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July 2017

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Hanji

Traditional Korean paper continues to inspire

한국의 문화와 여러분 나라의 문화는 어떻게 달라요? Korean paper, or Hanji, is made from the bark of the mulberry tree. A durable paper, the best Hanji can last 1,000 years. Producing the paper is a notoriously slow, laborious process. In the hands of a master artisan, however, the material can assume countless manifestations, from books and wicker baskets to lamps and paper dolls. Its longevity is, in part, thanks to its flexibility. Nowadays, artists and designers are using Hanji for a whole new range of applications, including decorative arts and even clothing. Also in this issue of KOREA, we travel to the mountain wilds of Jeongseon, talk with renowned illustrator Wooh Nayoung, look at overseas investment in Korea’s entertainment sector, explore the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and more. _ Editorial staff, KOREA

Hangugui munhwawa yeoreobun naraui munhwaneun eotteoke dallayo?

Publisher Oh Yeongwoo Korean Culture and Information Service

How is your culture different from Korean culture?

Executive Producer Park Byunggyu

아자니 씨는 나이가 어떻게 되세요?

Editorial Advisers Cho Won-hyung, Lee Suwan, Park Inn-seok

Ajani ssineun naiga eotteoke doeseyo?

Email webmaster@korea.net Magazine Production Seoul Selection Editor-in-Chief Robert Koehler Production Supervisor Kim Eugene Producers Park Miso, Woo Jiwon Copy Editors Gregory Eaves, Anna Bloom Creative Director Lee Seung Ho Designers Lee Bok-hyun, Jung Hyun-young Illustrator Jeong Hyo-ju

저는 올해 생일이 지나서 이제 스물세 살이에요.

How old are you, Ajani?

Jeoneun olhae saengiri jinaseo ije seumulse sarieyo.

아~ 한국 나이로 스물세 살이에요?

My birthday has passed, so I’m 23 years old.

Ah~ hanguk nairo seumulse sarieyo?

So your Korean age is 23? 한국에서는 태어날 때부터 한 살이라고 생각하기 때문에 아자니 씨 나이를 스물 네 살로 계산해요.

한국 나이요? 한국 나이는 다른 나라하고 달라요? Hanguk naiyo? Hanguk naineun dareun narahago dallayo?

Hangugeseoneun taeeonal ttaebuteo han sarirago saenggakagi ttaemune Ajani ssi naireul seumulne sallo gyesanhaeyo.

Because, in Korea, everyone is considered one year old at birth, so you would be considered 24.

Korean age? Do Korean people calculate age differently? 나래 Narae

아자니 Ajani

Photographers ao studio Kang Jinju, 15 Studio Printing Pyung Hwa Dang Printing Co., Ltd.

V-기 때문에

Let’s practice!

‘V-기 때문에’ is used with verb and adjective stems to indicate cause or intention.

Discuss the differences between Korean culture and other cultures.

Cover Photo Photographed by 15 Studio

ex. I’m very interested in Korean language + ‘-기 때문에’

(Clockwise, from upper left) “Woven Lamp,” dyed Hanji, Jungmo Seungyeon Studio Books with wood-block-printed cover, Ji Heeseung Itaya maple stool, Karimoku, sold by REMOD Mulberry fiber Hanji basket, Been Kim, MEEETS Walnut and folded Hanji lamp, Suh Mil Ha

⇒ I want to be a Korean teacher because I’m very interested in the

Korean language.

I’m good at sports +‘-기 때문에’ ⇒ I want to be an athlete because I’m good at sports.

V/A-는/(으)ㄴ데 ‘V/A-는/(으)ㄴ데’ is used with verb and adjective stems to communicate a contrast between the part preceding and the part following. Verb stems and ‘있다’ and ‘없다’ clauses take the ‘-는데’ form. All adjective stems excluding those with a final consonant ‘ㄹ’ take the ‘-은데’ form. Adjective stems that end with the final consonant ‘ㄹ’ and ‘이다’ or ‘아니다’ clauses take the ‘-ㄴ데’ form. ex. Koreans use formal language when speaking to older people +‘-는데’ ⇒ Koreans use formal language when speaking to older people, but

Americans don’t.

My brother is tall +-‘은데’ ⇒ My brother is tall, but I’m short. My sister is in school now + ‘-ㄴ데’ ⇒ My sister is in school now, but I’m an office worker.

한국에서는 식당에서 반찬과 물을 무료로 줘요.

Restaurants in Korea provide banchan (side dishes) and water free of charge.

영국에서는 식당에서 반찬과 물을 무료로 주지 않아요.

Restaurants in the U.K. don’t provide side dishes or water free of charge.

한국에서는 식당에서 반찬과 물을 무료로 주는데 영국에서는 식당에서 반찬과 물을 무료로 주지 않아요.

Restaurants in Korea provide side dishes and water free of charge, but restaurants in the U.K. do not. 한국에서는 식사할 때 젓가락과 숟가락을 사용해요.

In Korea, people eat with chopsticks and a spoon.

일본에서는 주로 젓가락을 사용해요.

In Japan, people eat mainly with chopsticks.

한국에서는 식사할 때 젓가락과 숟가락을 ____________ 일본에서는 주로 젓가락을 사용해요.

In Korea, people eat with chopsticks and a spoon, but in Japan, people eat mainly with chopsticks.

Korean Culture In what ways is your country different from Korea? Two aspects of Korea people often find interesting or challenging are the practice of eating with chopsticks and a spoon and the practice of using honorifics when addressing people who are older. Today, societies have become increasingly diverse, and people from different countries and cultures often inhabit the same communities. As long as we remain open to learning from our differences, we can gain a better appreciation of each other’s cultures.

Co nte nt s

04 Cover Story No Lost Art Hanji, traditional Korean paper, continues to inspire

24 Korea & I Winding Water and Tumbling Fire in a Splendid Old Village

36 Policy Review Getting Serious About Pollution Government leads efforts to clean up the air

Hahoe Village exudes the transcendent charms of old Korea

26 Arts & Entertainment 1 Filling the Missing Pieces Cody Choi and Lee Wan awe the 57th Venice Biennale through timely expressions

14 Travel Black Past, Green Future Old coal town Jeongseon beckons with its history, tradition and nature

28 Arts & Entertainment 2 Betting Big on Korean Programming Global media giants rush to invest in Korean content

38 This is Pyeongchang Communion, Communication and Harmony One of Korea’s most important folk celebrations, the Gangneung Danoje Festival brings people together

40 Current Korea Welcoming the Fourth Industrial Revolution Government sees IoT, AI as keys to unlocking the hyper-connected future

42 Global Korea

20 People Fairytales Re-envisioned

Children’s musical tours the UAE, Hangeul on display at Buenos Aires Book Fair, the presidential election through the eyes of a naturalized Korean

Illustrator Wooh Na-young puts the pieces together

44 Flavor Wraps to Savor 30 Korean Culture in Brief Summer festivals begin, BTS wins award at Billboard Music Awards, Korean painter’s depictions of life of Jesus displayed in Germany, Korean college included in Variety’s list of best film schools

32 Literature The Many Lives of Hwang Sokyong

Milssam is just the wheat-flour wrap you were looking for

46 Learning Korean Pop Singer IU Says, ‘Let’s Meet on Friday’ Korean pop teaches you how to set a date

With insight learned from the author’s life, ‘The Guest’ sheds light on one of modern Korea’s darkest moments

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 Story

Written by Sammy Seung-Min Lee, artist and board of director, Asian Art Association, Denver Art Museum

No Lost Art Hanji, traditional Korean paper, continues to inspire

“Would you say you’re in a romantic relationship with Hanji?” So asked a curator during one studio visit, as she listened to me explain my creative process. “Yes,” I replied, after some hearty laughter and contemplative reflection. “It’s been a wonderful relationship, indeed.” Many artists often project themselves into various materials throughout their career, but end up gravitating toward one specific medium of choice. I am one such artist, and Hanji has become my preferred material over the years. While I fell in love with Hanji at first for its soft appearance, I stayed in love with the material for its strength and durability. For the past decade, I have been incorporating Hanji and the process of its creation into my work. Its influence is present throughout my artistic journey across various forms, including artistic books, performances, interactive installations and more. As I’ve now spent the latter half of my life in the United States, I am definitely Korean-American, and not just Korean. Another one of Hanji’s particularly attractive qualities, however, is its origins and ties to my mother country. Hanji translates literally as “Korean paper,” with han meaning “Korean” and ji signifying “paper.” Like a mother, it is graceful and delicate — sometimes even wrinkled — yet also flexible, resilient and forgiving.

The process: how Hanji is made Hanji is deeply rooted in traditional Korea and is a byproduct of site-specific resources. The paper is handmade with bark derived from the paper mulberry, a native tree. The trees are bountiful in Korea, thriving

on the country’s rocky mountainsides. Harvesting mulberry bark and making Hanji has long been a communal pastime during the winter. Mulberry fibers are naturally long but are especially strong when harvested in cooler temperatures. Before agricultural activities got into full swing, villagers would use this slower working period to participate in the laborious process of papermaking. It begins with trimming bark from trees, then steaming it for several hours. After that, the material is peeled, cleaned, bleached in the sun and cooked with a plant ash solution. Once the fibers have been pounded and poured into a vat with hibiscus root extract, it is ready at last, transformed into paper. This is merely a summary of the papermaking process, however. Preparing these fibers is an ancient process, developed and perfected over the course of thousands of years. It is meticulous and scientific. The plant ash, for instance, is an alkaline solution. Cooking the fibers in it is an alchemical transformation, yielding a material that is stable and perfectly, chemically balanced. The painstaking papermaking process also gives Hanji a particularly strong quality, in contrast to the standard unsubstantial perception of paper. The single cord–forming method, or oebalddeugi, is a derivation uniquely devised in Korea. This approach allows fibers to move freely and overlap. The fibers often crisscross at 90 degree angles as a result, contributing to the paper’s rugged nature. One step also calls for the layering of two wet layers and fusing them together, in order to increase durability. This doubling is the inspiration of one of Hanji’s nicknames, “yin-yang paper.”

Kwon Youngwoo, Untitled, 1980s, Hanji, 100x80.5cm. Courtesy of The Artistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Estate and Kukje Gallery. Image courtesy of the Kukje Gallery

KOREA July _ 5

The myth: 100 steps, 100 percent pure

in wood block and still preserved to this day. Hanji’s durability has been also officially acknowledged by Italy’s Central Institute for Restoration and Conservation of Archival and Library Heritage (ICPAL), and Italian conservators have started using Hanji to restore important cultural artifacts, including writing by Saint Francis of Assisi (1182–1226). Throughout the centuries, Hanji has become one of the most versatile materials. In addition to paper’s most conventional application as a writing surface, it has been woven into elements all around us from special occasions to daily lives. During Buddhist ceremonies, for instance, you might encounter ornate temple decorations made with Hanji flowers and lanterns. Still many people use countless household items that are lined inside and out with Hanji, in a manner similar to decoupage. While you may think of paper as a typically flimsy and fragile material, it can be further transformed into independent, three-dimensional structures. This is primarily possible only after being treated with traditional paper craft techniques like jiseung, which converts papers into cords to enable weaving, and joomchi, which binds multiple sheets together like felt. When wallpapers and windows were being redone in the past, old paper was carefully removed so that the scrap sheets could be repurposed into cords or felted paper. Given a new lease on life, the transformed materials could then generate new Hanji objects like baskets, bowls, vases and much more. Many of these Hanji objects are also varnished with natural lacquer or dyes, in order to become water resistant. Paper was even once transformed into protective

Hanji has acquired a handful of nicknames over the years, in fact. Beyond “yin-yang paper,” it has also been lovingly referred to as dakjongi (dak means mulberry bark) and baekji, with the homonym baek meaning both “pure” and the number 100. The multiple meanings of baek make baekji a doubly appropriate nickname. It alludes both to the fact that a white sheet of Hanji is pure and that making Hanji, when done in traditional ways, involves 100 steps. The number 100 thus suggests an interesting tension. While it symbolizes completeness and wholeness, it is also often unattainable and impossible. Throughout Korea, undergoing 100 days of a test period suggests virtues of perseverance, patience and devotion. Let us return now to Hanji. Having undergone a 100-step process in its creation, each sheet of Hanji formed is very special. Some might even say it attains a divine quality as a direct result of this reverent, arduous process.

The legacy: Hanji throughout history As a result of its meticulous production process, Hanji is a beautiful, durable and pH-neutral substrate that is well suited for the finest art forms. Its archival and ink handling qualities make it an ideal material for bringing life to painting, calligraphy, printmaking and, these days, digital printing. In fact, many paper conservators confirm that this very scientific method of Hanji making is what has sustained a copy of the Buddhist Dharani Sutra for 1,300 years. The Pure Light Dharani Sutra, as it is called, is thought to be the oldest copy that is printed

In the olden days, Hanji used to be called baekji. This refers to not only its white hue, but also to the laborious process required to produce it. It’s said the paper required 100 steps to make it – the Korean word for 100 is baek. 옛사람들은 한지를 백지라 불렀다. 흰 빛깔 때문에 백지(白紙)라고도 했지만 백 번의 손질이 필요하다 하여 백지(百紙)라 부르기도 했다. 한지의 정성스럽고 고된 제작 과정을 담고 있는 이름인 것이다. (Below) Hong Chun-su, a master of Hanji-making, which is designated Korean Intangible Cultural Heritage No.117 (Page 6, left) After boiling the mulberry wood, Hong removes its bark. (Page 6, right) The white inner fibers of the boiled mulberry wood untangle in water.

KOREA July _ 7

올해 초, 독일 프랑크푸르트에서 열린 세계 최대의 종이·사무용품 박람회 페이퍼월드(Paperworld)에 한지관이 개설되었다. 참가자들은 한지가 지닌 소재로서의 가능성과 전통에서 현대까지 이어져온 한지 공예의 아름다움을 한자리에서 경험하는 기회를 누릴 수 있었다.

KOREA July _ 9

Hanji was featured in its own booth at this year’s Paperworld, held in Frankfurt, Germany. Visitors to the fair, the world’s largest for stationary, office supplies and writing instruments, had an opportunity to experience Hanji's beauty, both as a material and in its traditional and modern applications.

armor. During the reign of King Yeonsan of Joseon some 500 years ago, a number of civilian infantrymen wore at least 13 layers of felted paper armor created with joomchi techniques. There are government records that indicate over 30 percent of soldiers used paper armor, citing its adequate protection and added benefits of lightness and insulation during battle. In fact, the government at the time also offered tax incentives for the civilians who equipped themselves with their own paper armor. They even went so far as to provide piles of failed essay sheets from official government exams for use. I can only imagine how humorous and visually exciting it must have been at the time to see armor with such essays written all over it.

Learning more about Hanji

Hanji’s unique properties continue to inspire material scientists, industrial designers and artists to research the material for new uses and interpretations. The modern take on Hanji has already been incorporated at the industrial level, with paper being reborn as thread, fabric, furniture and architectural materials. The Korea Craft and Design Foundation, a subsidiary organization of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, also sponsors annual design competitions focused on the material. New generations of designers are challenged to explore Hanji’s potential to develop innovative products. All winning and finalist designers from these competitions are encouraged to attain better understanding of the material through visits to Hanji mills and introductions to mentors. Among today’s Hanji applications, I am most excited by the selection of three-dimensional joomchi Hanji as “Active Matter” by Material Connexion, the leading international material information and resource agency. Several years ago, during a visit to Material Connexion in New York, I remember seeing countless architects, designers and students exploring endless rows of shelves filled with different material samples. This honor shines a global spotlight on Hanji’s potential, and I look forward to discovering where Hanji is used next as a result of this exposure. One intriguing application of Hanji that has already been realized is the use inside a high performance audio speaker by a company called Sonodyne. An internal cone of Hanji paper forms a thin layer to help sound resonate. The company says due to Hanji’s strength and thinness, the speaker can achieve fuller sound that does not require a woofer, which is designed to reproduce low frequencies. Clearly the value of Hanji is not limited to a mere writing surface that delivers narratives visually. In this audio application, the material is being uniquely used to carry and to disseminate a narrative through sound. As Hanji is being rediscovered for its raw possibilities, I anticipate more innovative evolution of this wonderful material. © KCDF

Apart from design and art practitioners, Hanji remains widely undiscovered by the general audience, despite its prevalence throughout Korean history. Opportunities to learn more about Hanji’s superb nature are often limited to regional Hanji festivals or to relevant but niche global events. For those visiting Korea, there are several regions that are still celebrated for producing fine paper. The most prominent Hanji mills are located in Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do, and Wonju, Gangwon-do. Both Jeonju and Wonju have museums dedicated to Hanji, and these areas host local festivals in the spring as well. Throughout the year, visitors can tour Hanji mill facilities to learn about the material’s rich history and production process. In addition to viewing Hanji creations, visitors can also shop for Hanji handicrafts and — for the adventurous — even experience the intensive papermaking process themselves, to make their own sheets. Even outside of Korea, awareness of Hanji is growing. Last January, for instance, Hanji was featured in a dedicated booth exhibited at Paperworld, the largest international trade fair for stationery, office supplies and writing instruments. Taking place in Frankfurt, Germany, nearly 3,000 vendors from over 60 countries attended this fair. The Hanji booth showcased the material with beautiful, high quality products of both traditional and contemporary origins.

The evolution of Hanji today

Contemporary designers are putting Hanji to use in a wide range of stationary items and decorative arts tailored to modern lifestyles. Their work adds a contemporary touch to traditional beauty. 오늘날 디자이너들은 한지를 활용하여 현대적 생활양식에 맞는 다양한 사무용품과 장식품을 만든다. 이들의 작업을 통해 한지의 전통적 아름다움에 현대적 감각이 더해진다. 1. Brooches, using Hanji adorned by metal, Ju Han-jin, Clessidra 2. Diffusers made from Hanji, GREATMINOR 3. Brooch, dyed with traditional ink, Kim Been, MEEETS 4. Naturalistic patterns adorn tray made from Hanji, DECART, sold by ILSANGYEOBACK 5. Hanji greeting card with traditional patterns, MEEETS, sold by havebeenseoul 6. “Hanji notebook: Sumuk,” Kim Hyeon-ju 7. Pure white Hanji ornament, Kim Been, MEEETS 8. Traditional notebook, bookcase and Hanji pencil case, Ji Hui-seung 9. Hanji ornament with many possible uses, Seo Mil-ha

3 4 2

KOREA July _ 11

Types of Hanji handicrafts

Written by Robert Koehler

applied as well. In the olden days, when paper was more valuable, waste paper was commonly used for this craft. Like many traditional arts, the jiseung process is long and arduous. Accordingly, only a handful of artisans keep the craft alive.

Jijang

Dakjongi dolls are made out of paper made from the bark of the mulberry tree. Making a dakjongi doll can be a time consuming process. Artists wind multiple plies of paper around a wire frame, the figure growing and growing with each layer. The final layer is the skin, followed by clothes made from the same paper. The only materials used are paper and paste. Colors are created using natural dyes. It can take up to three months to complete a single doll. Because of the skill and time required to make them, the dolls have become increasingly rare. One good place to see them is the Daol Art Center in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi-do. Run by artist Kim Sun-mi, the gallery not only has exihibits, but also offers classes on doll-making.

Dakjongi Dolls

Jiseung Jiseung is Korean paper weaving. Paper is twisted into cords, which in turn are woven into baskets, shoes, purses, chamber pots and other household items. Rice glue is used to waterproof the products; lacquer is sometimes

Jijang involves applying layers of paper to the inside and outside of a wood frame, often bamboo. Soybean extract, persimmon tannin, painting, writing or lacquer is applied to finish the item. Sometimes, however, several layers of paper are put together to create thick, almost leather-like surfaces, especially after they’ve been varnished with lacquer. This method is used to make boxes, arrow quivers, eyeglass cases, wicker cases and rain covers for hats. Indeed, the word jijang means, literally, “storing things with paper.” There are several ways to decorate jijang items. The most common involves applying cut patterns over the colored paper.

Jideung In the days before electricity, lanterns were used for light. Paper lanterns, or jideung, were made by applying paper to frames made of iron, brass, bamboo or other kinds of wood. Hand-held lanterns, or jojokdeung, were designed in such a way as to provide light in all directions. Translucent Hanji produces a nice, warm light, perfect for pleasantly illuminating interior spaces. Jideung is one of the more popular Hanji crafts. Many Hanji artists produce paper lanterns that blend a traditional style with a modern sensibility.

Jiho Jiho is often used to make household goods such as boxes, containers, gourd

dippers or traditional masks. It was also commonly used in mountain villages to make jars to store the village’s communal grain. The artisan tears up mulberry paper, placing the little pieces in water. They then knead the pieces in glutinous rice starch and paste them on a mold. Once dry, the piece is removed from the mold and finished with lacquer or paint. For decorative items, colored paper is sometimes applied. Perilla oil or soybean oil is sometimes used, too, to keep insects away. Waste paper was often used for this craft. In the old days, when it was difficult to obtain household goods, farming families made frequent use of this technique, which resulted in products that were light but strong. In modern times, however, the craft almost disappeared with the proliferation of cheap metal and plastic goods.

Jihwa Jihwa is the making of paper flowers. In the old days, though Koreans loved the vitality of flowers, they couldn’t obtain real flowers all year round because of Korea’s climate, with its four distinct seasons. To overcome this, artisans took to making artificial flowers, including ones made of paper. Paper flowers were often used at palace events and Buddhist and shamanist rites. In the days of Joseon, they were awarded to the person who got the highest the score on the Confucian civil service exam. Families used them to celebrate fortuitous events, including important birthdays. They were also placed on funeral biers. Even just two decades ago, one could find many kinds of jihwa on a funeral bier. Artisans produce jihwa by cutting or folding paper into several layers. Thanks to its cost, availability and ease of use, Hanji is the preferred material. Nowadays, you can find jihwa in shamanist rites. Shamans consider jihwa to be mediators between humans and the spirit world.

KOREA July _ 13

Travel

Âť

Written and photographed by Robert Koehler

Black Past, Green Future The old coal town of Jeongseon beckons with its history, traditions and nature

The Donggang River snakes through Jeongseonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mountainous landscape.

KOREA July _ 15

A stone bridge crosses the river at Auraji.

Rust and coal dust cover the surfaces of Samcheok Mine’s old marshalling yard. In the old days, this was a place of great activity — wagons taking coal to Gohan Station for shipment to the rest of the country, skips lifting the black rocks from the bowels of the mine, miners gathering in the cage, ready to descend into the depths. Today, the cavernous space of soot-covered concrete and rusting steel lies silent, save for the mournful German melodies piped in through speakers near the cage. A bright yellow wagon, its days transporting coal long since over, sits in the old yard, a dash of color in a sea of industrial gray and black. In a corner, a ray of sunshine, made visible by the dust in the air, pierces through a broken window. Until the early 2000s, Jeongseon was Coal Town, ROK, its rich veins of anthracite the fuel of Korea’s post-war industrial revolution. Though the government closed Jeongseon’s mines after demand for coal plummeted in the 1990s, history lives on in the old mines themselves, some of which have been converted into museums and spaces for the arts, as well as in the company towns that grew beneath the headframes.

(Top) The Samtan Art Mine is an old mine that has been converted into an arts space. (Middle) The Samtan Art Mine’s old marshalling yard has been left as it was when the mine closed. (Bottom) A ferry brings visitors across the river at Auraji.

When coal was king

Beginning in the 1960s, the government, eager to promote industrialization, poured resources into exploiting the province’s coal resources, opening new mines, expanding existing ones and constructing a dedicated railway line to transport coal to the rest of the country. As the mines grew over the next several decades, people from all over the country flocked to the mountains, where camp-like company towns mushroomed in the deep valleys. While mining was lucrative work, the money and perks came at a terribly high price. Mining was excruciatingly difficult and extremely dangerous. Mine collapses, gas explosions and other industrial accidents took the lives of countless miners. Prolonged inhalation of coal dust could lead to coal workers’ pneumoconiosis, or the “black lung.” In the late 1980s, however, with demand for coal falling in favor of oil and natural gas, the government began closing down the country’s mines. Jeongseon’s last functioning coal mine shut its gates in 2004. While many of the mines, and the towns that grew around them, have since disappeared, several of the old industrial sites remain as museums. Art collector Kim Min-seok, who used to oversee the purchasing of African art for Sotheby’s, repurposed the former Samcheok Mine near Sabuk as an arts space and restaurant. Samtan Art Mine, as the site is now called, has earned accolades for

KOREA July _ 17

Where to eat Jeongseon is famous for its chewy buckwheat noodles, or kotdeungchigi guksu, whose name translates as “noodles that snap back and hit your nose.” Another local favorite is rice mixed with thistles, or gondeure. Jeongseon’s market is a good place to find quality eats, especially on market days.

Where to stay While downtown Jeongseon has a few motels, Sabuk has many more options thanks to the nearby casino and ski resort.

Getting there Buses to Jeongseon-eup depart from Seoul’s Dong Seoul Bus Terminal (travel time: about 3 hours). A more scenic option is KORAIL’s special A-Train, which departs from Cheongnyangni Station at 8:20 a.m. and arrives at Auraji Station at 12:30. The train back to Seoul departs from Auraji Station at 5:10 p.m. The trip takes about four hours, but the train is fitted with large sightseeing windows. It doesn’t run every day, so check KORAIL’s ticketing website before you go (www.letskorail.com). (Top) Jeongseon hosts one of Gangwon-do’s most important five-day markets. (Bottom) Chewy buckwheat noodles are a local specialty.

its sophisticated design, which makes maximum use of existing industrial structures, left rusting and unvarnished for emotive effect. The old Dongwon Mine, now the Sabuk Mining Culture Tourism Village, also remains as a museum. Unlike the hipply repurposed Samtan Art Mine, the old Dongwon Mine has been left almost completely “as is,” complete with rusting coal wagons in the yard. The somber atmosphere makes it all the more compelling.

Land of ‘Arirang’

While it may not be the national anthem, “Arirang” is Korea’s true national song. Inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2012, the folk song is, by far, the nation’s most recognized piece of traditional music. Though every region of Korea has its own version of “Arirang,” Jeongseon’s version is the oldest, dating back 600 years. The soulful, mournful rendition of the folk song tells of a heartbroken woman waiting for her husband, a raftsman who never returned from a trip down the river. “Oh, ferryman of the Auraji, let me cross the river. The leaves of gourds in Ssarigol village are falling. The fallen camellia lies on dead leaves. I cannot live as I miss my love all year round.” Auraji, a lake formed by the confluence of two rivers, was a ferry crossing in the old days. It was also the departure point for rafts carrying timber to Seoul, where it was used to build the royal capital’s palaces. Today, it is a popular picnic spot, though a ferry still plies the waters for the benefit of tourists. A bronze statue of a woman still gazes longingly over the river, a reminder of the lake’s place in Korean musical history. Auraji is also the terminus of the Jeongseon Auraji Rail Bike. In 2005, the national rail carrier, KORAIL, converted a disused stretch of track into a draisine line for tourists. Visitors pedal two- or four-seat draisines down 7.2 kilometers of track lined by mountains, rivers, forests and tunnels. A more exhilarating way to experience Jeongseon’s rugged landscape is the Arii Hills, a bluff overlooking a U-shaped bend in Gangwon-do’s legendarily serpentine Donggang River. A skywalk — a glass-floored observation deck — hangs off the cliff, providing stunning views of the river below. To really get the adrenaline pumping, however, take the Zipwire, a zipline that will take you hurtling from the mountain top to the river below at a leisurely 120 kilometers per hour.

The Jeongseon Auraji Rail Bike is a beautiful way to explore the region.

KOREA July _ 19

People Â»

Written by Hahna Yoon Photographed by 15 Studio

Fairytales Re-envisioned Illustrator Wooh Na-young puts the pieces together

Smiling from ear to ear, illustrator Wooh Na-young agrees that she sees herself in her work. “I make the kind of art I enjoy looking at myself,” she says, pointing to the “cute” aesthetic for which she is widely recognized. Wooh, otherwise known as Obsidian, is best known for her series portraying characters from Western fairytales in traditional Korean Hanbok clothing. You might recognize one of Wooh’s most famous works depicting a falling Alice in a blue Hanbok and her braided, black hair in the air. Wooh talks to us about which animations are her childhood favorites, how art helped her deal with depression and what’s next on her Netflix queue.

Computer games and cartoons

Despite the fact that pursuing art came naturally to Wooh, whose grandfather had been a first-generation illustrator, there were no early childhood aspirations to be an artist. Her interests were like a lot of kids who grew up in the late 1980s. She enjoyed computer games, comics and cartoons. “My parents wouldn’t let us buy video games, so my brother asked for a computer and said it was for his studies. Of

course it wasn’t.” Even her pseudonym, Obsidian, stemmed from a game called Ultima she used to play. She watched everything Disney, as well as Japanese cartoons like “Dragon Ball Z” and works by Studio Ghibli. She names Diego, from “The Legend of Zorro,” as her first love and adds, with a laugh, how intensely she hated Lolita, Diego’s love interest in the series, while growing up.

A dream deferred

“I never realized that many animations I grew up on were Japanese. I’m sure that that was the case for the majority of Koreans out there,” says Wooh who began to take art seriously during her third year of junior high school. “When I came to this realization, I had the idea to create authentically Korean animations. That’s one of the reasons why I decided on East Asian art as my major in college,” Wooh says, referring to her days at Ewha Womans University. Instead of diving in, however, Wooh faced a slump upon acceptance into the school. “All the ambition I felt for art dissipated when I actually attended art school. I did as much artwork as was required of me. I just went to

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Wooh Na-young gets to work.

KOREA July _ 21

Old faces put on new clothes

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Wooh recently published this coloring book.

class. I hung out with my friends. I didn’t think about the future.” She ponders aloud: “What might have happened had I pursued those dreams back then?”

Pursuing company life

Upon graduating in 2001, Wooh spent a year working on pixel art and developed enough of a portfolio to get into the famous entertainment software company Nexon. At Nexon, Wooh developed a name for herself drawing for a popular computer game, Nexus: The Kingdom of the Winds. “My East Asian art concentration was not at all applicable in the world of game development,” Wooh says. Despite enjoying her job, she wondered if she wasted time on her concentration. She describes office culture as problematic for a creative: “Not having the leisure time to think and develop your creative skills while working in an office is not even the first problem. The first problem is that you simply don’t have time to finish all your work.”

Revelations

Wooh makes it big

Wooh’s first illustrations in her Hanbok series were of “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Wild Swans” back in 2009. While working on this series, she was reminded of her days studying East Asian art and received positive feedback from those around her. Since she used a layer of paper texture in her Photoshop application, many people commented that it looked as if it had been painted by brush. In 2013, she was contacted by a crowdfunding group to put on a solo

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“The Frog Prince” is a Korean reinterpretation of the Grimm’s fairy tale. The art is inspired by old Korean folk painting. © Wooh Na-young

Wooh left her position at Nexon in 2005 and took a year to travel, going to India and Thailand and getting her scuba diving certification. When Wooh returned to working for another company, she began to question why she was always so tired and exhausted. She asked herself a few key questions. “Why did it seem like everyone was going forward, but not me? I realized that I had never really given time to think about myself. Who was I? What do I like? Where do my insecurities come from?” She came to several realizations. “I had quit Nexon because I was very depressed. I don’t think I realized it at the time, but I had been depressed for a while.” She says that her time off was a time of “getting better” and several selfhelp books guided her along the way.

As Wooh found the motivation to draw for herself, she began to pack lunches to work so that she could eat for 10 minutes and draw for the rest of the hour. She admits that her drawings of Hanbok, at least initially, were for purely aesthetic reasons. “At the time, historical dramas were rapidly developing. I watched shows like ‘Hwang Jini’ and ‘Sungkyunkwan Scandal’ and I was influenced by the beauty of Hanbok in them. I just wanted to draw beautiful things,” she says. As for the fusion element, Wooh explains that she first thought to draw traditional Korean folktales, but she “didn’t think it would be interesting for those characters to wear Hanbok.” She took her project one step further and decided “it would be fun to take Western characters that many people were already familiar with and dress them in Hanbok.”

Wooh got the inspiration for this work from Disney’s “Snow White.”

exhibition entitled “Alice, in Hanbok.” The proceeds from the exhibitions went towards a foundation that supports women forced by the wartime Japanese military to become battlefront sex slaves. As many of her works were easily accessible online, Wooh’s illustrations quickly went viral with the help of social media and pop culture websites such as DramaFever, BoredPanda and Koreaboo. She made the choice to go freelance in 2013 and saw a few years of success. In 2015, her works were exhibited at the Art Ibiza Gallery in Spain and at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in the United States and, in 2016, at the Bibliothèque Václav Havel in France. She worked on projects for the likes of Johnnie Walker, Netflix and, most recently, Disney Korea, making a Korean version of the “Beauty and the Beast” movie poster.

Motivated to move forward

The feedback that Wooh has received about her Hanbok series has inspired her to think more deeply about her work. “I got an email from a Korean living abroad who wrote that she always thought she couldn’t be a princess because all the princesses she saw were white. She was pregnant with a girl and thanked me for giving her a new perspective on

princesses. How can you not think about the bigger picture after an email like that?” Wooh has also started working on a set of illustrations that show how to put on Hanbok correctly and hopes to produce more work on all forms of Asian fashion in addition to her Hanbok work.

Netflix, baby and the meaning of life

When Wooh isn’t working on art, she spends time with her 16-month-old son and, despite not necessarily being a homebody, watches a lot of Netflix. “Orange is the New Black,” “Daredevil” and “Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency” are a few of her favorite shows. “Put the word ‘woman’ in front of the title ‘freelance illustrator.’ Put ‘married with a baby’ in front of ‘woman.’ It’s so hard for a woman in Korea,” she says. However, Wooh feels that she’s finally reached a place of understanding after questioning so many steps along the way. “Studying East Asian art. Learning how to do things on a desktop PC. Being in the video game industry. I needed all those tools to become the person I am today and now I truly believe nothing is wasted in life.”

KOREA July _ 23

Korea & I

Written by David Mason Illustrated by Kim Min Ho

Winding Water and Tumbling Fire in a Splendid Old Village Hahoe Village exudes the transcendent charms of old Korea

A well-known and well-preserved village tucked into a broad riverbend has long been a favorite place of mine to stop for a while when driving through central Korea. Hahoe Village is where of the placid dignity of Korea’s aristocratic scholar-official tradition combines with the dynamic colorful movements of its folklore. I have been visiting and on and off for more than 30 years, first as a tourist seeking the nation’s best sites and later as a tour guide. It remains one of my favorites. I truly appreciate the flavorful moods of its golden age of Joseon neo-Confucian clan-based hamlets. Andong, the central heart of the province of Gyeongsangbuk-do, has long been famous for strongly maintaining its charming Hanok architecture and Confucian customs. In modern times, it has proudly used this reputation to attract tourists. Hahoe Village rests in the eastern part of the county, a fair drive from downtown Andong, deep in the rolling farmlands. The name means “river bend” or “winding river.” The whole village is picturesquely contained within a nearly U-shaped end of the lengthy Nakdonggang River, but on high enough ground to avoid flooding and facing a high cliff on the other side, excellent siting for stable prosperity, according to the ancient geomantic beliefs derived from Taoism. People there told me that the village has the shape of a lotus flower, yet with a curving division into halves, like the two interlocking yin-yang comma shapes of the red and blue design in the center of the Korean national flag. This highly auspicious form is said to provide both physical and spiritual nourishment from the surrounding landscape. I can say the place does seem to have a positive energy that rubs off on visitors. © Image Today

Representative clan village

Hahoe Village was founded in this distinctive place early in the 16th century by the noble Pungsan Ryu clan, which still occupies almost all its houses more than 400 years later, making it one of the most representative historic aristocratic clan villages in Korea. The sequences of hills, trees and water around the village, framed in views from gateways and pavilions, have long been celebrated for

their peaceful beauty by poets, painters and now photographers. It remains one of the best places to encounter Joseon residential architecture, ranging from tile-roofed mansions to thatched-roof common farmersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; homes, as well as dynamic folk traditions, scholarly relics, study rooms, precious antique books and excellent countryside meals and drinks. The clusters of traditional homes are divided into Bukchon, or North Village, housing the secondary branch of the clan that descended from the famous 16th-century prime minister Ryu Seongryong, and Namchon, or South Village, populated by the original main branch of the clan; both contain several mansions designated as national treasures. The northern sector contains the grand Yangjindang Manor, which features one of Koreaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s architecturally best patriarch-residence-and-study buildings, set high up facing the front gate. A short walk away is the excellent Bukchondaek House, much less imposing but with the comfortable welcoming atmosphere of a true family home. There is an authentic huge old sacred tree with an evocative folk-shaman shrine hidden in the central alleyways. Pavilions offer beautiful places to rest and contemplate the riverscape surrounded by creek and red pines, and the Byeongsan Seowon Confucian Academy over on the southeastern hillside is a peaceful shrine to the previous seonbi scholar-official traditions. The great Mandaeru pavilion-gate, upon which open-air lectures could be held, is the broadest of its kind extant in the nation and offers an inspiring view. All these great structures and the humbler houses in between them always seem worth visiting to me, as they so well exemplify the oldest remaining Korean architectural styles that are increasingly being lost in the face of rapid modern development.

KOREA July _ 25

Arts & Entertainment 1 » Written by Diana Park Photos courtesy of Arts Council Korea

Filling the Missing Pieces Cody Choi and Lee Wan awe the 57th Venice Biennale through timely expressions

Lee Wan’s “Proper Time” is composed of 668 clocks that represent the lives of 668 individuals. Each clock turns at a different speed, reflecting the average salary, labor hours and meal costs of each individual.

On May 13, the 57th Venice Biennale, one of the world’s biggest art fairs, officially opened to the public. The Biennale, which boasts 122 years of tradition, runs through Nov. 26, showcasing hundreds of artworks displayed at 30 national pavilions set up at Giardini Park. Under the commission of the Arts Council Korea, artists Cody Choi and Lee Wan, along with curator Lee Dae-hyung, put together this year’s Korean pavilion

exhibition. Upon opening, many international publications pointed to the Korean Pavilion as a must-see exhibition. The Art Newspaper, a leading British publication covering art topics, released the “State of the Nations: Our Pick of the Venice Biennale Pavilions” list. Korea was one of the eight picks, alongside the United States, Germany and Australia. Artribune, a leading Italian

Cody Choi’s “Venetian Rhapsody” uses imagery from Las Vegas and Macau to criticize capitalism’s deep roots in the international art world.

Upon opening, many international publications pointed to the Korean Pavilion as a mustsee exhibition. The international buzz can be attributed to both artists’ tackling the effects of globalization through the perspectives of non-Western artists.

art publication, also picked the Korea Pavilion as one of its top five exhibitions. Artsy, known as the Google of the art world, selected Korea for its list of the Venice Biennale’s 11 best pavilions. The international buzz can be attributed to both artists’ tackling the effects of globalization through the perspectives of non-Western artists. Choi and Lee paint a humorous yet dark picture of Korea’s rapid transformation into the modern, capitalist nation it is today. In a joyful celebration of art and culture worldwide, the artists offer a unique voice in a world that is rarely highlighted in the international art scene.

An exploration of modern Korea From the entrance, Cody Choi’s “Venetian Rhapsody” captures your attention with flashing neon signs reminiscent of Las Vegas or Macau. His best-known work, “The Thinker,” reflects the stark contrast of his perceptions of the West from his education in Korea and the reality of his time in the United States. His resultant

shock led to prolonged indigestion and reliance on Pepto-Bismol. Choi poses a satirical question: Can non-Westerners truly digest Western philosophies? The writers of The Art Newspaper remarked that Choi’s remake of the “The Thinker” by Rodin is “a startling art historical reconfiguration.” Lee Wan dealt with a similar social commentary through the lens of a younger generation. “Mr. K and the Collection of Korean History” is a collection of belongings of a deceased journalist, Kim Ki-moon. The works document not only the history of a single individual, but also of modern Korea. Lee’s “Proper Time” displays 668 clocks on four white walls, each moving individually according to the amount of time an individual must work to afford a meal. Below each clock is an engraving of the name, date of birth, nationality and occupation of individuals worldwide. In the center of the room is a sculpture of a family with carved-out faces. It illustrates the costly sacrifice of valuable ideals in exchange for Korea’s rapid development. The whole exhibition culminates in a multi-dimensioned story of modern Korea moving through different generations. The analogous moments that intersect despite varying timelines reveal a unified critique of modern Korea’s identity in the global context as well as the politics behind its formation. The works also offer an invitation for the viewers to reflect on turbulent times worldwide. Martin Honzik, director of the renowned Ars Electronica Festival, told the Korea Joongang Daily, “You have to visit the Korean Pavilion twice. The first time, you come to see the exhibition, and then you return to read the message of the exhibition. This year’s Biennale failed to address an important point. The world faces a lot of chaos, and national pavilions seem to have their eyes closed to the chaos we see in the world. The Korean Pavilion, however, offers a notable critique.”

KOREA July _ 27

Arts & Entertainment 2 » Written by Lee Jungjin

Betting Big on Korean Programming Global media giants rush to invest in local content

The TV series The Idolm@ster.KR was Amazon’s first Korean production. It aired in 200 countries through Amazon Prime Video.

channels of the global media giants. It can also be a timely opportunity to reduce their heavy reliance on the mainland Chinese market, at a time when they are struggling in the face of China's ban on Korean artists in reprisal against the Korean government's decision to deploy a U.S. missile defense system.

Large global media companies are counting on Korean content to boost their presence in the expanding Asian market. As local pop culture attracts audiences at home and abroad, Korea is now seen as the hub of the Asian content market. On the part of content producers, an increasing amount of global investment in Korea is a great chance to reach out to audiences from many places via the worldwide distribution

YouTube and YG Entertainment jointly produce “Run, BIGBANG Scout!”

An increasing global investment in the Korean content market is a chance to reach out to audiences from many places via the worldwide distribution channels of global media giants.

Among those big players, Netflix is first on the list. The world’s largest online video streaming service provider invested USD 50 million in director Bong Joon-ho’s recent movie “Okja.” Bong is one of Korea’s top movie directors. “I can say ‘Okja’ came out thanks to Netflix,” said Bong about Netflix in a press conference. “Because the budget and scale of the movie were considerable, and the plot and story were bold and new, it was hard to find investors. Netflix didn’t hesitate to choose this work. Although it was very risky, they gave me great support.” The movie was released on June 29 on Netflix. The U.S. company is also eager to invest in its Korean TV series. In January, Netflix announced that its first Korean original TV show would be “Love Alarm,” a 12-episode series adapted from a popular online cartoon series whose author, Chon Kye-young, is one of the most popular cartoonists in Korea. Published online every week, the comic already has a strong fan base. The company also partnered with Kim Eun-hee, one of the most sought-after screenwriters in the country, for its second Korean original. “Kingdom,” an eightepisode series combining the historical thriller and zombie action genres, will be available exclusively to 93 million Netflix subscribers in 190 countries next year.

Netflix’s big moves

Google, Amazon and Warner Brothers enter the mix Google is also spending money on producing original content in Korea. When Google’s YouTube launched its paid subscription service YouTube Red in the country last year, the company announced that it would invest in local content in earnest. YouTube added it was preparing its first original Korean show starring BIGBANG, one of the most popular Korean boy bands, in partnership with

YG Entertainment, the band’s agency. The show “Run, BIGBANG Scout!” consists of six episodes, with the first episode available to all YouTube users and the rest only to YouTube Red subscribers. YouTube has also built a partnership with ICONIX, the entertainment company that created Pororo, a cartoon character popular among kids around the world. Amazon’s first original Korean show, “The Idolm@ster.KR,” is already attracting viewers around the world via its streaming service platform Amazon Prime Video. The series is available in about 200 countries worldwide and is also aired on SBS FunE, a Korean cable and satellite TV channel. Based on a Japanese game, “The Idolm@ster,” the show was pre-filmed by IMX, a production company, depicting the struggles of 10 girls who compete with each other to become pop stars. Amazon is striving to produce original series around the world, allowing its Amazon Prime members to watch the shows on various electronic devices in different languages. Starting with “The Idolm@ster.KR,” the world’s biggest retailer is planning to invest more in producing Korean dramas over the long run. Warner Brothers seems to have great interest in Korean content as well. The world’s biggest film production and distribution company bought DramaFever last year, a U.S.-based website streaming Korean dramas and TV shows. It also financed and distributed two locally produced movies, “The Age of Shadows” and “A Single Rider.” Earlier this year, Warner Brothers made an entry into the local drama market with its 12-episode series “My Secret Romance.” This show was DramaFever’s first original Korean drama series. When it ended its run in May, “My Secret Romance” topped Drama Fever’s Weekly Asian series chart.

“A Single Rider” is Warner Bros. Entertainment’s second Korean film.

KOREA July _ 29

Korean Culture in Brief »

Summer Festivals Begin © Boryeong Mud Festival

Lazer, Sigur Ros and Gorillaz headline the three-day event, held in the beautiful natural confines of Jisan Resort in Icheon, Gyeonggi-do. CNN included the festival, which combines rock music and visual art, on its list of the world’s 50 top music festivals. © BIFAN

drew over a million participants last year, honors the delectable combination of fried chicken and beer, or chimaek. The city of Daegu is the birthplace of many of the country’s best known fried chicken chains. In addition to lots of fried chicken and beer, the festival includes musical performances, tours and hands-on programs. © Korea Chimac Industry Association

As the weather warms, municipalities nationwide are hosting a wide range of summer festivals. The Boryeong Mud Festival, held July 21–30, is one of the country’s bestknown summer celebrations. Popular with locals and international revelers alike, the festival, which marks its 20th kickoff, drew about 4 million visitors last year, including 439,000 foreigners. Hosted in the coastal county of Boryeong, on the Yellow Sea, the event celebrates the efficacy and entertainment potential of the town’s extensive mud flats. The festival includes mud wrestling, mud slides, mud baths, mud massages and more muddy fun. Rich in healthy minerals, Boryeong’s mud is used in mudpacks, cosmetics and other beauty products. The Boryeong Mud Festival has proven so successful, in fact, that this year, the county exported the concept to Rotorua, New Zealand, which will host its inaugural mud festival in December. Fans of one of Korea’s more contemporary culinary favorites won’t want to miss the Daegu Chimac Festival, held on July 19–23. The festival, which

The Jisan Valley Rock Music & Arts Festival, held July 28–30, is a highlight on the Korean music calendar. Major

The Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, held July 13–23, has earned a reputation as one of Korea’s most progressive celebrations of cinema. Asia’s largest genre film festival has not been afraid to break taboos, courting occasional controversy since its inaugural run in 1997. This year’s festival will spotlight the career of veteran actress Jeon Do-yeon. Targeting a younger audience is the ASSITEJ Korea International Summer Festival, held July 19–30. Organized by the Korean chapter of the International Association of Theatre for Children and Young People, the festival is the country’s preeminent event dedicated to youth theater. Mexico is the focus country of this year’s festival, which also includes productions from Australia, Canada, China, France, Iceland, Japan, New Zealand, Scotland and the United States, as well as from Korea.

BTS Wins Award at Billboard Music Awards © Yonhap News

“We still cannot believe we’re standing here on this stage at the Billboard Music Awards… Most importantly, this award belongs to the every people (sic) all around the world that shine the love and light on us by the million and make BTS proud.”

Late aritst Kim Ki-chang’s paintings depicting the life of Jesus are now on display at the Deutsches Historisches Museum in Berlin. Thirty of Kim’s paintings, on loan from the Seoul Museum, are part of the German museum’s special exhibit “The Luther Effect: Protestantism — 500 Years in the World,” marking the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and German Commissioner for Culture and the Media Monika Grütters attended the opening day of the exhibit. President Steinmeier said about the paintings, “We appreciate this chance to know the spread of Christianity in Korea and the potential of Korean art through the paintings.” © Seoul Museum

Pop sensation BTS, the first Korean pop group to win an official invitation to the Billboard Music Awards, captured the Top Social Artist award at the gala event, held in Las Vegas on May 21. To win the award, the septet topped pop giants Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande and Shawn Mendes. At the award ceremony, the group told fans,

Painter’s Depictions of Life of Jesus Displayed in Germany

Korean College Included in Variety’s List of Top Film Schools Influential American entertainment magazine Variety has included Dongseo University’s Im Kwon Taek College of Film and Performing Arts on its list of top film schools. The publication cited the school’s “professional-caliber media and imaging facilities” and its operation of the Asian

Film Academy in partnership with the Busan International Film Festival and Korean Academy of the Film Arts. The Busan-based school, founded by renowned director Im Kwon Taek, recently partnered with Chapman University in California as well.

KOREA July _ 31

Literature

Written by Barry Welsh Illustrated by Kim Yoon-myung

The Many Lives of Hwang Sok-yong With insight learned from the author’s life, ‘The Guest’ sheds light on one of modern Korea’s darkest moments © Robert Koehler

More than any other living Korean writer, Hwang Sok-yong’s turbulent life reflects the dramatic historical developments and chaotic changes that have swept across the Korean Peninsula, redefining both the South and the North, during the past 70 years. A sometimes outspoken critic of the Korean political establishment, he is also one of Korea’s most politically charged writers. Hwang was born the last of five siblings in 1943 in Manchuria. Like

many families displaced by war, the Hwang family was poor, and they lived an itinerant lifestyle fraught with the challenges of poverty. After independence, they first moved to Hwanghae-do, now located in North Korea, before moving to Seoul and then, after the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, to Daegu. During the Korean War, the family was forced to move regularly, with the young Hwang frequently transferring from one school to another. Nevertheless,

his talent for writing manifested during this period, and in 1954 he won first place in the National Children’s Writing Contest. It was also the year he ran away from home for the first time. From a young age, his passion for writing and his desire to travel were linked.

A vagabond’s life Despite winning several other writing competitions, he was

“The Guest” is a challenging, provocative and disturbing novel, as well as an act of literary exorcism that reveals the truth behind a muchmisunderstood period of Korean history.

ultimately expelled from school and spent some time roaming around the southern regions of Korea. He made his literary debut in 1962 with a short story called “Around Ipsok,” inspired by a rock-climbing group of which he was a member. He entered Soongshil University in 1964 and would eventually graduate with a degree in philosophy. As a student, he was arrested and jailed for joining a protest against the Korea-Japan Talks. While in prison, he met a day laborer at a nearby construction site who helped Hwang get his first construction job after leaving prison. Around this time he traveled the country working at factories and construction sites and saw what life was like for those living at the bottom of the economic ladder. He drew on these experiences to write what is now considered by many to be one of the defining Korean stories of the period, “The Road to Sampo.” In “The Road to Sampo,” day laborers Yong-dal and Chong meet on the road, one having been chased out of town for sleeping with another man’s wife and the other just recently released from prison. In the middle of a brutal winter, the two men travel the country looking for work. Along the way they are tasked with finding Paek-hwa, a poor bar girl, who has run away from an exploitative bar owner. When they find her, instead of taking her back, the three outcasts band together and head for Chong’s hometown. Their journey and the difficulties they experience on the way are representative of the vast changes through which Korea was going at the time. As the country was industrializing, farming communities fragmented and secure employment was often difficult to come by. Former farm workers became transient day laborers traveling the country searching for employment. The “Sampo” of the

title symbolizes an idealized past that can’t be returned to and an unstable future which offers little security. Frequently beautiful in its depiction of this transient life, it is one of the first instances of Hwang’s characters being beaten down by an uncaring society and the relentless march of progress.

A marine’s life After several years of wandering, Hwang joined the Marine Corps in 1966 and was dispatched to fight in the Vietnam War as part of the Blue Dragon unit. After his discharge from the military in 1969, he returned to Korea and started writing in earnest, entering a period of creative fertility that continues to this day. This phase of his career began in 1970 with the publication of a short story called “The Tower” based on his experiences in the Vietnam War. A searing critique of American imperialism, it was published in the Chosun Ilbo newspaper and brought him to the attention of the wider reading public. His most sustained treatment of the Vietnam War however can be found in the novel “The Shadow of Arms,” which draws on his experiences as one of the 300,000 Korean soldiers sent to fight alongside American troops in Vietnam. “The Shadow of Arms” is both an atypical war novel and an unconventional exploration of Korea’s involvement in the conflict. There is very little combat in this almost 600-page novel set entirely in a war zone. Instead, the focus is on the black-market dealings that occur in Da Nang as a result of the conflict — the thriving black market being the dark economic shadow cast by the war — and the intersecting lives of several Korean, American and Vietnamese characters

KOREA July _ 33

who seek to profit from them. Hwang creates an intricate, richly detailed world of shady backstreet deals and dubious characters trying to exploit one another and reveals the cut-throat economic consequences of war in a foreign land.

An exile’s life In the decade after he was discharged from the army, Hwang would become recognized as one of the most important writers of his generation for stories and novels dealing with the lives of day laborers, the marginalized and all those left behind by a rapidly industrializing South Korea. It was also during this time that he became an increasingly outspoken activist fighting for democracy and reunification.

The 1980s would see him leave Korea and travel to Germany, Japan and the United States trying to promote interest in the idea of Korean reunification. In 1989, he shocked South Korea when he violated the National Security Act by travelling to North Korea, where he would meet Kim Il-sung. Due to this transgression, he was unable to return home and spent several years living in exile, traveling around the United States and Germany, where he saw the fall of the Berlin Wall. Hwang eventually returned to South Korea in 1993 and received a seven-year prison sentence for illegally visiting North Korea. He spent five years in prison before he was granted amnesty in 1998. His experiences in North Korea would form the basis for his most controversial novel, “The Guest.” “The Guest” is a challenging, provocative and disturbing novel, as well as an act of literary exorcism that reveals the truth behind a muchmisunderstood period of Korean

history. The novel tells the story of Ryu Yosop, a Korean minister who, after living for most of his adult life in the United States, is given the opportunity to return to his hometown in North Korea for a visit. Shortly before he departs, his elder brother Yohan, also a minister, dies. As Yosop travels to their ancestral hometown, he is accompanied by the ghost of his brother as well as his brother’s victims. Over the course of the novel, these ghosts reveal the brutal history of Korean-on-Korean violence and recrimination that took place in the lead-up to and during the Korean War. During conflicts between Christians and Communists, Yohan is revealed to have butchered entire families and various innocents in the name of his faith. “The Guest” of the title refers not only to both Christianity and Marxism but also to smallpox, a foreign disease that spread across the country. Shamans would be called on to exorcise the disease in a ceremony lasting twelve rounds. Hwang structures his novel in twelve chapters to mirror the shaman’s ceremony in an attempt to exorcise the painful memories and submerged truths embedded in modern Korean history.

Stalks of corn lined the road, swaying back and forth in the autumn wind. Two-story duplexes made of grey brick stood at identical intervals along the hillside, surrounded by the orchard. Yosŏp was amazed to see that the village that had seemed so spacious to him as a child actually took up no more space than a small corner of the low hill. The levee where Yosŏp used to take the cow to graze had, at some point, been transformed into a cement embankment. Only the starwort blossoming by the cornfields was still the same. The tiny little flowers still seemed to be laughing out loud in the wind. Yosŏp stood there for a moment, looking up at the vast expanse of the sky, then took the clothes out of the bundle he’d brought out with him from the car. The guide, who’d been smoking a cigarette off to the side, came up to him. “What have you got there?” “It belonged to my brother,” Yosŏp replied, waving his brother’s old underwear at the guide. “I promised my sister-in-law that I would help put some of her demons to rest.” “Ah, you brought them with you from Sariwŏn.”

Yosŏp started off along the old levee path, cutting through the cornfields up to the base of the hill. The guide, having no idea what was going on, followed close behind. Avoiding the areas that were choked with weeds, Yosŏp chose a sunny spot where the dirt was visibly dry and crouched down to the ground. He reached down and gathered a handful of dirt. “What are you doing?” The guide seemed confused as he followed Yosŏp’s gaze towards the patch of bare earth. Yosŏp answered him with a question of his own. “You have a lighter don’t you?” Apparently still unable to grasp what was going on, the baffled guide took out his lighter and handed it over to Yosŏp. Collecting a small pile of dry twigs from here and there, Yosŏp heaped them together and set the tiny pyre ablaze. The twigs flared up, crackling loudly. Above the flame, Yosŏp held the underwear that Big Brother Yohan had used to deliver his son Tanyŏl. The cloth fibers curled up, distorted, and the edges of the garment began to turn black, rapidly burning inwards. Holding it in his hand, Yosŏp

turned the cloth over the flame, slowly, a bit at a time, so as to burn it all the way through. When all that remained was a square of cloth about the size of his palm, Yosŏp tossed the whole thing atop the miniature bonfire. It shriveled up and disappeared instantly. Moving over, Yosŏp began to dig a small hole in the ground. After he scooped out several handfuls of dirt, the consistency of the soil became damp and mixed with leaves. He continued digging, and about a handspan further down, the soil became soft, pink, and tender. After sorting out all the little pebbles and patting the bottom of the hole down to make it firm, Yosŏp took out the leather pouch he’d been keeping on him. Untying it, he took out the tojang-shaped sliver of bone that had once belonged to his brother and placed it in the hole. He filled it back up with dirt. Just as one might do to put a baby to sleep, he kept patting the little mound of dirt that was left. You’re home now, Big Brother, were the words Yosŏp wanted to say out loud. (“The Guest,” Seven Stories Press, 2005, p. 228-229)

KOREA July _ 35

Policy Review

Written by Lee Kijun

Getting Serious About Pollution Government leads efforts to clean up the air

President Moon Jae-in visits an elementary school class for a lesson on clean air. The students hold up signs that read, “Clean Air Without Fine Particulates.”

Despite the warm and sunny weather these days, most people are reluctant to go outside. The reason for this is air pollution and fine particulates, which can be more than 50 times the maximum safe exposure recommended by the World Health Organization. “Under such conditions where even adults are having a hard time coping, it is needless to say that young children are extremely vulnerable,” Cho Seong-jin, a 36-year-old resident of Mapo district, said to Yonhap News. Cho decided to spend a sunny day with his young child at an indoor shopping mall, scrapping a plan to play at a nearby park. “I think my child increasingly has less time to bask in the sun.”

The government is planning to close coal-fired plants that are 30 or more years old as part of the government’s emergency measures to combat fine particulate matter.

Closing older power plants According to a recent poll by Gallup Korea, 82 percent of people have suffered some discomfort because of the air pollution. Among over 1,000 people surveyed by Gallup Korea, 98 percent of women in their 30s say it has caused them trouble. Thirtyseven percent of respondents said they use air-cleaning appliances in their homes. The proportion of people who use air purifiers has more than doubled in the past 11 years from only 15 percent in 2006. To cope with the problem, the government is planning to close coalfired plants that are 30 or more years old as part of the government’s emergency measures to combat fine particulate matter.

National, local governments get busy

The Moon Jae-in Administration’s Air Pollution Countermeasures 30%

One-month shutdown in June of coal power plants that are over 30 years old

Establishment of a fine particulate matter task force

During his presidential campaign, Moon vowed to cut pollution emissions by 30 percent by reducing the number of coalfired power plants. © Yonhap News

A public forum on clear air in Seoul is held in Gwanghwamun Square.

Installation of pollution– measuring devices in elementary, middle and high schools nationwide

Reduction of emissions by 30 percent within the president’s five-year term

Under the plans, 10 out of 59 coal-fired plants, located in the Gangwon-do, Jeollanam-do, Chungcheongnam-do and Gyeongsangnam-do provinces, will stop operating permanently by 2022. The power plants have been in operation for 32 to 44 years. The shutdown of the 10 coal-fired power plants could decrease pollution levels by up to 2 percent, according to Yonhap News. The government estimates the 10 old coal-fired plants account for almost 20 percent of the pollution — 33,000 tons of fine particulate matter, sulfur oxide and nitrogen oxide — discharged from the total number of coal-fired plants operated in the country. On June 1, the government temporarily shut down eight coal-fired power plants for a month. “President Moon’s order to suspend the coal-fired power plants’ operation shows his strong will to come up with radical solutions to the pollution problem by putting it on the national agenda,” said Yoon Young-chan, the chief press secretary. Next year, the government will shut down the ten plants for four months, from March to June, when power demand is relatively low.

During the presidential campaign, Moon vowed to cut pollution emissions by 30 percent by reducing the number of coalfired power plants. “We can no longer delay the pursuit of safe and clean energies. I will reduce coal-fired power plants and nuclear reactors, but increase renewable natural gas power generation,” Moon said in a statement. Moon has been considering every possible means to reduce fine particulate matter since he got elected. He has ordered the senior social affairs secretary to create a special task force to deal with measures to combat pollution. Moon will personally oversee the task force, said the spokesman. Another measure to counter air pollution is boosting investment in public air purification facilities. “The government will install pollution-measuring devices at some 11,000 elementary, middle and high schools across the nation to continuously monitor air quality,” said Moon during his visit to an elementary school in Seoul last month. Moon added that he would pour about KRW 60 billion (USD 53 million) into completing the installation of those devices as well as air circulators. In line with the government-led efforts to improve air quality, the Seoul Metropolitan Government has also announced its plans to deal with the pollution problem. Most of all, it will implement a graded particulate matter warning advisory from July. When conditions fall below a certain level, alarms will be triggered and public transportation will be free during rush hours to encourage people to use public transportation rather than personal vehicles. The city government will also discuss relevant measures through an international forum with neighboring countries when the mayors of Seoul, Beijing, Tokyo and Ulaanbaatar meet in October.

KOREA July _ 37

This is Pyeongchang »

Written by Robert Koehler Photos courtesy of Gangneung Danoje Festival Committee

Communion, Communication and Harmony One of Korea’s most important folk celebrations, the Gangneung Danoje Festival, brings people together

A procession takes the Gangneung Danoje Festival’s tutelary spirits to a sacred altar in downtown Gangneung.

On the night of May 28, a colorful procession made its way through downtown Gangneung, from the Daegwallyeong Gugksa Yeoseong Hwangsa Shrine in the east to the festival grounds next to Namdaecheon Stream in the west. Crowds of well-wishers, revelers and the simply curious lined its path. At the head of the procession, solemn marchers carried aloft a sacred tree that is said to carry the spirit of the celebration. Elsewhere, dancers clad in white and black danced to the powerful rhythms of peasant percussion,

local dignitaries in traditional attire waved to onlookers, and women in flowing robes sang songs of yesteryear, the crowds moving to the music approvingly. Fireworks lit the sky above Namdaecheon Stream, the pyrotechnics reflecting brilliantly in the water below. Held every spring, the Gangneung Danoje Festival is a religious rite, block party and outdoor market wrapped into one. As one of Korea’s most important folk celebrations, the four week-long celebration was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative

Held every spring, the Gangneung Danoje Festival is a religious rite, block party and outdoor market wrapped into one.

List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2005. A communal prayer for peace and prosperity, the festival uniquely blends shamanist, Confucian and Buddhist elements and encourages mass participation, making it a vehicle for social togetherness and harmony. As its UNESCO description reads, “In the traditional context of the festival, one of the functions has been to transcend social differences by allowing people of all social classes to participate.”

A Danoje lantern hangs from a tree.

God and humanity, humanity and nature, human togetherness At its heart, the Gangneung Danoje Festival is a regional festival that seeks to promote coexistence between nature and people and between people through communication with the gods. When the rite began, we do not know, but it is certain that the Dano holiday, celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, has been one of Korea’s three biggest folk celebrations since the Goryeo era. Gangneung residents believe the religious rites at the heart of the Danoje festival ward off disaster and bring regional prosperity. They hold the rites in such high regard that they continued to perform them even during Korea’s darkest hours, including the Japanese colonial era and the Korean War. The festival encompasses a wide range of traditional rites, arts, crafts, games and customs. The festival begins with the brewing of sacred liquor. Several days later, religious rites are held for the male and female deities of the Daegwallyeong, the high mountain pass that overlooks Gangneung. The main celebration, a five day event, takes place several weeks later when a sacred tree, the symbol of the deities, is paraded from the mountains to be enshrined in downtown Gangneung. For many visitors, the highlight event is the street procession that carries the sacred tree to an altar near the Namdaecheon Stream. Dozens of female shamans, accompanied by musicians, gather at the altar to perform the Gangneung Danogut, a shamanist rite to honor the deities.

The Gwanno Gamyeongeuk is Korea’s only non-verbal mask drama.

Although the Gangneung Danoje began as a means to talk with the gods, it has, over the years, grown into a space where people grow closer together.

Foreign visitors wash their hair in irisinfused water.

The Gangneung Gwanno Gamyeongeuk is another important folk tradition associated with the festival. Unlike mask dances performed in other regions, the Gangneung Gwanno Gamyeongeuk is not social satire. Indeed, it was originally performed by government-owned slaves. Instead, the entirely non-verbal performance is an act of prayer to the festival’s deities. Visitors can see the performance only during the festival. The Nanjang Market is an important piece of the celebrations. The largest market in the country, the ephemeral marketplace, which lasts only as long as the festival, is a delightfully chaotic mix of commercial activity, folk performances and human activity. Indeed, the market’s name literally means “place of chaos.” Visitors to the market can take in performances of folk wrestling, or ssireum, one of the festival’s signature traditions, as well as plenty of other folk games and performances. They can also browse the countless locally produced goods and crafts on sale.

Fully participatory Although the Gangneung Danoje began as a means to talk with the gods, it has, over the years, grown into a space where people grow closer together. Many of its rites and events welcome public participation. The festival includes many hands-on programs, including a popular hair-washing event in which participants wash their hair with iris-infused water, an age-old practice said to give hair extra luster and ward off bad fortune. In keeping with contemporary social trends, the Gangneung Danoje Festival is growing increasingly multicultural as well. Some 70,000 non-Korean visitors attended this year's festival, 40 percent more than last year, an increase attributable to interest in the upcoming PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. To accommodate international visitors, festival organizers now offer a variety of programs and services aimed at participants, including tours of Gangneung, translation services and shuttle buses.

Participants enjoy a giant swing.

KOREA July _ 39

Current Korea

Written by Kim Eugene Photos courtesy of Yonhap News

Welcoming the Fourth Industrial Revolution Government sees IoT, AI as keys to unlocking the hyper-connected future

“While the world was running towards artificial intelligence, electric automobiles and selfdriving cars, we ignored those things. I will make the Republic of Korea a ‘smart Korea,’ in line with the Fourth Industrial Revolution.” President Moon Jae-in, then a presidential candidate, was speaking at a forum in Seoul’s Yeouido district on Feb. 1. Doing his best Silicon Valley impersonation, ditching the tie and roaming the stage with a wireless microphone, he presented his vision of a Korea where the so-called “Fourth Industrial Revolution” — an interconnected world where technology renders the traditional distinctions between the physical, digital and biological obsolete — comes into full fruition. “We will build smart houses, smart roads and smart cities in order to apply Fourth Industrial Revolution technology all around us,” he said. “By connecting citizens, corporations and administrative bodies, smart cities will make our lives more convenient.”

You say you want a revolution?

Then-candidate Moon gives an address on the Fourth Industrial Revolution at a forum in Seoul on Feb. 1.

German economic Klaus Schwab, the founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, coined the term “Fourth Industrial Revolution” in a book released and distributed at Davos last year. In an essay posted on the World Economic Forum homepage entitled, “The Fourth Industrial Revolution: what it means, how to respond,” Schwab explains that while the First Industrial Revolution used water and steam power to mechanize production, the Second used electricity to generate mass production, and the Third automated

The IoT is a network of connected items that share data with one another.

production with electronics and information technology, the Fourth is “characterized by a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres.” He stresses that the Fourth differs from the Third, the so-called Digital Revolution, in its velocity, scope and systems impact. “The speed of current breakthroughs has no historical precedent. When compared with previous industrial revolutions, the Fourth is evolving at an exponential rather than a linear pace,” he says. “Moreover, it is disrupting almost every industry in every country. And the breadth and depth of these changes herald the transformation of entire systems of production, management and governance.” Governments, corporations and other organizations around the world have begun preparing for a world where, in Schwab’s words, “the possibilities of billions of people connected by mobile devices, with unprecedented processing power, storage capacity and access to knowledge, are unlimited.”

IoT and more President Moon has called the IoT the “basic infrastructure of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.”

Korea, with its high rate of broadband penetration and vast appetite for digital media, has been particularly keen to take advantage of the coming revolution. The government envisions a nation where rapid, technologydriven industrial transformation brings new economic and social opportunities. Moon said

in his Feb. 1 speech, “Because the world is rapidly transforming, we must gather together the nation’s entire capacity to prepare for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.” To coordinate the nation’s preparations, the Moon administration is creating a presidential “Fourth Industrial Revolution Committee,” run by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning. A minister-level official will head the new committee, whose precise role is still under discussion. The government has taken a particular interest in artificial intelligence and the socalled Internet of Things (IoT), believing them to be key to the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The IoT is a vast network of physical devices — everything from buildings and cars to household coffee makers — that communicate with one another through electronics, sensors, network connectivity and the cloud. President Moon has called IoT the “basic infrastructure of the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” pledging to turn Korea into a “first-rate IoT nation.” Speaking at the Strong Korea Forum 2017, the president said he would oversee the creation of the world’s very first high-speed IoT network. He said, “The government’s goal is to let the public see and feel the Fourth Industrial Revolution in their lives.” During his address at the forum, he also pledged to open up the public data possessed by the national and regional governments to allow corporations to use it freely, thus allowing artificial intelligence to really flower.

KOREA July _ 41

Global Korea »

UAE

Children’s Musical Tours UAE Emiratis got an opportunity to take in “The Adventure of Hallakkung,” a children’s musical set to traditional Korean music. The musical traveled to six cities in five emirates during two weeks, from April 26 to May 8, as part of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea’s “Korean Cultural Tour for the Children of the United Arab Emirates.”

The performances included activities for children, including coloring Korean fans and learning about traditional Korea. “The Adventure of Hallakkung,” coproduced by the Bupyeong Cultural Foundation and the Culture Factory SE:UM, is based on a folk tale from Jeju. Both educational and entertaining, the musical aims to introduce Korea through a performance reflecting the values of

family love and the triumph of good over evil. The musical conveyed the spirit of the Korean people through traditional music and props made from materials like bamboo and traditional paper. The performance also reflected the Emirati policy goal of promoting children’s education and welfare.

Argentina

Hangeul on Display at Buenos Aires Book Fair

Hangeul-related items of great formative beauty and creativity, including books, cartoon characters, IT and design products. The Korean Cultural Center in Argentina promoted Korean literature and the Korean Among some of the books on display alphabet, Hangeul, to visitors at the Buenos were Korean language textbooks aimed at Spanish speakers and a series of Korean Aires International Book Fair, one of the picture books published by local publisher most prestigious book fairs in Central Una Luna. Held from April 27 to May 15, and South America. In cooperation with the Buenos Aires International Book Fair the Korea Creative Content Agency, marked 43 years this year. “The Buenos the Korean Cultural Center introduced

Aires International Book Fair, which gets over 1 million visitors a year, is the best platform to promote Korea to a wide range of locals,” said Jang Jin-sang, the director of the Korean Cultural Center in Argentina.

Written by Korea.net Honorary Reporter Lalien Guillen Park Photos courtesy of Yonhap News

The Presidential Election Through the Eyes of a Naturalized Korean Being part of a multi-cultural family in Korea, I have gained a lot of benefits and privileges. Among them is obtaining a new citizenship. On Dec. 21, 2015, I became a naturalized Korean citizen. From that day onward, I obtained the equal rights to which a natural born Korean would be entitled. It was exciting for the fact that I could now get my own Korean identification card and bid goodbye to my Alien Registration Card. In addition, becoming a Korean passport-holder means that I can travel to 172 countries visa-free, or be granted a visa upon arrival. However, beyond all the perks, the one thing that I was most anxious about was exercising my right to vote in an election. The first ever Korean election in which I participated was the legislative election held on April 13, 2016. At that time, I thought that it was my finest moment as a true Korean citizen. I was able to do my duty as a citizen and choose the lawmakers and the people’s representatives in the government.

However, this presidential election of 2017 was even more special. For the previous few months, I had been actively interested in Korean politics, more so than I was before. I followed the candidates in the news and even watched some of their debates. The debates were really important because their answers reflected how they might handle important issues concerning the entire country. I felt that this time around, I was more prepared when exercising my right to vote. Election Day on May 9 finally came, and the skies were gray and rainy. Nonetheless, the rain didn’t stop people from coming out to vote. I was glad to see that some parents brought their children along with them. I believe that as early as possible, children should develop an awareness of how important it is to vote. After all, they are the country’s future. After writing down our names in the registration book, we were given our ballots. We then proceeded to the polling booths. I practiced stamping my selection a couple of times on the practice sheet before stamping the ink pen on my ballot. After that, I made sure that the ink was fully dry before folding my ballot in half and inserting it in the ballot box. Just like that, voting was done. Voting was scheduled to be finished at 8 p.m. Once again, my husband and I were hooked on the TV, watching the news and rooting for our presidential candidate. It was a landslide victory. The newly elected President Moon Jae-in won the

hearts of the majority of the people with his sincerity and sense of justice. I guess I can say that there's not much difference, if there’s any difference at all, as to how the election looked in my eyes and in the eyes of a native-born Korean. After all, we all live in the same country and face the same social issues. However, as a naturalized Korean, I think I feel more honored to be given this right to vote and to be part of the solution. I will try my best to be a better Korean citizen so that I can be deserving of having this privilege of being able to cast a vote that can make a change for the entire nation.

KOREA July _ 43

Flavor

Written by Cynthia Yoo Photographed by ao studio Kang Jinju Stylized by 101recipe

Wraps to Savor Milssam is just the wheat-flour wrap you were looking for

How to make milssam: 1. Mix flour with 1 egg white, 1 cup of water and 1/2 tsp. of salt and then pan-fry about 6 cm–wide crepes. 2. Separate eggs into whites and yolks and make two sets of thin white and yellow omelets. 3. Julienne the omelets into thin slices. 4. Reconstitute shiitake mushrooms with water, then slice thinly and pan-fry with sesame oil and soy sauce seasoning. 5. Slice up beef and pan-fry with seasoning ingredients. 6. Slightly blanch water parsley and then slice them into pieces the same length as other filling ingredients. 7. Slice cucumbers and salt them for several minutes, then rinse and pan-fry with sesame oil. 8. Slice carrots, salt them and pan-fry. 9. Place the fillings in the crepe and roll the crepe like a gimbap roll. You can use a strip of spinach to tie the milssam roll. Serve with mustard sauce or soy-sauce seasoning.

People sure love ssam. Actually, who wouldn’t love delicious wraps filled with all sorts of grilled meat, seafood or vegetables? The combination is up to the imagination and sometimes decided on the spur of the moment. Wraps at a barbecue grill can be creative and spontaneous, but wraps like the traditional gujeolpan can be quite time-intensive to make and are often served in formal, celebratory meals. Milssam is similar to gujeolpan in that it’s a wheat-flour wrap filled with meat and vegetables, but it’s quite different in how it’s served and eaten. Gujeolpan is served in an elaborate octagonal plate that displays all nine ingredients in their own compartments. Milssam is served as rolled pancakes filled with a variety of ingredients. It’s a popular choice for dinner parties and company meals. While people are familiar with milssam, as it’s often served in catered meals and at family gatherings, what is less well-known is that it’s a traditional festival dish. In addition to major traditional holidays like Chuseok, Seollal and Dano, there are over a dozen festivals throughout the year. Yudujeol is one such traditional holiday, celebrated on the 15th day of the sixth month of the lunar calendar. Sometimes called the Bathing Day, Yudujeol is all about keeping cool in the summer. Yudujeol is not celebrated by many people today, but remnants of it remain, including the food. Milssam is one such dish enjoyed on Yudujeol. It’s full of seasonal vegetables, fresh and cool. According to a 19th century text on seasonal traditions, milssam, called yeonbyeong, is described as wheat crepes filled with seasonal vegetables or a filling made of ground sesame, beans and honey. Winter barley and wheat can be harvested by the summer, so people also enjoyed tteok and noodles made from wheat and barley. Today, folks make milssam with a variety of ingredients. Traditional recipes included seasoned beef with a colorful array of vegetables like carrots, spinach, cucumbers and mushrooms. To be honest, the choice of ingredients is up to the cook. It’s also a great way to clean out leftovers in the fridge. Although some say that mustard sauce is a must, that sauce is far from traditional according to older recipes. Like any good wrap, milssam depends on the cook being ready to try new ingredients and seasoning.

Learning Korean

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

Pop Singer IU Says ‘Let’s Meet on Friday’ Korean pop teaches you how to set a date

If you want to ask someone to meet you on a certain day, one of singer IU’s many hit songs, “Meet You on Friday” can provide your answer. “Meet You on Friday” repeats the line “geumyoile mannayo (금요일에 만나요),” which is the song’s title in Korean. Geumyoil is Friday, and mannayo is a suggestion to meet. The phrase can variably mean “Meet me on Friday” and “Let’s meet on Friday.” Add a question mark at the end and the statement will turn in into a question: “Are we meeting on Friday?” If you want to set the exact time and place to meet, add “eodiseo” for “where” and “myeotsie” for “what time” — “Geumyoile eodiseo myeotsie mannayo?” If the occasion involves many people and you’re wondering whom to expect, ask “Nugu nugu wayo?” which means “Who’s coming?” If you’re the person being asked to meet, you can agree to the proposition by saying “joayo” or “geuraeyo.” If you need to decline, say “mianhaeyo” for “sorry” and “Geunal babbayo.” for “I’m busy on that day.” Propose an alternative day with “Toyoileun eoddaeyo?” which means “How about Saturday?” A quick run through the days of the week in Korean is woryoil (월요일) for Monday, hwayoil (화요일) for Tuesday, suyoil (수요일) for Wednesday, mogyoil (목요일) for Thursday, geumyoil (금요일) for Friday, toyoil (토요일) for Saturday and iryoil (일요일) for Sunday. IU’s “Meet You on Friday” was first introduced to the public with the release of her third regular album “Modern Times” in December, 2013. The then-19-year-old wrote and composed the song. Upon release, “Meet You on Friday” won top spots on online charts and major TV music programs here. IU is Lee Ji-eun’s stage name. The name is a compound of “I” and “You,” and has the meaning of two entities becoming one through music.

Hangugui munhwawa yeoreobun naraui munhwaneun eotteoke dallayo?

Publisher Oh Yeongwoo Korean Culture and Information Service

How is your culture different from Korean culture?

Executive Producer Park Byunggyu

아자니 씨는 나이가 어떻게 되세요?

Editorial Advisers Cho Won-hyung, Lee Suwan, Park Inn-seok

Ajani ssineun naiga eotteoke doeseyo?

저는 올해 생일이 지나서 이제 스물세 살이에요.

How old are you, Ajani?

Jeoneun olhae saengiri jinaseo ije seumulse sarieyo.

아~ 한국 나이로 스물세 살이에요?

My birthday has passed, so I’m 23 years old.

Ah~ hanguk nairo seumulse sarieyo?

So your Korean age is 23? 한국에서는 태어날 때부터 한 살이라고 생각하기 때문에 아자니 씨 나이를 스물 네 살로 계산해요.

한국 나이요? 한국 나이는 다른 나라하고 달라요? Hanguk naiyo? Hanguk naineun dareun narahago dallayo?

Hangugeseoneun taeeonal ttaebuteo han sarirago saenggakagi ttaemune Ajani ssi naireul seumulne sallo gyesanhaeyo.

Because, in Korea, everyone is considered one year old at birth, so you would be considered 24.

Korean age? Do Korean people calculate age differently? 나래 Narae

아자니 Ajani

Photographers ao studio Kang Jinju, 15 Studio Printing Pyung Hwa Dang Printing Co., Ltd.

V-기 때문에

Let’s practice!

‘V-기 때문에’ is used with verb and adjective stems to indicate cause or intention.

Discuss the differences between Korean culture and other cultures.

Cover Photo Photographed by 15 Studio

ex. I’m very interested in Korean language + ‘-기 때문에’

⇒ I want to be a Korean teacher because I’m very interested in the

Korean language.

I’m good at sports +‘-기 때문에’ ⇒ I want to be an athlete because I’m good at sports.

Americans don’t.

My brother is tall +-‘은데’ ⇒ My brother is tall, but I’m short. My sister is in school now + ‘-ㄴ데’ ⇒ My sister is in school now, but I’m an office worker.

한국에서는 식당에서 반찬과 물을 무료로 줘요.

Restaurants in Korea provide banchan (side dishes) and water free of charge.

영국에서는 식당에서 반찬과 물을 무료로 주지 않아요.

Restaurants in the U.K. don’t provide side dishes or water free of charge.

한국에서는 식당에서 반찬과 물을 무료로 주는데 영국에서는 식당에서 반찬과 물을 무료로 주지 않아요.

Restaurants in Korea provide side dishes and water free of charge, but restaurants in the U.K. do not. 한국에서는 식사할 때 젓가락과 숟가락을 사용해요.

In Korea, people eat with chopsticks and a spoon.

일본에서는 주로 젓가락을 사용해요.

In Japan, people eat mainly with chopsticks.

한국에서는 식사할 때 젓가락과 숟가락을 ____________ 일본에서는 주로 젓가락을 사용해요.

In Korea, people eat with chopsticks and a spoon, but in Japan, people eat mainly with chopsticks.

Korean Art Through Coloring

Traditional fan

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Reader Feedback It was really informative to read the article about Hansik (the cover story) because I really love Korean food. Also, it would be interesting to read more fun facts about Korean history. University student from Indonesia

Being a food lover, and in particular an Asian food lover, I especially liked the article on Hansik from the May issue. I would like to see a section about long-term foreign residents in Korea from assorted backgrounds and how they have adapted to Korea. Lawyer from Portugal

The article I enjoyed most from the May issue was the biography of Shin Kyung-Sook in the literature section. I haven’t read any of her books yet, but after reading her biography and learning about her pure heart, I’m planning to start reading her books soon.

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I loved the cover story from the May issue, “Modern Hansik and Its Global Ambitions.” I learned a lot about traditional Korean food and its fusion with foreign cooking techniques. I would also suggest including more diversified articles, especially those about games and sports. Freelance researcher from Bangladesh

I liked many of the articles in the May issue, including “The Heyday of the Singer-Actor” in the Arts & Entertainment section and “Even Mothers Need Mothers” from the literature section. I’d like to see more activities in the Global Korea section, and I hope that more Hallyu news can be shared. Chemical engineer from Egypt

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