Koreamagazine1610 en by KOCIS

CONTENTS

Special Issue

Policy Review

Korean Archery Shoots and Scores

Innovations in Renewable Energy

Cover Story

Brand Korea

Hangeul: A Gold Medal Writing System

Promoting Creative Korea

Korea’s indigenous alphabet is one of mankind’s greatest intellectual achievements

40 Summit Diplomacy

President Park Attends G-20

18 Travel

Korea’s Confucian Academies

Creative Economy

Dongdaemun Leads Korean Fashion

24 People 1

Chef Kim So-hyi

Global Korea

Korean Cultural Center Activities

28 People 2

Film Critic Darcy Paquet

47 Historic Moments

Joining the OECD

Arts & Entertainment

Remembering Media Artist Nam June Paik

48 Flavor

Yeongyangbap

Korea & I

Hangeul Calligraphy

Korean Keyword

Chakada

34 Korea in Brief

Korea Monthly Update

October 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 © photo.korea.kr

Special Issue

The National Sport Shoots and Scores The roots of Korea’s archery success _ Written by Hahna Yoon

2 KOREA _ October _ 4

The audience is hushed for a full 15 seconds as Chang Hye-jin tucks her hand around the curve of her chin and presses the bowstring against her lips for her second gold medal at the Rio Olympics. The tension is so thick that even from your small livingroom television, you want to close your eyes as the arrow travels 70 meters to its target. As a Korean archer, not only do you have your own personal goals to achieve, you have your country’s reputation to uphold. After all, a simple internet search for “Korean archers” will turn up this result from the questionand-answer site Quora: “Why are Koreans so good at archery?” New York Magazine ran an article this past August detailing Korea’s archery success. Its tone was almost one of bewilderment: “The country, which already holds nearly every world and Olympic record, took gold in every archery event in Rio … That brings their gold-medal count to 22 (38 medals total) since joining the sport in 1984. The United States is next in line … with eight.” Dominating not only the Olympics, but also the Asian Games, Korean women in particular have been champions of the sport, making domestic competition to represent Korea fiercer than international competition.

1 The Korean women’s archery team wins its eighth straight gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

A sport with a long history

This past Rio 2016 Olympic Games proved to be not too different from Olympics past. Despite windy conditions, Chang Hye-jin’s moment of tension materialized into one of pure joy as she took away the gold for the women’s individual. Defeating the

2 Korea’s gold-medalwinning archers hold up their medals.

3 Ku Bon-chan of the Korean archery team trains for the Rio Olympic Games. 4 Chang Hye-jin competes in the gold medal round of the women’s individual event at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

United States’ archery team, Ku Bon-chan from the Korean men’s archery team became the country’s first archer to win two gold medals at a single Olympics. Then, in Rio’s first world record, Kim Woo-jin from the men’s team scored an impressive 700 points with 72 arrows. Koreans following the Rio Olympics couldn’t help but beam with pride at the headlines. “Republic of Korea’s archers extend their Olympic reign,” read the official Olympics website. “Korean archers enjoy unprecedented gold medal sweep,” reported The Indian Express. With four gold medals this summer, the Korean archery gold medal count now comes to a boast-worthy 23. World No. 1 Choi Mi-sun, who was eliminated in the women’s individual quarterfinals, was seen practicing alone after the disappointing loss, saying at a press conference upon arriving home that she needed to practice harder. Her comment, like the Quora discussion, recalled the earlier questions: What is it that these winning Korean archers are doing right? How can I do it better? When attempting to explain why Koreans excel at archery, one might point to the nation’s long

KOREA _ October _ 5

history of the sport. With the first traces of a reflex bow dating back to the first century B.C., the sport has been encouraged as a way to increase focus and concentration. The traditional Korean bow, called a gakgung, is often called the gukgung, the national bow, because of the sport’s strong ties to the country. Unlike the Western bow, the gakgung is typically a composite bow made of horn from a water buffalo with an oak handle that uses a thumb draw and a thumb ring. (The thumb draw and a thumb ring are different for men and women.) According to Confucian tradition, practicing archery was a virtuous sport, “the way of a gentleman.” For this reason, it was compulsory for all Joseon kings and their sons to practice the sport. Korea’s myths and legends are closely tied to archery. The founder of Goguryeo, King Dongmyeong, asked for a bow and arrow as soon as he could speak and it was said that he could kill five flies with one arrow. The founding king of Joseon, Yi Seonggye, was also a noted archer and relied heavily on archery as a method of war. For a period during this time, Koreans were referred to as dong-yi by the Chinese. The second character yi meant “big bow” and alluded to their shooting skills. Starting in Joseon, knowing how to use a bow and arrow

became a crucial portion of the military service exam and remained so until 1894. Despite archery’s continued importance to the Korean identity, its use as a military weapon fell out of favor after the introduction of modern Western weaponry in the late 19th century. Though its use in battle was declining, archery found its home as a competitive sport in 1899 when Prince Heinrich of Prussia attended archery demonstrations during one of his visits with King Gojong. At the prince’s recommendation, the Korean king declared archery a national sport, reviving interest in the activity. Some of the former military practicing grounds were even turned into archery clubs. Notably, the Hwanghakjeong Pavilion was built during this time. It still serves as an archery field, and even today, it is the site of the Nationwide Archery Competition. 1 “Shooting an Arrow” by Kim Hong-do, late 18th century 2 Archers dressed in traditional attire demonstrate the use of the gukgung.

An archery superpower

According to “Comparison of Archery Traditions in Korea” by Thomas Duvernay and Moon-ok Lee at Yeungnam University, archery as it is known today largely took shape during the Japanese colonial era. “In the 1920s, when restrictions were loosened, two very important things came about,” the authors

KOREA _ October _ 6

write. One was the establishment of the Joseon Archery Association in 1922 and the other was the publication of the book “Joseon Archery” in 1929. “The former was the genesis of what would become the Korea Traditional Archery Association,” write Duvernay and Lee, “and the latter was the basis for all rules, regulations and tradition in Korean traditional archery.” Nevertheless, the sport remained exclusive to an elite few until the 1970s when modern archery re-entered the Olympics after a 52-year absence. Unlike traditional Korean archery, where the archer stands 145 meters from the target, Western-style archery involves shooting from 90 meters away. Some speculated that Western-style archery was unsuited to the Korean physique, yet archery rose in popularity once again in 1984 when 17-year-old Seo Hyang-soon became the first Korean gold medalist in the women’s individual competition and Kim Jinho took the bronze medal. Since then, South Korea has remained an archery superpower and the roots of its strength remain a mystery. While Korean discipline and focus are said to play a part, some point out that the sport is also particularly well funded and promoted. Children are encouraged to take up the sport with fervor as early

3 Seo Hyang-soon (right) and Kim Jin-ho (left) compete at the women’s 50m event at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. 4 Members of the Korean women’s archery team proudly wave their home flag after winning a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. 5 Archers compete in the men’s 90m event at the 95th National Games.

as age 5 or 6. Training plays a large part in how these master archers shoot. Online forums are full of anecdotal rumors such as that the Korean coaches make the players practice in graveyards at night to strengthen their courage and boldness, in baseball stadiums during games to desensitize them to noise, and on Jeju Island to enhance their wind calculation. Another guess involves Korean eating habits. Yang Chang-hoon, the coach of the women’s team, was quoted in a Reuters report as saying, “I don’t think that there is anything special about Koreans’ physical attributes, but I think since Koreans use chopsticks a lot we do have special hand skills and that has helped.” Whatever their secret, practice and the will to succeed can’t help but help. Finishing off this past Rio Olymp ics, Ku Bon-chan was quoted in a Reuters report as saying, “Korea has been doing really well so far, but this is a big step further. This will be a steppingstone for Korean archery to further improve in the future.” His words, as well as the determination of all the archers, continue to serve as an inspiration to the rest of the nation.

3 © Yonhap News

KOREA _ October _ 7

Cover Story

Hangeul: A Gold Medal Writing System © Cultural Heritage Administration

__ Koreans view Hangeul as their greatest cultural achievement. The “Hunminjeongeum Haeryebon,” an explanatory text for the alphabet published in 1446, was added to the UNESCO Memory of the World Register in 1997.

KOREA _ October _ 8

Korea’s indigenous alphabet is one of mankind’s greatest intellectual achievements _ Written by Robert J. Fouser, former associate professor, Department of Korean Language Education, Seoul National University

If there were an “Olympics of writing systems,” Hangeul would certainly sweep the gold medals. Linguists, Korean and non-Korean alike, have long praised Hangeul for its uniqueness among writing systems. The late James McCawley, a noted linguist at the University of Chicago, held annual Hangeul Day parties with fellow linguists from the 1970s until his death in 1999. In an interview that is available on YouTube, he said, “Hangeul is the most ingeniously devised writing system that exists.” Similarly, Geoffrey Sampson, a noted scholar on writing systems, said, “Hangeul must be unquestionably ranked as one of the greatest intellectual achievements of humankind.” Koreans view Hangeul as their greatest cultural achievement. Hangeul Day is celebrated on Oct. 9 every year, and is the only national holiday in the world that honors a writing system. (North Korea celebrates the equivalent of Hangeul Day on Jan. 15, though not as a national holiday.) King Sejong the Great completed the development of Hangeul in 1443 and promulgated it officially in 1446 after three years of trial and application to actual use.

The preamble to the promulgation is as famous to Koreans as, say, the Declaration of Independence is to Americans: Because the speech of this country is different from that of China, the spoken language does not match the Chinese characters. As a result many common people cannot express their concerns adequately. Saddened by this, I have developed 28 new letters. It is my wish that people may learn these letters easily and that they be convenient for daily use. The preamble has since become a symbol of “Koreanness” and is used as a decorative motif for wallpaper, scarves, and even coffee mugs. Increasing numbers of foreign learners of Korean are discovering the masterful simplicity of Hangeul.

A scientific, philosophical writing system Hangeul is unique in many ways. Of the G20 nations, Korea is the only nation with a writing system invented especially for its language. All other major languages use writing systems that either evolved slowly through years of use or were borrowed

This work of Hangeul calligraphy by Park Byoung-chul is the Korean word for “clothing,” but its shape resembles a human being.

KOREA _ October _ 9

ÂŠ Ryu Seung-hoo

The statue of King Sejong at Gwanghwamun Plaza

ÂŠ Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

KOREA _ October _ 10 You can explore the past, present and future of Hangeul at the National Hangeul Museum.

from other languages. Korea is one of the few nations in the world with a writing system that can truly be called its own. This explains why Koreans associate Hangeul with their national identity. The most extraordinary feature of Hangeul is that the letters indicate the shape of the tongue and mouth in making the particular sound. In linguistics, this is referred to as the “place of articulation,” and Hangeul is the only writing system that shows this. In categorizing the world’s writing systems, Geoffrey Sampson created a category, “featural writing system,” just for Hangeul. This is what linguists are referring to when they describe Hangeul as “scientific.” The letter ㄱ, for example, shows the tongue being raised in the back of the mouth when pronouncing the /k/ and /g/ sounds. The letter ㄴshows the tongue raised toward the front of the mouth when pronouncing the /n/ sound. The letter ㅅ suggests a pointy tooth and indicates the location of the tongue right behind the teeth in pronouncing the /s/ and /sh/ sounds. A more abstract example is the letter ㅁ, which roughly shows the shape of the lips and the low position of the tongue in pronouncing the /m/ sound. The addition of extra lines in Hangeul letters indicates the addition of a new phonetic element to a basic sound. The addition of a short line to ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ and ㅈ, for example, indicates aspiration, or the sound of air flowing, for ㅋ, ㅌ, ㅍ and ㅊ. Likewise, the doubling of the letters ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ and ㅈ to form ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃand ㅉ indicates a strong sound. Hangeul also has a philosophical side, which is unique among writing systems. The vowels are divided into “light” and “dark” vowels, reflecting the ideas of “yin” and “yang,” the two polar opposites that coexist and complement each other in nature in East Asian philosophy. Letters for light vowels all have short lines, which were originally dots, facing up or to the right, whereas letters for dark vowels are all written with short lines facing down or to the left.

Economy of word

__ Korea is one of the few nations in the world with a writing system that can truly be called its own. This explains why Koreans associate Hangeul with their national identity.

Hangeul is also one of the most economical writing systems. All of the letters are combinations of two common shapes: lines and circles. Hangeul has only 24 distinct letters (four of the original 28 letters have become obsolete and are no longer used), 14 consonants and 10 vowels, making it easy to learn and easy to write. Hangeul is also easily adapted to computers, mobile phones and other electronic devices. Some researchers in the history of information technology have argued that the ease of

g eu

n /h/ + /a/ + /n/

/g/ + /eu/ + /l/

ㅁ

/g, k/

/n/

/m/

/s/

/k/

/d, t/

/b, p/

/j/

/t/

/p/

/ch/

/ng/

/h/

ㄱ ㅈ

/l, r/

/kk/

/tt/

/pp/

/ss/

/jj/

Principles underlying the Hangeul system

KOREA _ October _ 11

inputting Hangeul into a computer or mobile phone stimulated the early diffusion of IT in Korea. Another economical aspect of Hangeul is its efficient use of space. The letters are organized into syllables that fit into squares. The syllables are then lined up to make words, and, unlike in Chinese and Japanese, spaces are placed between words. The grouping of letters into syllable blocks saves space and makes Hangeul easy to read because syllables often contain a meaning. The word “Hangeul,” for example, is composed of two syllables: “Han” which means “Korea,” and “geul,” which means “letter.” Some researchers in communication have argued that the economy of Hangeul allows more meaning to be conveyed in a limited space, which contributed to the early spread of social media in Korea.

ㅣ ㅣ

ㅡ

ㅏ ㅑ ㅓ ㅕ ㅗ ㅛ

ㅣ ㅡ ㅁ ㅣ ㅡ ㄴ ㅣ ㄴ ㅡ ㄹ

아 름 다 운 한 글

ㅣ ㅣ ㅡ ㅇ ㄹ ㄷ ㅇ ㅎ ㄱ

Since Hangeul allows users to compose letters from just a handful of basic forms, it’s easy to write using even the small keyboard of a mobile phone.

Growing international interest

Student at the King Sejong Institute in Algiers, Algeria © Yonhap News

KOREA _ October _ 12

Hangeul was not always revered in Korea as it is today. The promulgation of Hangeul caused a flurry of experimentation with the new writing system, but it failed to dislodge classical Chinese as the dominant written form. Hangeul was used in diaries, poetry and popular stories during the Joseon period (1392-1910). The Japanese imperialist invasion of Korea in the late 19th century destroyed the centuries-old Sinocentric world, causing a nationalistic awakening to resist Japanese influence. Nationalists adopted Hangeul as a symbol of Korea’s independence, and promoted its use as the primary writing system in Korea. During the dark years of Japanese colonial rule from 1910 to 1945, the Korean Language Research Society promoted Hangeul through classes and the publication of books and dictionaries. After liberation, Hangeul became dominant, though Chinese characters continued to be taught, mainly for cultural literacy. Founded in 1991, the National Institute of the Korean Language is responsible for standardizing Hangeul orthography and promoting the proper use of Hangeul

Students study Korean at the University of Dodoma in Tanzania.

__ Korea’s rise in stature after democratization and the Seoul 1988 Olympic Games moved more foreigners to learn Korean, which has helped spread global awareness of Hangeul.

ÂŠ The King Sejong Institute Foundation

Participants in a lesson on Hangeul calligraphy at the King Sejong Institute in Bonn, Germany, show off their work.

ÂŠ Yonhap News

Students take a Korean language exam at the Korea Education Center in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

KOREA _ October _ 13

1 © Lee Seung Ho

1 Yoon Min Goo’s “Original Drawing in City” is on display at the 2015 International Typography Biennale. 2 Yeo Tae-myong’s “Model of Hunminjeongeum Vowels and Consonants” on display at the Hangeul Gallery in Jeonju 3 A visitor at the 2011 International Typography Biennale passes by a piece titled “3D Variation,” by Han Jae-joon. 4 Two fonts created by Ahn Sang-soo, a pioneer in Hangul typeface design: “Ahnsangsoo” and “Ahnsangsoo Rounded”

KOREA _ October _ 14

among the people. Korea’s rise in stature after democratization and the Seoul 1988 Olympic Games moved more foreigners to learn Korean, which has helped spread global awareness of Hangeul. Universities in Korea and overseas started Korean language programs and the number of learners gradually rose. Interest in learning Korean took a jump in the 2000s as Korean TV shows became popular in Asia and more foreigners began to live and work in Korea. The worldwide spread of K-pop in the 2010s caused another jump in foreigners learning Korean. The boom is reflected in the Modern Language Association’s survey of foreign language enrolment in U.S. universities. The number of students studying Korean rose from 101 in 1970 to 365 in 1980, 2,375 in 1990, 5,211 in 2002, and 12,229 in 2013, the most recent year in which a survey took place. Universities in China and Japan have seen similar sharp jumps in enrolment. Perhaps more important is the opening of new programs in places where Korean language classes had not existed. This gives more people the opportunity to learn Korean and has helped strengthen Korea’s relationship with smaller countries through language and cultural exchange. The Korea Foundation, which was founded in 1991 to promote Korean studies, has offered financial support for universities overseas to hire Korean language and Korean studies professors ‒ critical to maintaining a language program over time. As of 2013, the foundation has established 113 professorships at 76 universities in 12 countries around the world. Of these, 38 have a language component. In 2005, the Korean government established the King Sejong Institute to promote Korean language education overseas. The King Sejong Institute follows in the tradition of the Alliance Française (France), the British Council (United Kingdom), the Goethe-Institut (Germany) and the Confucius Institute (China) as a flagship organization to promote cultural

5 The Korean Pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai Expo incorporates Hangeul into its design. 6 Fashion designer Lie Sangbong is renowned for his Hangeul-inspired designs.

__ In 2015, some 91,000 foreign students were studying in Korean universities. Of these, 22,000 were enrolled in Korean language programs.

exchange and language teaching. The King Sejong Institute differs from these organizations in that it has focused on supporting locally run small schools in places where no Korean language program exists. In recent years, the institute has grown rapidly and now has about 60,000 students enrolled in its 143 schools in 57 countries. It also sponsors various exchange programs for teachers and learners of Korean. In July 2016, the Korean government announced that other schools teaching Korean overseas would use the King Sejong Institute name for their programs and materials. The boom in Korean language learning has also brought more foreign students to Korea. In 2015, some 91,000 foreign students were studying in Korean universities. Of these, 22,000 were enrolled in Korean language programs, 33,000 in undergraduate degree programs, 23,000 in graduate degree programs and 13,000 in other programs. Chinese students make up 59 percent of the total with 54,000, with students from Vietnam (4.9 percent), Japan (3.8 percent), Mongolia (3.4 percent) and the U.S. (3.2 percent) rounding out the top five. Though language requirements

vary by university and major, it seems probable that most of these students have learned Korean to some degree and many are fluent. The number of foreign students grew dramatically in the 2000s, but has slowed somewhat in the 2010s. Individuals have also played an important role in the Korean language boom through websites, blogs and videos that spread as social media gained popularity in the 2010s. One of the most popular websites is “Talk to Me in Korean,” founded in 2009 by Hyunwoo Sun. Sun and his colleagues have produced over 1,000 video lessons and a number of books. They also reach a large learner base through YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Another popular website is “KoreanClass101,” which has an extensive collection of video lessons. A number of short videos and comics focusing on teaching Hangeul have also appeared. One such example is the short comic series by Ryan Estrada titled “Learn to Read Korean in 15 Minutes.”

Hangeul in the arts

Hangeul’s uniqueness has interested designers, who like to play with the

KOREA _ October _ 15

A Starbucks sign written in Korean in the Insa-dong area of Seoul

__ Hangeul’s uniqueness has interested designers, who like to play with the shapes.

Visitors take in an exhibit at the 2015 Hangeul Culture Festival. © Korea Craft & Design Foundation

KOREA _ October _ 16

shapes. Ahn Sang-Soo, a former professor of typography and design at Hongik University in Seoul and founder of Ahn Graphics Ltd., is the founder of contemporary typography in Korea. His experimentation with Hangeul gave subsequent generations of designers the confidence to think out of the box and create new designs using Hangeul. A number of Korean artists have also experimented with Hangeul in their work. Kang Ik-joong, an installation artist, makes extensive use of Hangeul in his installations. His most famous Hangeulrelated work is the Korean Pavilion for the 2010 Shanghai Expo. The building combined various Hangeul letters and was covered with 40,000 Hangeul-themed aluminum panels. The underside of the building was decorated with brightly colored Hangeul sentences. Foreign graphic designers, meanwhile, have begun to take an interest in Hangeul. Hsin Yin Low, a Malaysian designer, created a stencil typeface for Hangeul called “Nanul.” Likewise, Joe Burke, a British designer, created a Hangeul typeface called “Baurean,” which draws on the Braun typeface created in 1952 by Wolfgang Schmittel. Other international designers, such as Kelvin Kottke in New York and Venise Abed in France, have designed Hangeul logos for businesses. In recent years, several museums overseas have held exhibitions on Hangeul. In 2009, the UC Davis Design Museum held an exhibition titled “Typographic Exploration in Hangul: Work by Hyunju Lee and Phil Choo.” In 2013, the GodwinTernbach Museum at Queens College in New York held an exhibition of Hangeul calligraphy by New York-based Yoo Sung Lee, who goes by the name “Aram.” Calligraphy also helped Hangeul Planet, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting Hangeul, get off the ground in 2013. The organization grew out of various “Hangeul parties” to help Korean adoptees and their parents learn about Korean culture through calligraphy.

Typojanchi 2015: Fourth International Typography Biennale

Hangeul has made its way into fashion as designers have drawn on its simple beauty for inspiration. Renowned fashion designer Lie Sangbong has experimented with Hangeul motifs and is known for the bold Hangeul calligraphy covering his garments. Lie opened his first shop overseas in New York in 2015. The National Hangeul Museum, which opened in 2014, is the first national museum in the world dedicated to a writing system. The museum provides a comprehensive introduction to the linguistic and cultural history of Hangeul. Hangeul-related exhibits can be found in other museums in Seoul, such as the National Museum of Korea (located across from the National Hangeul Museum), the King Sejong Story exhibition in Gwanghwamun, the Central Buddhist Museum in Insa-dong, the King Sejong the Great Memorial Hall in Dongdaemun-gu, and the Choe Hyeon-bae Memorial Hall in Ulsan. In October 2016, several important Hangeul events will be held. The Hangeul Cultural Festival will announce the results of a public Hangeul calligraphy contest, sponsored by the city of Ulsan in honor of native son Choe Hyeon-bae, one of the most famous Hangeul scholars of the 20th century. The Yonsei University Korean Language Institute will sponsor its 25th annual Korean language writing contest for foreign nationals on Hangeul Day, October 9. The National Hangeul Museum and other organizations will also hold Hangeul Day events. In 2015, the Korean government drew up plans for a National Museum of World Writing Systems in the Songdo International Business District in Incheon to create a platform for international exchange on writing systems and to foster an understanding of Hangeul in a broader historical and linguistic context. Upon its completion in 2020, Korea will be the only nation in the world with two national museums on writing systems ‒ surely an appropriate way to honor its medal-worthy writing system.

Interview

Bringing Hangeul to the World Calligrapher Park Byoung-chul transforms Korea’s writing system into art

_ Written by Robert Koehler

“Hangeul is an alphabet of love, born of King Sejong the Great’s love for the people.” Park Byoung-chul is one of Korea’s best-loved calligraphers. His iconic words of encouragement have graced Seoul’s landmark Kyobo Building since 2009, and his handiwork appears on countless consumer products and advertisements. Over the last couple of years, however, he has worked to bring the beauty of Hangeul to the world as a member of Hangeul Planet, a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing original content for Korea’s UNESCOrecognized indigenous writing system. In 2013, he held a special calligraphy demonstration, or “Hangeul Party,” for Korean adoptees in Minnesota. This got such a positive response that he followed it up with shows in Illinois, Minnesota and New York in 2015 and Alabama and Minnesota again in 2016. “The foreigners who see my work respond well. They are surprise and interested,” he says. “They say it’s beautiful. Hangeul is so easy to learn you could call it a ‘morning alphabet’ because you could learn it all in a single morning...I think if you put all these strengths together, Hangeul has great potential as an excellent Hallyu item.”

“Hangeul calligraphy is making this simple alphabet bloom by putting it in the wind.”

Making Hangeul bloom

A star rugby player in his youth, Park gave up sports for a life in the arts. “I enjoyed drawing, writing, imagining and creating more,” he says. He first found work as a graphic

designer, which enlivened his artistic sensibilities. He found particular joy in Hangeul calligraphy. At the age of 40, he quit his job and began life as a calligrapher. He recalls, “I thought I must find the beauty of Hangeul and express how today’s people feel through calligraphy.” While Hangeul may be one of the world’s most utilitarian writing systems, in the hands of a calligrapher it becomes a malleable artistic material. “Hangeul, prior to it becoming a medium for calligraphy, was simple and not very diverse,” Park explains. “Hangeul calligraphy is making this simple alphabet bloom by putting it in the wind.” He believes the future of Hangeul is bright because, he explains, not only is it an alphabet that can express every sound in the world, but you can also add feeling and life to each and every letter through calligraphy. “The coming together of Hangeul and calligraphy was fortunate,” he says. “I am certain that Hangeul art produced by Hangeul calligraphy will long be loved by the people of the world.”

KOREA _ October _ 17

Travel

Confucian Grace Three historic academies, or seowon, embody the rustic beauty of Korea’s Confucian past _ Written and photographed by Robert Koehler

The largest surviving seowon, Andong’s Dosan Seowon, was founded by students of the great Neo-Confucian philosopher Yi Hwang in 1574. KOREA _ October _ 18

KOREA _ October _ 19

A graceful pavilion used to provide a place to rest for students of Sosu Seowon, Korea’s oldest royally chartered private Confucian academy.

Pine forest in front of Sosu Seowon

Sosu Seowon’s main lecture hall

KOREA _ October _ 20

Repositories of wisdom. Places of learning. Confucian shrines. Local community centers. Korea’s seowon were all of these things and more. Beginning in the 16th century, prominent scholars and officials began to establish seowon, private Confucian academies that also served as shrines where memorial rites to Confucian sages could be held. Flowering in the middle and late Joseon Dynasty, the academies were a symbol of the rising influence and authority of the sarim, the rustic Neo-Confucian literati who were often at odds with the entrenched elites who dominated royal politics. Hundreds of seowon and former seowon sites are found throughout Korea. Nine especially well-preserved ones have been on UNESCO’s tentative list for World Heritage Status since 2011. A

trio of them in the rugged countryside of southeast Korea - Yeongju’s Sosu Seowon and Andong’s Dosan Seowon and Byeongsan Seowon - are treasures of Korean classical architecture, their restrained beauty and harmonization with the landscape reflecting the rural gentry’s simple, austere tastes and reverence for nature.

Centers of academic and spiritual enrichment

Prior to the 16th century, learning was the preserve of a state-operated system of schools. A series of sometimes bloody purges in the first half of the 16th century, however, drove many high-minded scholars into the countryside, where they concentrated on Neo-Confucian studies, spiritual training and teaching. In 1543, Ju Se-bung, the magistrate

The main lecture hall of Byeongsan Seowon provides inspired views of the Mandaeru Pavilion and the mountain and river beyond.

of Punggi (in today’s Yeongju), founded Sosu Seowon as a shrine to the 13thcentury scholar An Hyang and as a place to teach students the Confucian classics. In 1550, Yi Hwang, the renowned scholar and Ju’s successor as Punggi magistrate, secured a royal charter for the school, making it the country’s first royally recognized seowon. Other scholars founded schools soon after, including Yi Hwang’s own students, who founded Andong’s Dosan Seowon in honor of their master in 1574. By the late Joseon Dynasty, there were over 200 seowon across the kingdom. They sought to create an individual who was both academically learned and spiritually good. Students not only learned the Chinese classics and other works of Confucian philosophy, but also carried out memorial rites for sages of the past.

By the late 19th century, however, seowon were just as often vehicles of factional strife as they were centers of higher learning. To rectify this and solidify his own authority against the rural gentry, Heungseon Daewongun, the powerful prince regent, closed all but 47 of them in 1871. Entrance of Byeongsan Seowon

Relaxation, learning and remembrance

In keeping with their role, seowon possess separate spaces for learning, living and memorial rites. Typically, the front area consists of gardens, pavilions and other facilities where hard-studying students could relax. In the middle of the compound, you’ll find lecture halls and dormitories. Furthest inside, meanwhile, is the shrine where the memorial tablets of sages are enshrined.

Main lecture hall of Byeongsan Seowon

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1, 2. People perform the memorial rites at Byeongsan Seowon. 3. Signboard of Dosan Seowon’s main lecture hall 4. Visitors in Hanbok pose for photos at Sosu Seowon.

Seowon reflect the Neo-Confucian pursuit of balance and restraint. The schools are often modest in scale. Painting and decoration are kept to a minimum, giving structures a rustic, unadorned beauty.

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Seowon reflect the Neo-Confucian pursuit of balance and restraint. The schools are often modest in scale. Painting and decoration are kept to a minimum, giving structures a rustic, unadorned beauty. Instead, spaces use the surrounding landscape to maximum scenic effect.

Sosu Seowon: Korea’s first

From the small, ginseng-producing town of Punggi, take the road toward Buseoksa Temple and you’ll pass a beautiful forest of gracefully twisting red pine trees. Hidden in this forest is Sosu Seowon, the country’s oldest royally mandated Confucian academy, founded in 1543 and chartered in 1550. Like other seowon, Sosu Seowon is located in an especially lovely location,

with the pine forest on one side and the Jukgyecheon Stream on the other. The surroundings provide an exceptionally pleasant space to stroll about and relax. The front entrance of the complex overlooks an old pleasure pavilion on the other side of the stream. This is one of the scenic highlights. The main lecture hall, the Myeongnyundang, is a large structure that was completed in 1543. A number of old signboards hang on its interior walls, including one written by King Myeongjong himself when he granted the school its royal charter in 1550. The seowon’s museum houses a very interesting collection of artifacts. Its most important piece, a 16th-century portrait of the scholar An Hyang, is a national treasure.

Dosan Seowon: The house that Toegye built

Yi Hwang (1501-1570), better known by his pen name of Toegye, was a titan of Neo-Confucian philosophy. He and his younger contemporary “Yulgok” Yi are widely regarded as the two greatest scholars of the Joseon era. He preferred a life of learning over a life of political power, frequently turning down appointments to government office in order to pursue his studies. In 1557, Toegye acquired a piece of land in a valley on the southern slope of Andong’s Mt. Dosan. Blessed with scenic views of the surrounding landscape, it was the perfect place to study. In 1560, he completed work on a lecture hall, which he called Dosan Seodang. Toegye passed away in 1570. After the traditional three-year mourning period, his students and local scholars decided to establish a seowon to keep his intellectual spirit alive. In 1574, work began to expand Toegye’s old school, which was renamed Dosan Seowon. The new complex was completed in 1576. Dosan Seowon is the largest of the surviving Confucian academies. The complex consists of over 20 lecture halls, dormitory houses, shrines and other buildings, clustered in a steep, thickly wooded valley overlooking the Nakdonggang River. The compound follows the typical seowon layout: leisure spaces in front, academic buildings in the middle and shrine in the back. The oldest structure is Toegye’s old schoolhouse, Dosan Seodang, which takes up a corner near the front of the academy. Don’t miss the square lotus pond in front of the hall. The seowon’s grand main lecture hall dates from 1574. Han Seok-bong, the 16th-century court calligrapher, reportedly wrote its main signboard himself in the presence of the king.

WHERE TO STAY Hahoe Village, a preserved Joseon Dynasty community, also has a number of guesthouses, including the spectacular Bukchondaek (www.bukchondaek. com), a 200-year-old aristocratic manor. The hanok guesthouses of Seonbichon Village (www.sunbichon.net), next to Sosu Seowon, are another option.

WHAT TO EAT Andong’s specialties include salted mackerel, guksi noodles and jjimdak, the last being a dish of steamed chicken served with vegetables and marinated in a soy-based sauce. Another specialty is “fake memorial ceremony rice,” or heotjesabap, which is a variant of bibimbap that uses soy sauce instead of red pepper paste.

GETTING THERE Trains to Andong depart from Seoul’s Cheongnyangni Station. Buses, meanwhile, depart from Central City Terminal. To get to Dosan Seowon, take bus 67 from in front of Andong Station. To get to Byeongsan Seowon, take bus 46 from Andong Bus Terminal. Trains to Yeongju depart from Seoul’s Cheongnyangni Station. Buses, meanwhile, depart from Dong Seoul Terminal. From Yeongju Bus Terminal, take bus 27 and get off at Sosu Seowon.

Andong Yeongju

Byeongsan Seowon: epitome of Confucian architecture Sosu Seowon may be older, and Dosan Seowon the largest, but neither one of them rivals Byeongsan Seowon in sheer beauty. Byeongsan Seowon was originally just a small roadside Confucian school in Andong’s historic hamlet of Pungsan. Judging the relatively noisy spot to be an inappropriate place for study, renowned scholar and statesman Ryu Seong-nyong (1542-1607) moved the school to a remote valley deep in the mountains. The school became a full-fledged seowon in 1614, after Ryu’s memorial tablet was moved to a newly built shrine on the compound. Even today, Byeongsan Seowon is not a very easy place to reach and sees relatively few visitors, despite being located just a few kilometers away from Hahoe Village, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and popular tourist destination. To reach it, you must first endure a rough ride along an unpaved road that winds its way up an isolated ravine along the Nakdonggang River. Your time and effort are well rewarded, however. Byeongsan Seowon is a treasure of classical Korean architecture that makes inspired use of its sublime surroundings. At the front of the compound is a grand pavilion, the Mandaeru, which is capable of seating over 200 people. It overlooks the Nakdonggang River and, just beyond it, the cliffs of Mt. Byeongsan. The seowon uses the cliffs like a silk folding screen, sublimating the rugged landscape into a decorative garden. The best views are enjoyed from the main lecture hall, the Ipgyodang. From there, you can take in the vista of the long, graceful hipped roof of the Mandaeru in perfect harmony with the river and cliffs beyond.

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People 1

Passion for Food Chef Kim So-hyi brings Korean flavors to the heart of Europe _ Written by Anthony Velasquez Photographed by RAUM Studio

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“I see a lot of potential for Korean food to become more popular globally. More natural food will make Korean food successful, especially in Europe, where there is enormous potential.”

opened a small Japanese restaurant in Vienna when I couldn’t cook. I brought in a chef, but we had problems. I was sad. It was a difficult time. So I closed the restaurant for a while and I thought I would try it on my own. I learned to cook. I practiced making the dishes I liked to eat. Then I reopened the restaurant and it was a big success.” This self-taught chef made real waves in Europe’s culinary scene in 2001 when she opened Kim Kocht, which means “Kim Cooks.” It was widely reported that even the prime minister of Austria had to wait months to get a seat at this intimate, incredibly popular KoreanEuropean fusion restaurant. While Kim acknowledges the popularity of Kim Kocht, she bristles at the word “fusion.” “I don’t like fusion,” she says. “Fusion is just mixing everything. I don’t just mix anything. Korean ingredients are my whole thing. My cooking is based on the five elements based on Eastern medicine and traditions. These elements are for the liver, heart, stomach, lungs and kidney, for balanced health. That’s why I make a direct connection with each guest. A connection with each person is very important to me. I consider the guests’ taste, the flavors they will like, and their health.”

When asked to describe herself, worldfamous chef Kim So-hyi says, “The first thing is, I’m not very charming. I speak very directly. Many people say, ‘Oh, this is good. It’s OK!’ but I tell you if something is not good. It’s not OK.” Aside from being one of Korea’s best chefs, Kim is also a restaurateur, vintner and TV personality. She has written over a dozen cookbooks. Anyone who has seen her in her role as a judge on the popular TV show “Masterchef Korea,” with a taut ponytail befitting her stern demeanor, would concur with her statement about her blunt style. As she sips tea at the Paradise Hotel in her hometown of Busan, however, her candor is rather endearing. Behind her intimidating façade for the camera, she is warm, generous, and an inspirational teacher to a generation of young chefs.

From haute couture to haute cuisine

After being a successful fashion designer, Kim So-hyi made a splash in the dining scene in Vienna, Austria, nearly 20 years ago. It wasn’t easy to find her calling and manifest her dream. “There was money from fashion. I had lots of money, but I didn’t see my future in fashion,” she recounts. “So I

Healthy and functional cuisine © Olive TV

Kim and her fellow judges on Olive TV’s “Master Chef Korea”

While Kim Kocht has closed, another door has opened at Kim So-hyi’s eponymously named restaurant, Kim, also in Vienna. Like Kim Kocht, Kim is bringing Korean cuisine to the forefront of the culinary world and changing perceptions of what Korean food truly is. “When people experience a Korean kitchen in Europe, they usually think Korean food is too spicy, too intense in flavor, so it could be difficult to understand for some Europeans. Korean food is not all spice and pork belly. Korean food is slow food. At my restaurant, I use organic, seasonal, local

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food. Also, I like to cook a lot of fish ‒ seafood ‒ and vegetables. I’m from Busan so I’m inspired by the seafood there. And my mother. I like cooking like my mother. So Korean food is healthy and functional. And delicious. Those are the experiences I share with my guests.”

Inspiration from all over

Kim also shared some other inspirations. While traveling around Europe, Africa and South America to see different kitchens, she has developed a kitchen in her own style. Much of her passion for cooking is inspired by other countries. She also finds inspiration in art, modern dance and film. “Just like an artist has their own philosophy, every cook should have their own philosophy,” she says. Fine arts have, in fact, influenced her approach to fine dining. “I went to an art museum in Bern and saw Paul Klee’s paintings,” she recalls. “He showed me a great story with one point, one dot, one line.” Michel Bras, meanwhile, has provided some of her culinary inspiration.

“I went to his Michelin three-star restaurant in Laguiole, France, seven years ago and I met him and I saw him cook green beans,” she recounts. “He cut the green beans with a small knife so exact. Exact cuts. It was so nice.”

“I like cooking like my mother. Korean food is healthy and functional food. And delicious. That’s the experience I share with my guests.”

Natural, local flavors

She explains that there are two phenomena in Europe today: molecular cooking and ingredients found in nature. “European kitchens like in Sweden and Norway believe less is more. Small ingredients, few ingredients, with food from within 100 kilometers. You can taste the real flavor of the ingredients. That is my interest. Like temple food.” Before returning to Busan, Kim spent two weeks visiting different Buddhist temples around the peninsula to taste, study and cook Korean temple food. Temple food is slow food ‒ predating the international slow food movement by over a millennium ‒ and involves monks growing their own crops or foraging for ingredients in natural areas around the temples. The monks’ cuisine is vegan, meaning they reject the use of animalderived ingredients including meat, milk,

Kim Kocht in Vienna

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Besides introducing authentic, traditional and experimental Korean food to Austria, Kim also wants to introduce Austria to Korea, especially through wine. Her small winery in Vienna produces two white wines and one red that have garnered acclaim in New York, San Francisco, Napa, and the major wine publication Wine Spectator. Like her food, her wines are both traditional and modern. They are made under the label Kocht & Trinkt, which means “Cooks & Drinks,” with 60-yearold vines bearing traditional Austrian grapes and more international varietals, such as muscat, to make a modern cuvee.

Just do it

“Just like an artist has their own philosophy, every cook should have their own philosophy.”

butter and cream. Kim spent a week being mentored by monk-chef Jeong Kwan, whose food has drawn Michelin three-star celebrity chef Eric Ripert from France to visit beautiful Baegyangsa in Jeollanam-do. Clearly, temple food is not just for monks anymore and Kim is introducing these thousand-year-old Korean traditions to Vienna. By focusing on natural, organic ingredients, Korean food is going to make a real impact worldwide, says Kim. “I see a lot of potential for Korean food to become more popular globally. More natural food will make Korean food more successful, especially in Europe, where there is enormous potential,” she says.

Kim then reflected back on her time as a judge on “Masterchef Korea.” While at times she could be very critical ‒ even telling one contestant who seemed to care about cooking in the hopes of landing a future husband, rather than out of a real passion for cooking, “You don’t deserve a man!” ‒ Kim saw her comment as a form of tough love. She couldn’t stress enough the importance of believing in oneself and pursuing one’s passions. “When I started my first restaurant, my biggest problem was with myself. My belief in myself, my lack of confidence, was my biggest problem. I want to put this perception to rest that young, talented Korean cooks can’t make it in Europe. The first generation of Korean cooks had no passion, they just thought about the money. The second generation and third generations, however, are feeling that passion for kimchi, for Korean food. So I want to help the young people know what it means to be in the kitchen, find their own philosophy, make their own kitchen their way. Korean cooks should bring their style and their confidence. The real thing is, do what you want to do and just do it. Just do it. And I did! I did.”

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People 2

With its vivid imagery and daring content, Park Chan-wook’s psychological thriller “The Handmaiden” made an impact all over the world this past spring. Its transplantation of Sarah Waters’ eponymous novel of Victorian England into colonial-era Korea entailed a linguistic challenge: Its characters speak both Korean and Japanese, and it matters to the story which language they use. This posed no problem for Korean viewers, who could simply rely on the subtitles. However, what about viewers in other parts of the world, for whom the onscreen text must do double duty? Those who watched “The Handmaiden” in its English translation saw subtitles written by Darcy Paquet. With the decision made to simultaneously subtitle the film’s Korean and Japanese dialogue, with different colors indicating the two languages, it fell to him to figure out how best to concisely render the script’s linguistic and cultural nuance in English while keeping visual distraction to a minimum. This can prove just as tricky a task in purely Korean-language movies as well, such as Na Hong-jin’s recent dialect-heavy horror picture “The Wailing,” whose “original dialogue has an old, slightly Biblical feel to it.” Now, he’s moved on to another subtitling job, Kim Jee-woon’s 1930s-set drama “The Age of Shadows,” which poses an even greater challenge: “There are, like, five languages in that film.”

Korean Cinema’s Global Ambassador Film critic Darcy Paquet helps bring Korean motion pictures to the world _ Written by Colin Marshall Photographed by RAUM Studio

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Globalization of Korean film?

Paquet is a son of rural Massachusetts who originally came to Korea to teach but went on to become not just a subtitle writer but a film critic, a film professor at Yonsei University, the organizer of the Wildflower Independent Film Awards, and an occasional actor. He has witnessed many trends pass through Korean cinema. The introduction of other languages has “been happening slowly over 15 years, ever since Korea started making

“People have been talking about ‘global Korea.’ In some ways, Korea feels to me more global than it used to, and in other ways not so much. The emphasis has certainly shifted more toward Asia than the United States. There’s a more diverse conception of the global than there used to be.”

blockbusters with foreign locations.” It holds especially for recent historical films, whether set during the colonial period or in the time of “the provisional government or the resistance movement, and in that case you end up in Shanghai.” Linguistic diversity signals the ongoing globalization of film as well as other aspects of Korea, Paquet notes. “People have been talking about ‘global Korea.’ In some ways, Korea feels to me more global than it used to, and in other ways not so much. The emphasis has certainly shifted more toward Asia than the United States. There’s a more diverse conception of the global than there used to be.” As an adviser to the Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy, he’s kept his eye on the place of Korean cinema in the wider world of Asian film ever since festival organizers reached out to him after finding his extensive writing on his website koreanfilm.org. Paquet also plays a similar advisory role to the San Sebastian Film Festival, though his first film festival experience happened right here in 1997, his first year in Korea, at the Busan International Film Festival. Though it has now become the biggest film festival in Asia, the BIFF felt different back then: “It was undeveloped but extremely enthusiastic. The audience was really into it, and you could feel that energy when you were there.” Korean films would occasionally screen at international film festivals back then, but in the early 2000s they broke through in a big way. “Lee Chang-dong won Best Director for ‘Oasis’ at Venice, then Park Chanwook for ‘Oldboy’ at Cannes,” Paquet says. “Kim Ki-duk won two big awards.”

More art-house films needed

Since then, Korean films have turned, for festivalgoers, from an oddity into an expectation. Has Paquet seen a successor generation emerge to take the baton from

Lee, Park, Kim, and the others whose work made Korean cinema into such a high-profile phenomenon? Yes, he says, “but they don’t have anywhere near the powers of the previous one. Partly it was perfect timing for the previous generation. The industry was changing so much, and Korea was changing so much. Producers were looking for young directors, and they were willing to give them a lot of creative rope.” Today’s Korean film industry, to Paquet’s mind, doesn’t produce as many “bigbudget art-house movies” as it could, or as filmmakers can make in Europe. “Directors like Michael Haneke can make a film for between 5 (million) and 10 million dollars. Park Chan-wook, Bong Joon-ho and Kim Jee-woon can do it because they skirt the line between commercial and art-house cinema.” A director like Lee Chang-dong, whose acclaimed “Poetry” played well abroad but underperformed at home, “can’t work with that kind of budget.” A desire to build up the infrastructure of Korean independent film provided an impetus for the launch of the annual Wildflower Independent Film Awards in 2014, a project that, like subtitle writing, uses Paquet’s position between Korea and the West and his ability to “see things from a more removed perspective than Koreans can, but interpret what I see better than an outsider can.” Organizing the awards has made him think not just about the creators of independent films, but their intended audiences as well. “That has to be our focus going forward,” he says. “Not just to present awards, but to try to build an army of independent film watchers throughout the year.” However, the march has only just begun, Paquet concludes. “It takes many years. The process of making a meaningful award ceremony. It’s more complicated than I thought - and more interesting.”

KOREA _ October _ 29

Arts & Entertainment

Ten Years On Exhibitions celebrate the legacy of artist Nam June Paik _ Written by Sonia Hensley Photos courtesy of Gallery YEH

be seen in collections and public spaces around the country. This year, in recognition of the decade since Paik’s passing, many of Korea’s biggest galleries and museums are holding exhibitions dedicated to various aspects of his work.

The TV sculptor

Ten years and 10 months ago, in January 2006, the world lost the beloved artist Nam June Paik. Known as the “father of video art,” Paik was celebrated worldwide for inventing an entire genre by blending videography and installation art. Paik’s most famous and recognizable artistic tool was the television. He used TVs as canvases, sculptural components, and mediums for the videos he produced. His work both criticized and celebrated the television’s place in society, demonstrating how a collective obsession with the moving image was a method of escape and distraction ‒ but also of truly global communication. While the themes Paik explored were heavy, his work never failed to entertain. He was reported to have said, “I come from a poor country, and so I must be entertaining all the time.”

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The tension between Paik’s Korean background and his international life made itself known in his work ‒ pieces like “Ommah,” in which he placed a television inside of a Hanbok, and “Geobuk,” an enormous sculpture in part dedicated to 16th-century naval hero Yi Sun-sin, seem to take enormous pride in Paik’s Korean identity. Paik was not even well known in Korea until his 1984 satellite broadcast, “Good Morning, Mr. Orwell,” was played on KBS. At that point, Paik had not been back to his home country for decades. In 1990, after he was already an international superstar, Paik visited Seoul for the first time in 34 years, where he received a welcome that continues to this day. Korean institutions around the country now embrace Paik as the first Korean artist to have “made it,” and his works can

At Dongdaemun Design Plaza, the exhibition “Paik Nam June Show” introduces Paik’s most iconic works: his TV sculptures. The artist’s playfulness and countercultural spirit can be seen in mischievous pieces like hanging TV chandeliers and human-shaped TV towers created as homages to historical figures. To Paik, the TV was both a device on which he could show his videos, as well as a symbol in itself. He cut out TV screens to fill the boxes with neon drawings, and piled multiple TVs together in enormous architectural shapes. The sounds and signals of the TV also served as a way for Paik, who was a classically trained pianist, to explore the frontiers of music. In his “TV Cello,” three TVs stacked and strung in the form of a cello play videos of other cellos (which were in turn played by a cellist during their debut), while the roomsized video wall “M200” serves as a tribute to Mozart. The Dongdaemun show, hosted by Gallery Yeh, serves as an easy-tounderstand and engaging introduction to the work Paik created at the height of his career. The exhibition’s audio guide is also helpfully narrated in both Korean and

1 TURTLE, 150 x 600 x 1000cm, video installation (166 TV monitors), 1993 2 TV Cello, 70 x 55 x 187cm, video sculpture, 1995

3, 4 The DDP’s Paik Nam June Show marks the 10th anniversary of Paik’s passing. 5 DAVID, 196 x 60 x 300cm, video sculpture,1989

Paik Nam June Show at DONGDAEMUN DESIGN PLAZA MUSEUM www.paiknamjuneshow.com D281, Eulji-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul Admission: KRW 9,000 | Tel. 02-2153-0000 Tuesday - Sunday, 12 noon through 7 p.m. (open through 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, closed Monday) New Gameplay at NAM JUNE PAIK ART CENTER

English by Korean-Canadian musician Tablo, whose own story shares many similarities with Paik’s. The “Paik Nam June Show” is open through the end of October.

The media pioneer

In Suwon, the Nam June Paik Art Center provides a deeper exploration of the themes explored in Paik’s practice, as well as exhibiting new work by those who were inspired by him. During his lifetime, Paik’s use of video and television was shocking because TV was seen as an inaccessible

medium controlled by governments and broadcasters. If Paik were alive today, however, in an age when anyone can create video, perhaps he would turn his eye to a more elusive target ‒ like the bits and bytes of video games. This idea grounds NJP Center’s current exhibition “New Gameplay,” a thoughtful curation of video games as art. Displayed here is the work of artists and designers who, like Paik, have appropriated a medium typically reserved for entertainment and used its structure to probe the intricacies of life, death and human consciousness. Creations include a first-person shooter set in East Germany

www.njpartcenter.org 10 Paiknamjune-ro, Giheung-gu, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do Admission: KRW 4,000 | Tel. 31-201-8500 Monday - Sunday 10 a.m. through 6 p.m. (closed every first Monday of the month)

that you can only win by not shooting; an ominous landscape populated by the designer’s memories that he deliberately recorded for a year, Truman-show style; the “Painstation,” a version of Pong that includes painful sensory feedback for the losers; and even a completely blank game with no images or text that is, in actuality, an homage to Paik’s 1964 blank film, “Zen for Film.” In 1992, late in his career, Paik said, “World history teaches us that even if we can’t win the game, we can change the rules.” In this exhibition, the spirit of his statement lives on.

KOREA _ October _ 31

Korea & I

Art of the Brush Korean calligraphy can be a very introspective art _ Written by Myriam Greusard Illustrated by Kim Yoon-myung

KOREA _ October _ 32

As a European, what struck me the most after arriving in Asia was the writing. The realization that suddenly I was unable to read compounded my culture shock. From bookshelves to street signs, my inability to decode public information left me feeling powerless, almost lost, and I faced a growing sense of frustration. How was I supposed to explore my new environment or benefit from the local lifestyle without relying on the hit-andmiss of Google Translate? For the past seven years I’ve attempted to force my stubborn, Roman alphabet-based brain to work its way around the basics of simplified and traditional Chinese - and, more recently, of the Hangeul signs here in Seoul. I became interested in the way the characters looked and in how they were created, finding beauty in the calligraphy. My arrival in Seoul elevated this interest because I found the Korean signs easier to read than Chinese. Finally, I could see patterns and not just vertical and horizontal shapes. Then I met a Korean artist and calligraphist. She showed me the meditative rituals around calligraphy, such as how the room needs to be empty of furniture, the way the ink is made by gently rubbing the meok on the byeoru, the range of brushes with soft natural hair, the rice paper. Calligraphy was presented to me as a peaceful and reclusive process.

I signed up for calligraphy lessons at the Yeonnam Global Center and have been on a perpetual learning curve ever since. The class is an experience in itself. My group is made up mostly of Japanese ladies and the teacher, seonsaengnim, none of whom speak either English or my native French, but that doesn’t stop us from having a great time.

Striving for perfection

The language barrier means I have to follow the examples I am shown without the chance to ask too many questions, something I initially found to be a challenge. As my proficiency improved, the process of writing in class developed into a form of meditation, allowing me to express my personality. Unable to communicate as fluently as I would like or understand my teacher’s great sense of humor, judging by the nonstop giggling of my classmates, I can shut down my brain and fully concentrate on my task. I try to get the best results on the first try. On a good day I get a big smile and a “Well done!” from the teacher. Then, cringing somewhat, he tells me that my work is good enough to show my husband. After 18 months of learning, I still haven’t met my own standards and only three papers are hanging proudly on the wall. I will leave Korea eventually, leaving behind the chance to continue to improve the skills and techniques needed to practice such a delicate and fascinating art. Nevertheless, I will have discovered and enjoyed the benefits of writing Hangeul calligraphy, and I will call it introspection.

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Korea in Brief

Korea Monthly Update © Busan International Film Festival

Busan Welcomes Asia’s Biggest Film Fest Korea’s second-largest city is getting ready to host the Busan Internatonal Film Festival from Oct. 6 to 15. First held in 1996, the BIFF has grown into Asia’s biggest film festival and one of the most influential celebrations of cinema in the world. Last year’s festival featured 302 films from 75 countries. This year, late Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami, who passed away in July, was named the

festival’s Asian Filmmaker of the Year. Kiarostami, who first visited the BIFF in 1997 for a showing of his film “Taste of Cherry,” had a long history with the festival, serving as a judge for one of its competitive sections in 2005 and as dean of the BIFF’s Asian Film Academy in 2010. To celebrate his life’s work, the festival will run a retrospective showing nine of his most representative films.

Foreigners in Korea Top 2 Million Korean society continues to grow increasingly cosmopolitan. The number of non-Koreans living in Korea surpassed 2 million as of June, accounting for 3.9 percent of the population. Chinese accounted for the largest share at 50.6 percent of the total. The U.S. and Vietnam followed at 7.8 percent and 7.2 percent, respectively. Long-term residents residing in the country for 90 days or more totaled 1,481,603, a marked increase from 219,962 in 2000. Some 608,867 non-Koreans were employed in Korea as of June. Shortterm visitors, too, doubled from 271,362 in 2000 to 520,225 this year. According to the Ministry of Justice, the growth in Korea’s foreign population is largely due to the enactment in 2007 of the Visiting Employment System, which allows greater freedom of employment for ethnic Koreans from China and Russia. The number of inbound tourists, meanwhile, continues to soar. Some 9.8 million tourists have visited Korea this year as of July, a record number that represents a 23 percent increase over the same period in 2014. Chinese accounted for nearly half the number of inbound tourists. Taiwanese, Indonesians and Vietnamese are also visiting Korea in increasing numbers.

New Service Promotes Correct Understanding of Korea Overseas The Korean Culture and Information Service now operates a pan-governmental service dedicated to correcting erroneous information about Korea overseas. Called Facts Korea, the service bolsters the efficiency of efforts by the Foreign Ministry, Education Ministry and other government bodies to correct mistaken information by providing a single window

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through which citizens, expatriate Koreans, administrative bodies and other persons or entities can alert the authorities. Users can report mistaken information through the service’s website (www. factsaboutkorea.go.kr), through mobile apps available for iOS and Android, or even offline. The Korean Culture and Information

Service will further systematize correction efforts by creating a database or registered materials, analyzing information and sharing data with relevant organizations. KOCIS chief Kim Kap-su expressed hope that the new service would encourage people to take an interest in promoting a correct understanding of Korea overseas.

Videos Introduce Korea’s Cultural Treasures in Times Square historical district, dolmen stones, Joseon royal tombs, the historical villages of Hahoe and Yangdong, Namhansanseong Fortress, Baekje historical relics and Jeju’s volcanic lava tubes. The company ran the 60-second video 40 times a day. LG plans to show the video again in November to give New Yorkers and additional opportunity to experience Korea's cultural heritage. LG Electronics President and CFO David Jung said, “We are glad to be of help in letting the world see our culture and heritage and will continue fulfilling our social responsibility.”

A series of videos at New York’s iconic Times Square gave residents of that city a chance to learn about Bulguksa Temple, the Tripitaka Koreana, the gardens of Changdeokgung Palace and other Korean cultural treasures. LG Electronics, in agreement with the Cultural Heritage Administration, ran a video introducing 12 UNESCO World Heritage Sites that are in Korea on its billboards around Times Square through the end of August. Sites included Bulguksa Temple, Haeinsa Temple, Jongmyo Shrine, Changdeokgung Palace, Suwon Hwaseong Fortress, the Gyeongju

Incheon Hosts Car Tuning Festival © Cultural Heritage Administration

Gearheads from all over Korea will flock to the port city of Incheon from Oct. 6 to 9 to take in the Incheon Korea Tuning Festival, the nation’s premier automotive aftermarket show. Likened to Las Vegas’ famous SEMA Show, the festival aims to improve the image of automobile tuning in Korea and promote a healthy car tuning scene by giving visitors a chance to experience car customization firsthand. Some 200 local and overseas companies, including parts manufacturers, motor sports firms and tire makers, are expected to take part in the festival.

Jeonju Named No. 3 Spot to Visit in Asia in 2016: Lonely Planet Globally renowned travel guidebook publisher Lonely Planet assigned the southwestern city of Jeonju to the No. 3 spot on its list of places to visit in Asia in 2016. The guide named Hokkaido and Shanghai No. 1 and No. 2 spots, respectively. Named a City of Gastronomy by UNESCO in 2012, Jeonju is renowned throughout Korea for its outstanding local cuisine. The city’s best-known

delicacy is its Jeonju-style bibimbap, a bowl of rice mixed with seasoned vegetables, bean sprouts, mung-bean jelly and raw beef. According to the Lonely Planet, however, the town’s growing street food scene is drawing a younger crowd. Jeonju is also home to one of Korea’s largest collections of historic wooden homes, called Hanok. Many of the city’s Hanok now serve as workshops, museums and teahouses.

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Policy Review

Powering a Renewable Future New technologies and innovative management point the way forward for Korea’s renewable energy sector _ Written by Lee Kijun

Korea’s new and renewable energy industry has seen rapid growth over the past decade. With an investment of KRW 42 trillion on the way, the government is set to take the industry to a whole new level. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced in July that it would pour the funds into the new and renewable energy sector between now and 2020, with a view to expanding the country’s environmentally friendly power supply system. The plan will strengthen the renewable energy sector, including energy storage systems, “smart” electricity meters and environmentally friendly power development. Speaking at a meeting of the ministry’s future energy strategy committee, Minister Joo Hyung-hwan pledged to spend KRW 33 trillion on the development of renewable energy resources over the next five years, with KRW 4.5 trillion to be invested in energy storage systems and another KRW 2 trillion in eco-friendly power plants. Furthermore, by 2020 there will be enough new and renewable power stations to produce an additional 13 million kilowatts of electricity annually ‒ equivalent to that produced by 26 coal plants, the minister said.

Creating energy, creating jobs

Jeju’s Gapado Island is the world’s first “carbon-free” island with wind-generated power and electric cars.

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The energy ministry also plans to raise its renewable portfolio standard RPS to 7 percent by 2020, up from an earlier goal of 6 percent. That means, by 2020, power producers that can generate at least 500 megawatts (based on the capacities of currently installed power-generating facilities) will have to produce 7 percent of their power using new and renewable energy sources. The renewable portfolio standard will increase to 5 percent in 2018, as compared with the previously scheduled level of 4.5 percent. Deputy Minister for Energy and

The new and renewable energy sector will generate 30,000 jobs and KRW 12 trillion in domestic demand.

Technological game changers

‘Prosumers’ changing the energy market

Solar cells at Korea East-West Power’s solar power plant in Dangjin © KEPCO

The energy ministry has revised guidelines for small-scale new and renewable energy power production and has also proposed bills that would expand prosumers’ freedom to trade surplus power and reduce power costs with solar energy. This would involve granting trade permits for a variety of facilities, ranging from houses to buildings and shopping centers. “The government will lift unnecessary regulations and increase government support to foster the renewable energy sector,” Chae said in a press briefing. “It will also help those businesses explore overseas markets.” The government expects that energy prosumers will transform the existing energy market from a monopoly into a

than 10 percent. The transactions took place in the “negawatt market,” meaning that KEPCO purchased “negative energy” from customers and used it to supply other customers. Over the past 13 months, 74,000 megawatts of electricity has been saved through the negawatt market, enough to supply four months’ worth of power to Sejong City, which houses the government’s main office complex. The prosumer market is the extension of the negawatt market to individual consumers who can produce power through solar panels and other means. In July, KEPCO began to accept individual prosumer applications on its website.

This transformation is being achieved through the development of new technology. Renewable energy sources have the disadvantage of being more difficult to store. However, energy storage systems can help solve that problem, as can smart grids and microgrids. In March, rechargeable battery maker Kokam announced that it had deployed two battery energy storage systems in Korea, known as lithium NMC systems and powered by nickel manganese cobalt oxide. The company said they were the largest-capacity systems of their kind in the world. Operational since January, the two systems can store a combined total of 56 megawatts of energy for KEPCO, thus enabling the power generator to manage demand on the grid without resorting to spinning power generation reserves ‒ that is, without increasing the power output of existing generators. This in turn will allow KEPCO to move to lower-cost, more efficient power plants. By reducing the amount of fossil fuels needed, the Kokam energy storage systems will also help reduce KEPCO’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Installing an energy storage system in Jeju

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competitive market where various types of suppliers can produce power and distribute it. Some companies are already playing this role. Hyundai Steel, for example, has reduced its electricity bills sharply by curtailing its daytime work and shifting more of its production to the night hours. It then resold the electricity it saved to KEPCO. One Hyundai Steel plant’s power bill was KRW 9.5 billion as of May, a year-on-year savings of more

Resource Policies Chae Hee-bong said, in connection with the higher RPS, the government planned to invest an additional KRW 8.5 trillion into renewable energy development facilities and build a renewable power station capable of producing 300 million kilowatts of electricity. “The new and renewable energy sector is expected to create jobs for 30,000 people and KRW 12 trillion in domestic demand,” he said. To reach the goal, the government will come up with more detailed plans to allow renewable energy power generators to participate in the energy market, which will encourage more private companies to join. Until recently, only the Korea Electric Power Corporation could buy and distribute electricity anywhere in the country, but now other players can generate electricity with solar panels and sell it to individuals and businesses. Because these new energy merchants are both producers and consumers of energy, they are widely referred to as “prosumers.”

Brand Korea

Promoting Creative Korea Big stars lend a hand to promote the new national brand _ Written by Eugene Kim

The Creative Korea campaign is about to get a whole lot more, well, creative. The Ministry of Culture has launched a campaign to promote the new national slogan “Creative Korea.” The multifaceted promotional effort includes a video starring Korea’s biggest stars, a media façade on one of Seoul’s most iconic buildings, and promotional programs during major international events through Korea’s overseas embassies and diplomatic legations.

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Focused on the theme, “Exciting Contrast,” the video realizes the vision of “Creative Korea” by capturing the energy, power and beauty created by Korea’s unique blend of old and new.

K-pop sensation Big Bang is lending a hand, too, as the new slogan’s honorary ambassadors.

Exciting Contrast

The new national brand, which was announced in July, was the result of a yearlong effort to reaffirm Korea’s national identity and to work with the people in crafting a new slogan. The public-private effort drew 30,999

submissions and about 1.27 million suggested keywords, including 24,605 from overseas. The process produced three core keywords: creativity, passion and harmony. Specialists turned these keywords into the new brand, “Creative Korea,” complete with a spiffy new logo. To promote the new slogan, the Ministry of Culture has put together a fun promotional video. Focused on the theme, “Exciting Contrast,” the video realizes the vision of a “Creative Korea” by capturing the energy, power and beauty created by Korea’s blend of old and new. Some of Korea’s top artists and celebrities took part in creating the video. In addition to Big Bang, they included actors Song Jung-gi and Song Hye-gyo from the hit television program “Descendants of the Sun,” Go champion Lee Se-dol, pianist Cho Seong-jin and artist Suh Do Ho. The video is running on major international broadcasters such as CNN and the BBC.

Writing on the wall

The Ministry of Culture is also using high-tech urban art to promote the new brand. Starting July 4, the

landmark Seoul Square building across from Seoul Station hosted a media façade incorporating the “Creative Korea” logo. The motif and other patriotic symbols were recreated on the façade of the massive 23-story building using LED lights. Minister of Culture Kim Jongdeok even visited the display on Aug. 1 to say thank you to Savills Korea, the owner of Seoul Square. “With the video using the national logo being displayed on the entire media canvas covering Seoul Square,” he said, “it is a good opportunity for even more citizens and foreigners to learn about the new national logo.” Initially slated for just one month, the display has been extended to give more people an opportunity to see it.

Creative icons promote Creative Korea

Who better to promote Creative Korea than the country’s top creative icons? The Ministry of Culture has named K-pop legend Big Bang as the new slogan’s promotional ambassador. Indeed, the band has been hard at work, delivering a message of support

at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and producing promotional postcards. Having made its debut in 2006, Big Bang is one of Korea’s most internationally recognized bands. With a fan base that transcends borders, languages and age, the group has solidified a reputation as one of the country’s most creative popular groups. They’re a global force to be reckoned with, as well. They were the first Korean artists to win a Best Worldwide Act award at the MTV Europe Music Awards, which they followed with what was at the time the biggest world tour in the history of Korean music, visiting 24 cities to perform before 800,000 fans. On their most recent world tour, they performed for 1.5 million fans at 66 concerts in 32 cities across 13 countries. The naming of Big Bang as promotional ambassadors is also the start of the Ministry of Culture’s effort to partner with creative companies and individuals in the modern and traditional arts, as well as the business and science communities, to realize the value of “creativity” in Korean society and bolster the nation’s image overseas.

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Summit Diplomacy

Strengthening Global Partnerships Korea solidifies friendships during G-20, Eastern Economic Forum, ASEAN summits _ Written by Jin Lee Photos courtesy of Cheong Wa Dae

World leaders pose for a commemorative photo at the G-20 summit in Hangzhou, China. KOREA _ October _ 40

President Park Geun-hye spent September strengthening relations with Korea’s Asian neighbors, including Russia, China and the nations of ASEAN. She also attended the G-20 summit in Hangzhou, China, where she and other leaders of the world’s largest economies talked about inclusive and innovative ways to stimulate economic growth.

Cooperating to develop Russia’s Far East

On Sept. 2, President Park flew to Vladivostok to attend the annual Eastern Economic Forum, or EEF, which brought together 2,500 participants from 32 nations, including China, Japan and the 10 member nations of ASEAN. The discussions during this year’s forum focused on developing the Russian Far East. In a speech before a group of about 350 Korean and Russian business people, President Park expressed hope for a free trade agreement between Korea and the Eurasian Economic Union, or EAEU, a Russian-led association of nine former Soviet republics. She told participants, “If there were to be an institutional framework that would enable the free flow of people, materials and capital between South Korea and the EAEU, it would open a new chapter for bilateral economic cooperation.” She also called for increased economic cooperation between Korea and Russia, including more trade and investment, bolstered cooperation in developing the Russian Far East and expanding the scope of bilateral cooperation to include sectors such as healthcare. She said, “When Russia’s source technologies are effectively combined with South Korea’s applied technologies, the competitiveness of companies from both countries can improve and this can induce investment as well.” At the plenary session of the EEF itself, President Park delivered a keynote address that presented her nation’s vision

President Park shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin at Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok.

President Park gives her keynote address at the Eastern Economic Forum.

“The Far East will, someday, become a bridge for prosperity and peace.”

for cooperation on the Russian Far East. She noted that the Russian Far East was a trove of energy resources such as oil and natural gas as well as a logistic hub linking Asia with Europe. Bringing North Korea into the international fold would contribute to the Russian Far East reaching its full potential. “Although the Far East cannot realize its tremendous potential for now due to the disconnected node, North Korea, this region will, someday, become a bridge for prosperity and peace that links Eurasia to the Asia-Pacific region,” she said. She called on the international

community to send Pyongyang a stern message about its human rights record, worsening economic conditions and nuclear weapon program. She also said, however, that Seoul and the international community would support the North should it choose to change its behavior. In particular, she noted that if Pyongyang ceased its provocations, three-way projects with Russia, such as the Rajin-Khasan logistics scheme, could resume. President Park also held a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin during which she attempted to put to rest the Russian government’s concern regarding Seoul’s recent decision to allow the United States to deploy an advanced anti-missile defense system in Korea. The two sides agreed to strengthen “strategic communication” in dealing with North Korea. President Park also highlighted the importance of economic cooperation between the two nations, and indeed, the two sides agreed to seek a free trade agreement between Korea and the EAEU.

Innovation and inclusion

On Sept. 3, President Park boarded a flight to the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou to attend the G-20 summit. This year’s summit was themed, “Towards an Innovative, Invigorated, Interconnected and Inclusive World Economy.” On Sept. 4, the first day of the summit, President Park held up her government’s “creative economy” initiative as a model of inclusive and innovative growth. “Innovation in the fields of virtual and augmented reality, the Internet of Things, big data, as well as artificial intelligence is leading the fourth industrial revolution, and the origins of such changes are people’s creative thinking and imaginative power,” she said. “The crux of South Korea’s creative economy is creating new markets and jobs through a fusion of creative ideas and new technologies such as ICT, innovation and culture.” She also introduced to participants

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Korea’s structural reform efforts and proposed the sharing of best practices for overcoming the pain of structural reforms. On the second day of the summit, President Park called for a fairer distribution of the fruits of free trade. “An increase in the number of people who have failed to enjoy the fruits of growth based on free trade is one cause of the spread of trade protectionism and neo-isolationism,” she said. “The essence of the problem is not free trade itself, but the issue of how we can share the benefits of free trade, and this issue should be addressed through inclusive, innovative growth.” She also called on G-20 leaders to take more action in combating climate change, and suggested that leaders should see the response to climate change as an opportunity to cultivate new energy industries.

Bilateral meetings

President Park held several summits on the sidelines of the G-20 summit. On Sept. 5, she met with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Hangzhou Xihu State Guest Hotel to discuss KoreaChina relations. During the 40-minute meeting, President Park stressed the importance of Korea-China ties, saying that her government has a strong desire to improve the bilateral relationship. She also expressed the need to work with the international community in responding to North Korean provocations. President Xi also emphasized the importance of the bilateral relationship, saying, “We need to play an active role in order to overcome difficulties and challenges, to make Seoul-Beijing ties stable, to develop bilateral ties in a sound manner, and for the development of peace across the region and around the world.” During a Sept. 5 meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, President Park discussed with her counterpart ways Korean businesses could take part in the

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President Park attends the G-20 summit in Hangzhou.

Middle Eastern kingdom’s Vision 2030 development plan. She also asked for Riyadh to take an active role in dealing with the North Korean nuclear weapon issue. Deputy Crown Prince Salman said Saudi Arabia would support Seoul on North Korea issues, and pointed out that Pyongyang’s behavior also threatens the security of the Gulf region. On Sept. 4, President Park met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah alSisi. The two leaders discussed bilateral economic cooperation, especially in the form of Korean participation in Egyptian infrastructure development projects. She also met with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi on Sept. 5. They discussed how to strengthen relations between Korea and Italy.

President Park meets with Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Bolstering the strategic partnership with ASEAN

President Park holds a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“Unequivocal words and actions by ASEAN member states will play a crucial role in making Pyongyang recognize the firm resolve of the international community.”

On Sept. 6, President Park headed to Vientiane, Laos, for a two-day series of ASEAN-related summits - the ASEANRepublic of Korea Summit, the ASEAN+3 Summit and the East Asia Summit followed by a state visit to Laos, the first ever by a Korean president. At the 18th ASEAN-Republic of Korea Summit, President Park and the leaders of ASEAN’s 10 member states discussed ways to strengthen cooperation. In particular, President Park thanked the leaders of ASEAN for their zero tolerance party regarding North Korea’s nuclear program, and expressed hope that ASEAN states could deliver a clear message to Pyongyang. She said, “Unequivocal words and actions by ASEAN member states that have maintained certain relations with North Korea will play a crucial role in making Pyongyang recognize the firm resolve of the international community.” She also cited the importance of KoreaASEAN cooperation in dealing with security threats such as terrorism, violent extremism and natural disasters.

On the economic front, President Park called for expanding trade and investment by speeding up talks on the 16-nation Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. During the 19th ASEAN+3 Summit, attended by the leaders of the 10 ASEAN member states and the leaders of Korea, China and Japan, President Park emphasized the importance of trilateral cooperation between Seoul, Beijing and Tokyo, which was restored last year. She also suggested that ASEAN+3 could contribute to the realization of the East Asian Community. Finally, at the East Asia Summit, an 18-nation forum to discuss regional security issues, participants adopted a statement calling on North Korea to abandon its nuclear and missile programs in a “complete, verifiable and irreversible” manner. President Park welcomed the development, saying, “The adoption of this statement is significant as it displayed the EAS member states’ will to forcibly deal with Pyongyang’s continuing nuclear weapons threats.” The East Asia summit was attended by the leaders of Korea, the United States, China, Japan, Russia, India, Australia, New Zealand and the 10 members nations of ASEAN. On Sept. 9, President Park paid a state visit to Laos, during which she held a summit meeting with Laotian President Bounnhang Vorachith. During the summit, President Park expressed hope that Laos, currently the chair of ASEAN, could help ensure that the international community takes strong measures against North Korea’s nuclear weapon activities. The two leaders agreed to strengthen “strategic communication” through high-level exchanges and deepen political and defense cooperation. President Park also pledged Korea’s support for Laos’ socioeconomic development projects, including rural development schemes and projects to strengthen education and health care for young women.

National leaders hold hands at the 18th ASEAN-Republic of Korea Summit in Vientiane, Laos.

President Park meets with U.S. President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit.

President Park holds a summit with Laotian President Bounnhang Vorachith.

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Creative Economy

The New Leader in Korean Fashion Dongdaemun is at the center of Korea’s growing fashion industry _ Written by Sheryll Donerson

Center of Korea’s fashion industry

The Korean fashion scene, while relatively young, is extremely appealing to fashion lovers. Korean fashion is seen as trendsetting and high quality, yet affordable. At the center of the fashion industry in Korea is Dongdaemun. Home to the Dongdaemun Design Plaza, the venue that holds the biannual Seoul Fashion Week, Dongdaemun is seen as a melting pot of passion, ambition and experimental fashion design. Since the entire fashion process takes place in Dongdaemun, from design to production to manufacturing, it’s seen as the perfect place for new fashion designers to get started on their journeys. Eight million international tourists visit the Dongdaemun fashion district each year. Consisting of both retail and wholesale markets, the area is bustling 24 hours a day, making it a fashion lovers’ dream. Young Chinese tourists constitute the biggest group that flocks to the area, scooping up the latest fashions to sell in China. The fashion-forward, vibrant and unique designs of its new designers are more appealing to these consumers.

Online success

Pale Turquoise takes part in the 2016 F/W HERA Seoul Fashion Week.

Korean pop culture is taking off globally. Around the world, people are buying sheet masks, learning K-pop dance routines and binge-watching “Descendants of the Sun.” One sector has been conspicuously absent from the Korean pop culture boom, however, and that’s fashion. Korean fashion just hasn’t taken off as quickly as people would have thought, but new waves of young designers flocking to Dongdaemun are looking to save the Korean fashion industry.

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Dongdaemun’s fashion industry is becoming successful in the online world. Startups catering to Chinese buyers are raking in the cash through direct online exports. The WhyNot Company, a Chinese startup, runs the website DDM24.com. By breaking down language barriers, payment methods and logistics, DDM24.com allows Chinese consumers to buy online directly from Dongdaemun. In its first two months of operation, DDM24.com recorded a whopping KRW 1.5 billion in sales. The company is already looking to expand its market to Russia, Taiwan, Japan, Thailand and the United States. For potential buyers looking to export and distribute Korean fashion, but not wanting to scour the massive maze of stores in Dongdaemun or use online stores, the Chaoroom fashion showroom in Dongdaemun Design Plaza is a welcome fixture. Operated by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, Chaoroom aims to support and nurture new talent in the Korean fashion industry. Currently, it is only open to buyers who are interested in domestic and foreign distribution, and interested parties

Dongdaemun away from Dongdaemun

Big hits overseas, too

The Dongdaemun showroom Chaoroom displays and sells products by outstanding new designers.

Growing the Korean fashion industry is also a major goal of the national government. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced plans in August to invest roughly USD 27 million in Korea’s fashion industry in an effort to promote both premium and lifestyle brands. Part of this investment will be devoted exclusively to the promotion of promising new fashion and accessory designers. Don’t fret! If you don’t live in Korea and are interested in trying out the latest in Korean fashion, designers abroad are making big waves. Last year, Korean designers brought in more than KRW 200 million at New York Fashion Week as part of the Concept Korea project. The brands Yohanix, Yuna Yang and IISE all gained their reputations abroad first before making their way back to Korea. In the global fashion industry, the influence of Dongdaemun and the Korean fashion industry is growing steadily. With the right strategies, the Dongdaemun fashion district has the potential to be the next major fashion hub, and a global fashion force to be reckoned with.

Dongdaemun Design Plaza is the center of Korea’s fashion and design industry.

Chaoroom isn’t the only chance for new designers to shine. If you’re not interested in distribution or export, and you’re looking to buy from the hottest new designers, head to the department stores. As Korean fashion gains popularity, more and more new designers are getting their own spaces in the department stores of Seoul. The increasing number of visitors to Seoul’s department stores led Hanhwa Galleria to expand its new designer multi-brand store, Galleria Designer Street. In April, Lotte Department Store opened Space 5.1, another new designer multi-brand store, on the second floor of its flagship store in Sogong-dong, Seoul. It boasts 19 designer brands, including Ache Reye, Hae and more. In another fashion hub popular with Chinese tourists, Garosu-gil in Sinsa-dong, there are over 70 brands established by young Korean designers. Most of the designers with stores in this area started out in Dongdaemun.

must register online before visiting. Chaoroom is more than just an exhibition hall for potential buyers: It’s a one-stop shop for rising designers. New designers chosen to showcase their work in Chaoroom are given assistance and advice to facilitate manufacturing, distribution and product design. Yoon Juneseok, a Chaoroom tenant, told Arirang News in August, “Small brands like us can enter the international market without taking large risks. This is the biggest advantage we get from being in Chaoroom.”

The fashion brand Stylenanda enjoys great popularity with Chinese tourists.

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Global Korea

An art exhibition hosted by the Korean Cultural Center in Osaka highlighted the many cultural values shared by Korea and Japan. The “Cheonyeondang Photo Studio Art Project,” held from July 12 to Aug. 9, featured a recreation of an old-time photo studio, complete with antique cameras and flashes. The Osaka exhibit was especially significant since it included a special event in which Kansai residents with special history or connections with Korea sat for photographs in the studio. Participants included the family of Lee Won-sik, one of the foremost researchers of Japan’s old trade missions to Korea, and Fujimoto Takumi, a photographer who has spent the last 40 years documenting Korea.

Korean Jazz Goes to Washington

Korean jazz performers got a chance to show off their stuff in the U.S. capital. The world music group SE:UM and the Youngjoo Song Trio took part in the DC Jazz Festival’s Embassy Series, performing at the Inter-American Development Bank on July 28. It was the first time Korean artists had been invited to perform at the event. The bands used the jazz festival as an opportunity to play other venues as well. SE:UM took the stage with local saxophonist Craig Alston for a performance in Baltimore on July 27. SE:UM and the Youngjoo Song Trio also played a show in Bethesda.

Taekwondo Seminars Held in South Africa

Australia’s largest food expo proved an excellent opportunity to introduce locals to Korea’s healthy and tasty cuisine. The Korean Cultural Center in Sydney set up a booth at the Good Food & Wine Show, held at the Sydney Olympic Park Showground from Aug. 5 to 7. At the

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Exhibit Emphasizes Shared Values Between Korea, Japan

Australians Experience Korean Cuisine

Korean NGO introduced the sport to the town in 2003.

booth, visitors could check out models of seven kinds of kimchi, taste samples of kimchi and purchase kimchi to eat at home. The kimchi proved such a big hit with showgoers that it sold out. Visitors also got to sample foods such as kimchi bibimbap and kimchi fried rice.

The Korean embassy in South Africa recently hosted a touring seminar on the Korean martial art taekwondo. Over 100 people attended the third seminar, held in the rural town of Ramokokastad, North West Province, on July 30. The Ramokokastad event was especially significant as the town is widely regarded as a center of taekwondo in South Africa. The community has produced no fewer than 14 national team athletes since a

Korea Is Nation of Honor in Argentine Photo Festival

Korean photographers took pride of place at the Festival de la Luz, Argentina’s only large international photography festival. Some 300 photographers from 24 countries took part in the festival, which toured Argentina throughout the month of August. Renowned Korean photographer, curator, professor and educator Seok Jae-hyun was one of the festival’s 17 foreign judges. A digital projection, meanwhile, introduced the work of 11 Korean photographers at the Centro Cultural General San Martín in Buenos Aires.

Spaniards Learn K-Pop

K-pop got an Iberian touch this summer when the Korean Cultural Center in Spain and Seoul’s Sejong University jointly hosted a beginner-level K-Pop Academy in Madrid from July 4 to 30. After three weeks of intensive training, the vocal and dance students put on a performance before a packed house at Madrid’s Teatros Luchana on Aug. 30. The instructors who took part were especially impressed with how quickly the students learned. Spanish state broadcaster TVE ran a report on the academy and the growing popularity of K-pop in Spain. Cable station Movistar+ produced a documentary on K-pop. The K-pop program drew many more students than initially expected.

Historic Moments

Foreign Minister Gong Ro-myung and OECD Secretary-General Don Johnston sign deal on Korea joining the OECD in Paris on Oct. 25, 1996.

Joining the Elite When Korea joined the OECD in 1996, it was a victory for globalization

For nearly four decades, Korea had struggled to rebuild itself after a devastating war led to its division and impoverished its people. Its seventh president, Kim Young-sam (1993-1998), had pledged to reform the government and the economy. At the heart of his economic reforms were globalization (segyehwa) and global competitiveness. In pursuit of globalization, President Kim sought to join the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development - an institution that is sometimes called “the advanced nations’ club” or the “rich nations’ club.” President Kim believed joining the OECD was a symbol of economic success that would instill pride in the country and gain it international recognition. This was not the first time Korea had contemplated joining the OECD. In 1990, the Korean government had set the goal of joining by 1993 but needed more time to meet the OECD’s standards. When preparations were complete, in October 1996, Korea was formally invited to join. There were many in Korea who argued against ratification, saying the country had done too much and too soon. Korea’s trade deficit had worsened throughout 1996 and there was speculation that the year-on-year figure would double. Many Koreans feared the impact of OECD membership on the economy.

Looking outward

_ Written by Robert Neff

(Top) Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik speaks at the 50th Anniversary Meeting of the OECD Council at Ministerial Level in Paris. (Bottom) Science and technologyrelated ministers from the OECD take part in OECD Ministerial Meeting Daejeon 2015.

New York Times journalist Philip Bowring described the controversy as a conflict between two factions within Korea: those with “the old Hermit Kingdom mentality, suspicious of the outside world and wedded to self-reliance, and those for whom nationalism is best expressed through conquest of global markets.” It was the large chaebols that had sought conquest of the global markets, and they had too much invested to allow Korea not to join the OECD. Membership would improve Korea’s credit rating and allow the chaebols and other Korean businesses to expand by borrowing large sums of money from foreign banks. President Kim’s efforts were successful and on December 12, 1996, the Republic of Korea became the 29th member of the OECD. It was one of only a handful of countries outside of Europe to enjoy this distinction. Since joining the OECD, Korea’s standard of living has continued to improve and today it is almost equal to that of its fellow industrialized nations - in many respects, it’s even better. Korea plays an active role in the OECD. Kim Young-sam’s dream of globalization is a reality, along with Korea’s economic success and standing in the world community.

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Flavor

Yeongyangbap Good food is the best medicine _ Written by Cynthia Yoo Photographed by ao studio Kang Jinju Stylized by 101recipe

“Yaksikdongwon” is an old Korean saying, meaning that food and medicine share the same origins and have similar effects. The gist is that good food is good medicine. In fact, many Korean traditional medicines are derived from common cooking ingredients. For instance, platycodon extract is found in doraji or bellflower roots and coix seed extract is from yulmu or Job’s tears barley. Koreans believe that a good balance of healthy ingredients leads to overall health and that certain foodstuffs can treat particular ailments. Yeongyangbap literally means nutritious rice, and perhaps the name is overdoing it since rice is synonymous with nutrition and medicine in the minds of Koreans. There are many varieties of this rice dish, often centered on a particularly nutritious ingredient. Jeonbok or abalone yeongyangbap is a popular version because abalone is prized as treatment for a number of illnesses,

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including arthritis. Less expensive versions may center around mushrooms or deodeok roots, for example. Most types of yeongyangbap, however, use a variety of grains, legumes, nuts and dried fruits to enhance the flavors and textures of the dish. Every Korean family may have its own recipe for yeongyangbap, centering on a favorite ingredient, but cooks also make use of seasonal ingredients. In autumn, yeongyangbap combines newly harvested chestnuts, gingko nuts, peanuts, jujubes and pine nuts. Here’s one in-season recipe for you to try out at home.

__ How to make yeongyangbap: Wash rice and legumes and soak for 20 to 30 minutes. Same goes for the rest of the chestnuts, peas, nuts and beans. Chop the chestnuts into smaller bite-size pieces. Drain the rice, place in a heavy-bottomed pot, and cover with kelp-infused water. Boil on high, stirring the rice mixture until it’s at full boil before adding the rest of the ingredients. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cover. Cook for 30 minutes or so. If you want some nurungi, wait for the smell of the scorched rice before removing the pot from the heat.

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Korean Keyword

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

A kind word can mean a lot more than you think

착하다 | Chakada

When we first meet someone, usually the first thing we want to know is whether that person is good or bad, kind or mean, agreeable or disagreeable. If a person is good, kind and agreeable, the most widely used descriptor in Korean is chakada. Chakada is probably the most common term of praise that Korean mothers give their toddlers when they behave. Antonyms include nappeuda and the negative forms of the original word: anchakada, chakaji anta and chakaji motada. However, too much of a good thing can be a bad thing, and there is such a thing as neomu chakada, meaning “too nice,” which connotes a certain fault in a person’s character. A neomu chakan person is considered foolish to be so selfless and giving to people who take the kindness for granted. Consulting firm intern Shin Hye-young, 25, said she didn’t think chakae was a compliment anymore. “The first thing that comes to my mind when I hear someone described that way is that the person must be boring or uninteresting,” Shin said. Marketing firm employee Ban Ka-hee, 26, seconded the opinion. “I consciously avoid being tagged as a chakan person,” Ban said. “It makes me feel insipid and characterless.” Alternative compliments that can be offered in place of chakada are more situation-specific, such as chinjeolhada and baeryeosim itda. They mean kind and considerate, respectively. While its original meaning has faded somewhat, the term chakada is still in popular use. As early as 2005, people began to expand the usage of the word by applying it to inanimate things. For instance, “The price is affordable” became Gagyeok chakada and “(Someone has a) nice body” became Mommae chakada. In this sense of the word, a cheap bottle of beer can be “kind” to its purchaser’s account balance.

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October 2016