barely comprehensible to me. The biggest reason I was worried, however, was because my fiancé was the eldest son, with no sisters or sisters-inlaw. Traditionally, the eldest son’s wife is the one who leaves her family to become her mother-in-law’s right-hand woman. While very few families live that way today, the dynamic still comes into play in the kitchen over major holidays, when a mountain of food is prepared not just for the living family members but for the deceased as well. With no other women in the family, it would be my mother-inlaw’s first time inviting an outsider into her kitchen. There was no hope of quietly fading into the background.

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Apprehension and an eight-hour bus ride

Every country has its share of legendary family conflict at the holidays, and this tradition is a major source of just that between mothers-in-law and daughtersin-law the country over. However, with language proving to be a barrier between my mother-in-law and me and with her still not quite knowing what to make of her eldest son marrying a non-Korean, it had the potential to serve as an opportunity for me to prove my salt. On major holidays, the roads in Korea mirror airport check-in lines back home. After a grueling, gridlocked, eight-hour bus ride, we had finally arrived. I greeted my mother-, father- and brother-in-law and handed out their gifts. The men and I sat down to a dinner of steamed beef short ribs, but my mother-in-law, except for a quick greeting, was nowhere to be seen. When I cleared the table after the meal, I realized the kitchen was already in full swing in preparation for the charye ceremony the next morning. Steam poured off two enormous pots on the stove, and the floor was covered with baskets overflowing with ingredients in various stages of preparation. As I took in the chaos before me, and the sight of my mother-in-law dashing back and forth across it, the

pit of worry in my stomach dissolved. I suddenly felt at home. Memories of my grandmother’s kitchen came flooding back, with my mother, aunt and grandmother zigzagging from cutting board to sink to stove. I hadn’t been home to help chop onions, boil chicken stock or roll out pie crust for five years. Without a word, I took my place at the sink and got started on the enormous pile of dishes that was overflowing from it.

An unexpected gesture

The next morning, I sat on the kitchen floor and fried vegetables over a portable gas stove. My mother-in-law occasionally leaned over my shoulder to let out a soft grunt of approval. When everything was ready, we carefully arranged it all on a low table in the living room positioned in front of a screen where the names of the deceased had been pinned. I did my best to follow along with the elaborate bowing and watched as my soon-to-be father-in-law gave an emotional greeting to his deceased father and mother.

He turned toward me and my fiancé and gestured for us to come forward. “This is Elizabeth,” he said. “She’s a good girl. My son will marry her.” He handed us a cup filled with traditional alcohol to offer his parents. We moved the cup over the incense in a circle three times and bowed. Traditionally, women don’t offer the deceased alcohol, and some still don’t participate in the ceremony at all. Calling me forward that way was an unexpected gesture from my conservative father-inlaw. It was his way of welcoming me into the family’s traditions the same way my mother-in-law had welcomed me into her kitchen. In the months that followed, I would have to spend another holiday season away from my family, but the blow was softened by the knowledge that there were new holidays and new traditions ‒ a new family here in my new country.

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Korea in Brief

Korea Monthly Update © Yonhap News

2016 Cheongju World Martial Arts Masterships Open New Chapter in Public Diplomacy Over 2,100 athletes from more than 70 countries will gather in the central Korean city of Cheongju in September to compete in the first-ever Cheongju World Martial Arts Masterships. The tournament, set for Sept. 2–8, will feature competitions in 17 martial arts including kendo, muay thai, judo, horseback archery, kickboxing, and Korea’s own taekwondo and taekkyeon. Lee Si-jong, governor of host province Chungcheongbukdo, told Yonhap News he hoped to make the tournament a “Martial Arts Olympics.” Organizers have also signed a cooperation agreement with the Korean Olympic Committee with the goal of gaining for the event International Olympic Committee recognition, which is key to drawing the world’s top athletes in the future. © Cheongju World Martial Arts Masterships Organizing Committee

Kang Sue-jin Hangs Up Her Ballet Shoes Kang Sue-jin, a longtime principal dancer with Stuttgart Ballet, held her farewell performance of “Onegin” at the Stuttgart Opera House on July 22. At its conclusion, the packed house held up signs displaying hearts and the words “Danke, Sue-jin.” Kang joined the Stuttgart Ballet, one of Europe’s most renowned ballet troupes, in 1986 and became a principal dancer in

1996. Her career highlights include the Best Female Ballerina Award at the Prix Benois de la Danse, one of the world’s top ballet competitions, in 1999 and her selection in 2007 as a Kammertänzerin, Germany’s top dance honor. Despite her retirement, she remains the art director of the Korean National Ballet.

Korea Sale FESTA Begins in September Korea Sale FESTA, one of the biggest events on Korea’s shopping calendar, begins Sept. 29. Organized by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the month-long promotion, which brings together last year’s Korea Grand Sale and Korea Black Friday events, features dramatic sales and discounts at shopping

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centers, hotels and other accommodation businesses as well as transportation, entertainment and tourism facilities. Efforts to promote traditional markets and small- and medium-sized manufacturers are also underway. The FESTA will open with a three-day extravaganza (Sept. 30– Oct. 3) near Seoul’s COEX that includes a K-pop concert and other events.

Director Yeon Sang-ho’s summer blockbuster “Train to Busan” is dazzling fans in Korea. The country’s first-ever zombie movie, which opened July 20, drew over 6 million viewers in its first week and has drawn over 10 million overall, putting it on pace to become the most-watched film in Korean cinematic history. It has already broken several records, including biggest opening day turnout (870,323 viewers) and biggest one-day turnout (1,280,942 viewers). The film also made USD 35.4 million in its first five days, including USD 5.8 million

‘Train to Busan’ Breaks Box Office Records on opening day alone. The film, Yeon’s first live-action work, made its worldwide debut at Cannes’ “Midnight Screenings” on May 13. Influential U.S. entertainment magazine The Hollywood Reporter called it a “hidden gem” of the festival. It made its North American debut on July 22. The film has also opened in Singapore, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, France, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Malaysia. Several studios in Hollywood and Europe reportedly are pursuing the remake rights.

English Edition of ‘K-Style’ Released © NEW

The Korean Culture and Information Service has released “K-Style: Living the Korean Way of Life,” written by Hankuk University of Foreign Studies professor and interpreter Choi Jungwha. The four-chapter book explores and explains Korean lifestyles in the modern age. It addresses many cultural traditions and trends about which international audiences may be curious, such as the popularity of chicken and beer in Korea and the difference between Korean and Western ages. Leading French writer and cultural critic Guy Sorman helped craft the book, which also boasts images taken by some of Korea’s top photographers. The book can be downloaded for free from Korea.net.

Chinese Broadcaster Explores Korean Traditional Cuisine A team from a popular travel program on Chinese state-run broadcaster CCTV visited Korea in July to introduce to audiences back home the beauty of Korean traditional cuisine. The team visited several Korean cities, where they explored local culinary traditions and

rural ways of life. Highlights included going out on a squid boat in Sokcho and experiencing a Korean traditional wedding in Hongseong. The show will appear on Chinese television in September.

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Policy Review

A New Frontier ÂŠ Hyundai Motor Company

Driverless cars, drones represent new engines of growth in a creative economy _ Written by Lee Kijun

The Hyundai Genesis G80 comes equipped with highway driving assist technology.

ÂŠ Taean-gun

The county of Taean is using drones not only for tourism promotion, but also to monitor disaster-prone areas.

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Crossing a new frontier

Big companies like Samsung and Hyundai are jumping on the bandwagon now that investment incentives are stronger and regulations are not as restrictive. Hyundai Motor, South Korea’s biggest automaker, is considering a partnership with U.S.based ride-hailing company Uber Technologies. Uber representatives visited Hyundai Motor’s Namyang R&D Center in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi-do, in June to discuss the prospects of joining hands with Hyundai to develop ride-sharing services that employ self-driving vehicles. Hyundai has already incorporated advanced autonomous car technology into its new line of Genesis sedans. More specifically, last year’s EQ900 model featured advanced driving assistance and an autonomous emergency braking system. The unmanned vehicle industry is a new frontier for governments and

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Under the plan, finalized in June and set to take effect next year, the government intends to pursue a midterm strategy to develop platform technologies that could be used for a variety of unmanned vehicles ‒ that is, vehicles for land, air and

“Considering our advanced IT, Korea is equipped with some of the best infrastructure for the growth of unmanned aircraft and vehicles.”

A comprehensive national strategy

maritime use. Until now, Korea has been working on the separate development of unmanned vehicles for different purposes, an endeavor that is more costly both in terms of time and money. Additionally, the government has decided to invest KRW 89 billion won into the smart car sector in 2017, up 43.8 percent from this year. It will spend KRW 54.2 billion on the development of high-end drones next year, a 30 percent increase year on year. There are two key government organizations in charge of implementing this plan: the science ministry and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. “In the policy consultation session, officials from the two ministries discussed ways for specific cooperation to nurture new industries, such as drones and self-driving cars,” they said in a joint press release. “We also agreed to cooperate on radio frequencies, which is crucial to promoting the drone and autonomous car industries.”

In March, a new kind of retail shop appeared in Seoul’s Hongdae area. Chinabased multinational DJI, the world’s largest maker of consumer drones, chose Korea as the location for its first overseas store. With five stories and 870 square meters of floor space, the new store offers what the company calls “a handson, immersive experience.” It is a place, country manager Moon Taehyun said in a statement, where “visitors can sit back, relax and enjoy aerial footage and content from creators from around the world.” As encouraging as it is to see the world’s largest drone manufacturer recognize Korea’s growth potential in this exciting new industry, there are no major drone makers in Korea as of yet. Although Korea is said to rank seventh in the world in terms of drone technology, the country relies heavily on imported equipment. The Korean government is working to change all that. At a meeting in Daejeon this past May, the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning unveiled a new five-year plan to nurture the nascent unmanned aircraft and vehicle industries as economic growth engines. Its aim is to create a KRW 15 trillion market by 2025, with 650 participating companies that would account for 10 percent of the global market. “Considering our advanced IT, Korea is equipped with some of the best infrastructure for the growth of unmanned aircraft and vehicles,” President Park Geun-hye told the group of scientists and engineers. “If we focus our resources properly, we can catch up with the leading players.”

Expected Economic Impact of Drone Industry Source: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport

Job Creation

Economic Ripple Effect

310,000 new jobs

USD 11.4 billion

Industry Forecast for Unmanned Vehicles Source: Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning Self-Driving Car

Unmanned Agricultural Vehicles

18%

Unmanned Military Vehicles

USD 25.1 billion (2015)

Average annual growth rate 20%

Civilian Drones (photography and video, agriculture, transport) Small Drones

11% USD 153.7 billion

5% 4% 6%

Unmanned Underwater Vehicles

(2025)

52%

* Other: self-driving cars and unmanned ships for use in construction, forestry, security, military, and indoor purposes

Other

global tech companies. Amazon has long been working to develop drone technology for its delivery service, and now the tech giant has partnered with the British government to expand drone testing in July. Under the partnership, the United Kingdom’s aviation regulator will let Amazon conduct tests there. Paul Misener, Amazon’s vice president of global innovation policy and communications, said the partnership “brings Amazon closer to our goal of using drones to safely deliver parcels in 30 minutes to customers in the UK and elsewhere around the world.” Similar cases can be found throughout the world. In April, the Netherlands held the first trials of driverless semitrucks at the port of Rotterdam, with the aim of using them to send cargo all over the continent by 2019. In May, the State of Nevada and the Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems announced that they had authorized Chinese drone maker EHang

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to test its “drone taxi,” an unmanned aerial vehicle capable of transporting a single passenger, in the state. “EHang’s selection of Nevada to test its people-carrying drone marks a thrilling addition to the innovative companies testing throughout our state to advance the commercial drone industry,” Tom Wilczek, Aerospace and Defense Industry Specialist at the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development, said in a statement.

The promise of Songdo

In Korea, the Songdo area in Incheon has ambitions of becoming a mecca for drone developers. Because there are no regulations against the use of drones, as there are in Seoul to protect facilities such as the presidential office and the government complex, Songdo has become a hot spot for drone makers. The absence of legal obstacles is a boon for gadget developers, and local authorities

are determined to make the most of that advantage. The Incheon Metropolitan Government is pushing for a KRW 78.5 billion won investment to set up a cooperative industrial-educational aviation research center on a 16,400-square-meter plot in Songdo by 2020. The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Energy is also aiming to turn Songdo into the country’s centerpiece of aviation research and production by playing up its appeal as a space that is free of drone restrictions. “One big advantage to testing a drone in Songdo is that it is without no-fly zones, which are common in Seoul,” said Park Sang-gook, director of the research center for the drone manufacturer We Make Drone. “We are hoping to tap into the growing demand as Incheon already has the infrastructure and the right environment for drones and the aviation industry,” said an official at Incheon.

Brand Korea

New national promotional campaign accentuates a core national value _ Written by Eugene Kim

Korea has a new national promotional campaign. On July 4, the country announced its new slogan, “Creative Korea,” a phrase that reflects a core national value. At a ceremony in Seoul, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Kim Jongdeok explained, “As we can see from our cultural heritage of the past, creativity can serve as a core value that penetrates both the past and the future of the Republic of Korea.” “Creative Korea” is the result of a yearlong effort by the culture ministry to craft a new slogan reaffirming Korea’s national identity on the 71st anniversary of independence. The government formed a committee composed primarily of private-sector branding experts and held two contests to discover the so-called “DNA of the Republic of Korea.” The contests yielded 30,999 brand submissions and 1.27 million keyword suggestions. The three most popular keywords were “creativity,” “passion” and “harmony,” and the government made its decision after consultations with domestic and international experts. The ministry explained that while passion made Korea what it is today, it is creativity that the country needs if it is to move forward and respond effectively to the challenges and transformations of our time.

professor Chang Don-ryun, who led the National Brand and Government Identity Development project, told the Korea Times, “The vertical lines at each side of the logo represent the four trigrams in the flag. The space between the two words will allow various combinations of images or words.”

Inherent creativity

The slogan is significant in that it is based on the inherent creativity bred into Korea’s cultural DNA.

The new logo’s motif is based on Korea’s national flag, the Taegeukgi. The word “creative” appears in red atop the country’s name, which is written in blue. At either end are two simple lines, representing the four trigrams on the flag. The word “Korea” is offset to the right to make the logo more flexible by allowing the insertion of additional words or images. Hongik University

The slogan is significant in that it is based on the inherent creativity bred into Korea’s cultural DNA. Respondents to the poll cited Korea’s globally acknowledged pop culture products like dramas and K-pop, items crafted in the past such as Hangeul, Hansik and Yi Sun-sin’s innovative “turtle ships,” Korea’s many artists and sports stars and Korea’s globalized corporate brands. The authorities plan to use the slogan to boost civic pride and promote the national image abroad. The government has already begun to promote the new slogan on the media facade of Seoul Square and at the 2016 Rio Olympics. It will use it at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games, too. Minister Kim said, “The new brand slogan embodies the values Korea pursues. We will rediscover the creativity inherent in the Korean spirit and raise the national image internationally.”

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Summit Diplomacy

Strengthening Connectivity Between Asia and Europe The 11th ASEM Summit points the way forward to a more connected Eurasia _ Written by Lee Kyehyun Photos courtesy of Cheong Wa Dae

President Park attends the 11th ASEM Summit in Ulaanbaatar. KOREA _ September _ 40

“Now is the time to talk about ways to solidify the foundation of free trade around the world and address economic gaps among nations…Each country should work to reap the benefits from open, free trade that are given to all walks of life, as well as join forces to spur creative innovation that opens a new driving force to lead our economies.” President Park had the global economy on her mind at the 11th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), held July 15-16 in the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar. This year’s summit, which had the theme of “Years of ASEM: Partnership for the Future Through Connectivity,” marked the 20th anniversary of ASEM, which was founded in 1996 to strengthen relations between Europe and Asia through dialogue across a wide range of political, economic and cultural issues. President Park joined other world leaders in reiterating their commitment to greater inter-regional trade and investment to promote sustainable growth and deepen economic integration. ASEM also declared its support for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The summit also served as an opportunity for President Park to strengthen Korea’s relations with Mongolia, a neighbor with which Korea has enjoyed a comprehensive partnership since 2011. The two sides discussed a variety of issues of mutual interest, including the participation of Korean companies in the development of Mongolia’s energy sector.

Building a better ASEM

President Park spoke as the lead speaker on the first day of the ASEM Summit. After taking time to express condolences for the victims of July’s terrorist attack in the French city of Nice, she praised the role ASEM has played in promoting communication between Asia and Europe and elevating public-private cooperation in political, economic and socio-cultural affairs. She said, however, that factors such as terrorism, growing extremism and North Korea’s nuclear program were either disrupting world peace or calling into question the sustainability of the global order, and that ASEM should spearhead the spread of free trade, inclusive growth and creative innovation. The body should also reexamine its procedures so that it could promote greater connectivity between Asia and Europe. “There is a need to transform the procedures at ASEM summits so that talks can bring about more economic cooperation and more connectivity among member states,” she said. “The way in which agenda items are discussed during talks should be improved so that all member states can have two-way discussions on issues of mutual interest.” The leaders closed the summit on the second day by adopting the chair’s statement, the so-called Ulaanbaatar

The 11th ASEM Summit begins.

“There is a need to transform the procedures at ASEM summits so that talks can bring about more connectivity among member states.” Declaration and a Joint Statement on International Terrorism. The chair’s statement addressed a wide variety of issues between Asia and Europe. Of particular interest to South Korea, however, was the unequivocal condemnation of North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile programs. Calling on Pyongyang to fully implement relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions, the statement said, “Leaders condemned in the strongest terms the DPRK’s nuclear, other weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs which constitute a grave violation of all relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions and endanger peace and stability in Northeast Asia and beyond.” The statement also called for dialogue to reduce tensions and restart the Six Party Talks and for North Korea to join the Non-Proliferation Treaty and International Atomic Energy Agency’s safeguards regime. At a press conference, Senior Presidential Secretary for Foreign Affairs Kim Kyouhyun said, “The chair’s statement includes content strongly condemning North Korea’s development of nuclear arms and missiles, and calling for the full-scale enforcement of U.N. Security Council sanctions resolutions against the North.” At a retreat session earlier in the day, President Park suggested that Korean reunification be a “fundamental” solution to strengthening connections between Asia and

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Europe. “The last puzzle that would complete ASEM’s vision to create ‘one Eurasia’ is the unification of the Korean Peninsula,” she said. “I also believe that the unification of the Korean Peninsula is the only fundamental solution to North Korea’s human rights violations and nuclear weapons problem.” Genuine connectivity between Asia and Europe might prove difficult, she said, without dealing with North Korea.

Meetings on the side President Park meets with the leaders of the European Union.

President Park shakes hands with Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith of Laos.

President Park and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc greet one another prior to their summit.

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Sideline summits are part of any large gathering of world leaders, and the 11th ASEM summit was no different. President Park met with the leaders of several nations and the EU to discuss cooperation and matters of shared interest. During a meeting with an EU delegation that included President of the European Council Donald Tusk and President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, President Park discussed Brexit, North Korea and other issues. In particular, Presidents Tusk and Juncker reassured President Park that Brexit would have no impact on Korea-EU relations and that Brussels would continue to work toward enhancing cooperation with Seoul. President Park also thanked the EU for its condemnation of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program and its implementation of independent sanctions on Pyongyang. President Park also met with Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith of Laos. Noting the progress in bilateral relations the nations have made since the reestablishment of diplomatic ties in 1995, the two sides expressed a desire to upgrade ties by expanding substantive cooperation. Prime Minister Thongloun praised the effectiveness of the New Community Movement, or Saemaul Undong, in his country and expressed hope that Korean businesses would boost investment there. President Park, meanwhile, praised the contributions Korean companies were making to the Lao economy and expressed hope that Laos would pursue complementary cooperation projects along the lines of the Xe-Namnoy Hydroelectric Power Plant, a joint venture between a Korean consortium and Laotian partners. President Park’s other sideline summit was with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc. The two leaders agreed to work together to boost economic cooperation between their countries. In particular, Prime Minister Nguyễn noted that Korea had become Vietnam’s largest foreign investor and called on Korean businesses to expand their investment in the country. President Park, meanwhile, stressed that Seoul and Hanoi should conclude an agreement on social security. She also suggested that the two sides could further boost bilateral trade through the

conclusion of a Korea-Vietnam FTA. The two sides also discussed defense cooperation, North Korea, cultural exchanges, immigration and other issues of mutual interest.

Bolstering ties with Mongolia

After the summit, President Park paid an official state visit to Mongolia on July 17-18. The visit comes after Mongolian President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj visited Seoul in May. Mongolian and Korean leaders have engaged in reciprocal visits since the establishment of diplomatic ties between Korea and Mongolia in 1990. During her summit meeting with President Elbegdorj on July 17, President Park praised the state of relations between Korea and Mongolia, which began with the Korea-Mongolia Comprehensive Partnership in 2011. “Today’s talks have reaffirmed that Korea and Mongolia have a great partnership that goes beyond just the bilateral-level and which can contribute to peace across Northeast Asia,” she said. “The

President Park and Mongolian President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj examine an honor guard at a welcoming ceremony in Ulaanbaatar.

Korean and Mongolian delegations hold summit talks in Ulaanbaatar.

President Park gives the opening address at a forum for Korean and Mongolian business leaders.

Korea-Mongolia summit today will hopefully serve as an important starting point for the next 25 years of our bilateral relationship.” The two leaders discussed a wide range of issues, including trade and investment, person-to-person exchanges and immigration, development cooperation and North Korea. Noting that Korea had become Mongolia’s fourth largest trading partner, President Elbegdorj called on the two countries to sign an economic partnership agreement (EPA), a deal similar to a free trade pact, in order to boost bilateral trade and investment. President Park responded that both sides had begun research into an EPA. President Elbegdorj also reaffirmed Mongolia’s support for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and his government’s determination to promote peace and stability in Northeast Asia in cooperation with Seoul. The two leaders signed memorandums of understanding covering issues ranging from climate change to cooperation on information technology and energy. All in all, they agreed to seek Korean participation in USD 4.49 billion in projects, including programs realted to urban development, electricity generation and railways. President Park further discussed bilateral economic cooperation the following day when she met with Chairman Miyeegombo Enkhbold of the Mongolian Parliament and Mongolian Prime Minister Jargaltulga Erdenebat. Asking the Mongolian side for more support for efforts that would enhance economic cooperation, such as increased flights between Korea and Mongolia, she said, “A better environment that allows Korean businesses in Mongolia to invest would help expand economic cooperation between our two countries.”

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Creative Economy

Science, Not Magic Part biological, part robot, biorobots seemingly bring science fiction to life _ Written by Colin Marshall

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Any sufficiently advanced technology, Arthur C. Clarke famously wrote, is indistinguishable from magic. Consider all the pieces of personal technology we use today ‒ especially the ever more advanced smartphones omnipresent around the world ‒ and you’ll realize that time has proven the English science-fiction visionary right. However, it increasingly seems that Clarke’s proclamation describes only part of the reality. What if high technology simultaneously approaches not just developments that look like magic, but developments that look like life itself? That has started to happen in the form of “biorobots,” a union of the technological and the organic in which Korean researchers are playing an important role. We’ve all grown familiar, through novels, movies and comics, with the idea that robots will eventually look and act just like humans and animals. Traditional robotics has worked to make that vision a reality, but biorobotics looks at it from a different angle. What if, rather than just trying to engineer robots made of synthetic material to emulate the biological organisms all around us, we could also engineer biological organisms to behave more like robots? The resulting creations would combine the versatility of living creatures with the ability to follow instructions and perform specialized tasks like the robots already used in manufacturing today. Clarke himself imagined something similar back in 1972. His novel “Rendezvous with Rama” features mechanicalorganic hybrids called “biots,” a portmanteau of “biological” and “robot.” If these biots weren’t living creatures, as one character observes, “they were certainly very good imitations.” Another memorable conception of biorobots came even earlier, in Philip K. Dick’s 1968 novel “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” It and Ridley Scott’s 1982 film adaptation “Blade Runner” introduced the concept of “replicants,” organic humanoids engineered for high levels of strength and intelligence ‒ as well as a deliberately short lifespan. While science fiction’s best-known biorobots have

Though still in its experimental stages, the field of biorobotics has begun exploring in promising directions.

(Top) Tissue-engineered soft-robotic ray (Bottom) A little skate, Leucoraja erinacea

Professor Choi Jung-woo of Sogang University’s department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, along with Harvard University professor Kevin Parker and postdoctoral research fellow Park Sung-jin, have created an unprecedented “animal-cell-based bio-hybrid robot.” Housed in a goldboned “high-molecule elastic polymer” body akin to that of a stingray, it debuted on the cover of the June issue of the international academic journal Science. Powered by cells from a rat’s heart, the small biorobot swims while drawing nutrition from sugar in the saline solution around it and energy from the light that shines on it. Light not only powers this biorobot, but controls it as well: Its muscle contractions speed up or slow down in response to changes in lighting. Its creators can therefore “steer” it by

The ‘animal-cell-based bio-hybrid robot’

appeared in dystopian or otherwise fearsome settings, their progress in real life has so far looked considerably more benign. Though still in its experimental stages, the field of biorobotics has begun exploring in promising directions: harnessing natural cellular processes in such a way that might assist in the treatment of conditions like cancer, for instance, or growing new brains out of existing neurons and enabling them to control mechanical bodies. But the most advanced biorobot in history may have just emerged from the lab of an interdisciplinary Korean-American joint research and development team.

They’ve made the very first robot that moves without an external power source, which means that biorobotics now holds great promise in an engineering world more eager than ever for new ways to keep our devices running.

controlling two rays of light, one pointed at each of its fins. Parker took his first inspiration from a ray at the aquarium that darted away as soon as his young daughter reached out to pet it. When he approached Park and proposed building a light-guided artificial ray with rat cells, it sounded outlandish at first. In about a year, however, working in collaboration with Choi, it started to make sense. They’ve made the very first robot that moves without an external power source, which means that biorobotics now holds great promise in an engineering world more eager than ever for new ways to keep our devices running. The integration of biological tissue and technological components may also provide the very solutions medical science needs for advanced diagnostic systems, such as biological “sensors” that respond to the presence of disease, and practical artificial organs. Parker has described the project as a way of understanding the heart using tools from robotics, framing it as one step toward his goal of building a child-sized human heart. Just as in biological evolution, many intermediary organisms will come between such revolutionary developments and this little stingray swimming away in the lab. However, as technological evolution can greatly outpace biological evolution, and now that biorobotics has brought both kinds of evolution together, the world watches to see what kind of real-life biot will come next ‒ and what kind of organisms, biological or mechanical or anywhere in between, will walk down the streets of Seoul in the future.

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Global Korea

included a lecture, workshops on making Korean food, a photo exhibit, tastings and other side events. Thirty-three contestants took part in the competition and the first prize went to Susana Tarnate, a cook at a Korean restaurant in Manila, for her unique take on dakbokkeumtang, a spicy chicken stew.

An exhibition of Korean robot animation at the Korean Cultural Center in Buenos Aires has introduced legendary animated characters such as Robot Taekwon V to Argentine fans. The exhibit, held from June 23 to Aug. 3, included exhibits of cartoons and figurines, a lecture by journalist and Korean animation expert Maximiliano Britos, and a separate showing of the iconic 1976 animation film “Robot Taekwon V.” The exhibit is part of the center’s efforts to introduce lesser-known items such as animation to local audiences in the hope that they will catch on like K-pop, K-dramas, and other Korean Wave products.

Korean Film Night Captivates South Africans

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Korea Culture and Tourism Supporters Promote Home Country Through Social Media

A multinational group of university students in Japan will visit the Korean port city of Busan on Sept. 5 to take in the city’s charms for four days and share said charms through social media. Launched in June by the Korean Cultural Center in Osaka, the “Korea Culture and Tourism Supporters” are 20 students at Kansai-area universities who frequently post about Korea on social media, be it about K-pop, learning Korean, cosmetics, or travel in Korea. To mark “Visit Korea Year 2016–2018,” the group has been tasked with promoting Korea’s undiscovered charms though handson cultural programs, visits to Korean tourist sites, and culinary tours.

Kazakhstanis Learn K-beauty Techniques

The Korean Cultural Center in Astana celebrated June’s Culture Day with a special class on makeup techniques. The audience learned about the differences between Korea’s and Kazakhstan’s cosmetic practices, discovered the beauty secrets of Korea’s pop music stars, and watched as instructors demonstrated their techniques on selected audience members. Some overseas Korean Cultural Centers now observe Culture Day on the last Wednesday of each month. In Korea, it is a day when many arts and culture venues host special events or offer free or discounted fee. © KOCIS

The Korean embassy’s Korean Film Night has become one of Pretoria’s hidden cultural treasures. This year’s event on July 20 not only featured the 2008 historical drama “The Divine Weapon,” but also offered opportunities to try on Korean traditional clothing, check out traditional crafts and sample Korean food. University students Im Hye-jin and Lizo Masters also gave a lecture on Korean history. The two donned royal garments and put on a situational play about King Sejong the Great, during his reign the “The Divine Weapon” takes place. The lecture was a big hit, delivered as it was with youthful creativity and humor.

Argentines Discover Korean Animation

Korean Cooking Competition Held in the Philippines

The Philippine round of a global Korean cooking contest was held at the Lyceum of the Philippines University Culinary Institute in Manila on July 2. About 500 people attended the event, which also

Historic Moments

Games of Harmony and Progress 1988 Seoul Olympic Games introduced the world to Korea and Korea to the world _ Written by Robert Neff

(Top) Yun Taeung drives an iron hoop during the opening ceremony. (Bottom) Foreign athletes check out Hodori, the mascot of the games.

On Sept. 17, 1988, Korean President Roh Tae-woo officially opened the Games of the 24th Olympiad, better known as the 1988 Summer Olympics. Nearly 100,000 spectators were present, and the media brought the games to billions of people worldwide. In his opening speech, chief organizer Park Seh-jik said, “Our world has overcome numerous obstacles to finally come together here from East and West, North and South, under the sky of Seoul. We have leaped over ideological and political barriers to share in a celebration of harmony and progress, which we earnestly hope will endure long after these games are over.” The theme “harmony and progress” suited Korea well. In just over three decades, it had transformed itself from a wartorn and impoverished nation into one of the world’s leading economies. Also, unlike the previous three Olympics, the 1988 games were not marred by boycotts. During its 17 days, more than 13,000 athletes and officials from 160 countries participated in the Olympiad and were supported by more than 27,000 volunteers. There were 237 events in 23 sports with an additional six demonstration sports including taekwondo. With 33 medals, 12 of them gold, South Korea was the only Asian nation to finish in the top 10. Only the Soviet Union, East Germany and the United States ranked higher. It was the last great sporting event before the collapse of the Soviet Union and the reunification of East and West Germany marked the end of the Cold War.

Great changes and a lasting legacy

While the Olympiad enabled Korea to introduce itself to the world, it also gave many Koreans a chance to learn more about the world. Prior to 1988, very few Koreans were allowed to travel abroad. However, in January 1989, overseas travel restrictions were lifted and the number of Koreans traveling abroad dramatically increased. Studying abroad also became popular, eventually bringing large numbers of Korean students to the United States and Europe. Vestiges of the Olympics can be found throughout Seoul and are still enjoyed by the Korean public, as well as foreign residents and visitors. For instance, the Olympic Expressway is a vital transportation artery along the Hangang River. The river, which was extensively cleaned up for the Olympics, is now filled with water-skiers, windsurfers and sailboats. Along its banks are vast parks and green spaces equipped with jogging and bike trails. The Olympiad helped bring Korea to the outside world and also allowed the country to demonstrate its true ability and potential. It is perhaps for these reasons that it has been described as one of the greatest and most successful events in South Korea’s history.

KOREA _ September _ 47

Flavor

©I

To d

Nokdu Bindaetteok The perfect dish for a rainy evening _ Written by Cynthia Yoo Photographed by ao studio Kang Jinju Stylized by 101recipe

Go to any makgeolli bar or traditional market, and chances are you’ll see huge piles of savory pancakes called bindaetteok. They’re a popular anju dish paired with makgeolli and other traditional Korean liquors. Bindaetteok is a type of jeon that can be made with all sorts of ingredients ‒ vegetables, fish and meat are all popular choices. The main ingredients are chopped and coated with flour and eggs before being pan-fried. There are hundreds of varieties of jeon in Korea, and these vary across regions. Nokdu bindaetteok, or mung bean pancakes, were originally rather small and were placed at the bottom of jesa meat dishes to stabilize the “towers” of meat offered to the ancestors as part of the annual ritual at Chuseok. The dish was first mentioned in a 17th-century Korean cookbook, “Eumsik Dimibang” by Lady Jang of the Andong clan. Originally smaller and more of a side dish, now one bindaetteok is large enough for two or three people to share. What sets good bindaetteok apart is the use of fresh

KOREA _ September _ 48

ingredients that retain their flavors and textures. The minced pork, mung bean sprouts, kimchi and vegetables should be evenly spread out and not drowned in batter. The pancake should have a golden, crispy texture and shouldn’t be greasy or mushy. In certain low-end establishments, the bindaetteok smells and tastes of old grease. However, since many of these makgeolli bars are second- or third-round stops, few customers notice. People often eat jeon when it rains because the sizzling oil sounds like raindrops. Bindaetteok is also popular because mung beans are packed with nutrients, including potassium, vitamin B and iron. Also, according to traditional medicine, mung beans also have detoxification properties. Whatever your reasons, you can easily fry up some nokdu bindaetteok following our recipe, but you can also head to famous bindaetteok shops at markets like Kwang Jang Market. You can also try Nokdu Alley near Seoul National University, famous for its student makgeolli bars, but many historic bars have closed down in recent years.

__ How to make Nokdu Bindaetteok: Soak skinned mung beans and glutinous rice in water overnight. Put the soaked beans and rice in a food processor with some water and blend until creamy. Add ingredients such as kimchi, minced meat, mung bean sprouts, green onions and egg. Season with salt, pepper and sesame oil. Heat a pan over medium heat and fry about a cup of the mixture at a time to make round pancakes 15 centimeters in diameter. Prepare a dipping sauce by combining soy sauce, vinegar, and a dash of red chili powder.

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Korean Keyword

Gamchilmat _ Written by Lim Jeong-yeo Illustrated by Kim Yoon-myung

That savory flavor can add punch to other aspects of life, too

감칠맛 | Gamchilmat

If a dish is bland, Koreans say it lacks gamchilmat. The noun mat means “flavor,” and gamchilmat is a rich, savory quality found abundantly in foods that have gained depth over time. Strong soup broths are full of gamchilmat. Gamchilmat is the newest addition to the world of flavor and stands alongside what used to be considered the four pillars of international cuisine. The four basic flavors, as categorized more than 2,000 years ago by the Greek thinker Democritus and reiterated by Aristotle and many others, are bitterness, sweetness, saltiness and sourness. In Korean, they are sseunmat, danmat, jjanmat and sinmat. These categories endured for centuries, but connoisseurs and even some ordinary people sensed that they were incomplete. What about spiciness, or maeunmat? What about the taste that made soup broths so delicious? Spiciness, experts discovered, was not a flavor, as it was not the taste buds but the pain receptors in the mouth that created this sensation. In the early part of the 20th century, gamchilmat joined the flavor canon and became the fifth pillar thanks to Japanese chemist Kikunae Ikeda. Ikeda found that glutamic acid was common in cheese, tomatoes, meat broth and soy sauce. Stabilized monosodium glutamate became the magic seasoning MSG, a popular way to enhance gamchilmat. The product’s gustatory appeal popularized the word, which has since spread to many areas of life in addition to cooking. For example, a well-told narrative can be said to have gamchilmat. Even a banal story can have gamchilmat if artfully delivered. In such a situation, the audience will praise the storyteller for his or her gamchilmannaneun stories. This figure of speech, literally translated, means the stories “taste delicious,” or in other words they have been told with flair.

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September 2016