Koreana Autumn 2014 (English)

AUTUMN 2014

KOREAN CULTURE & ARTS

SPECIAL FEATURE

KOREAN MUSICALS

A Glimpse into Korea’s Booming Musical Scene ‘ Musical-dols’ and ‘Musical Bums’ Lead Feverish Trends; Hong Kwang-ho Wows London’s West End with his ‘Insane Voice’; Passionate Forays onto the Global Stage

VOL. 28 NO. 3

ISSN 1016-0744

IMAGE OF KOREA

“Smart Relationship-Asynchronous #01” (2012) 53 x 80 cm

Heads Bent over Smartphones Kim Hwa-young Literary Critic; Member of the Korean National Academy of Arts Kim Jung-hyo Photographer

“The skies are high and the horses are fat; We may well draw the lantern close now.”

When autumn arrives, Koreans often think of these words written long ago, by a poet of days gone by.

The message of this poem is that, in autumn, the sky of this land is truly high and clear, the harvest that was the people’s hope and joy even in the lean months has been gathered in, and the nights gradually grow longer, so the people could finally light the night with their lanterns, read books, and be lost in thought until the wee hours.

In this way, Koreans have learned that autumn is the season for reading, and they have long repeated these well-worn words.

But this is now a saying of the past. Koreans of today are no longer hungry.

They now have to worry instead about being overweight due to an overabundance of nourishment, and the number of people who should be dieting grows day by day.

Koreans are no longer intellectually hungry, either. Books are cheap, libraries are plentiful, and the Internet overflows with information. And yet there are not many Koreans who think that now is the time for reading, now that autumn has returned.

In a span of only four years since the smartphone became readily available in Korea in 2010, the number of users of this device has topped 36 million. Fourth-generation LTE smartphone users alone total 33.26 million.

Under the high, blue skies of autumn, all who know how to read in this land — a land that boasts the world’s best IT infrastructure — hold in their hands smartphones instead of books. Instead of looking up at the high, blue firmament above them, they bow their heads and withdraw into their smartphones. Instead of spreading their wings and flying off into the wide world of contemplation, they are immersed in the glut of information that appears before their eyes with the flick of a finger.

The blue sky of an autumn when no one is hungry hangs high and desolate above the bowed heads of smartphone users.

KOREAN CULTURE & ARTS 1

Editor’s Letter

Korea’s Musical Theater: Behind the Boom “The Korean musical industry is in danger of drying up,” says a Seoul daily in its recent in-depth coverage of the nation’s apparently flourishing musical scene. One notable case was cited to back this statement: “Rebecca,” one of the biggest hits among some 200 musicals staged last year, generated 7 billion won in revenue compared to 4.9 billion won in production costs, but the production company only earned some 100 million won.

What would be the situation for less successful productions? Or indeed the failures? A reporter on the special coverage team claims that the industry needs objective self-diagnosis in order to find long-term solutions. No doubt the situation is worrisome if only five out of a hundred producers made any money last year, as industry insiders say.

However, musical theater, by nature, is known for being a hit-and-miss business. Even on Broadway, every producer knows only about 25 percent of the shows they stage will turn a profit. Still, the shows go on, drawing viewers from all around the world and inspiring artists in many countries.

Musicals are a veritable hotbed for young artists aspiring for a career in one of the most popular performing arts genres of our era.

In Korea, it has been only a few decades since musical theater began to be seen as a viable profession for young stage artists. They worked hard against all odds, exploring new possibilities. Gradually, fans responded by buying tickets. And it’s been just a few years since Korea’s musical market and investors began to attract the interest of Broadway producers as partners for joint projects.

The Korean musical market is still immature with a number of daunting challenges to overcome. It may now be suffering from growing pains, and in due time the bubbles will burst and fade away. As musical critic Won Jong-won has noted, this is just the beginning for Korea’s musical industry.

We invite our readers to take a glimpse into this unusually dynamic scene, seething with vitality and enthusiasm, joy and despair.

Lee Kyong-hee Editor-in-Chief

Publisher Yu Hyun-seok Editorial Director Yoon Keum-jin Editor-in-Chief Lee Kyong-hee Editorial Board Bae Bien-u Choi Young-in Emmanuel Pastreich Han Kyung-koo Kim Hwa-young Kim Young-na Koh Mi-seok Song Hye-jin Song Young-man Werner Sasse Copy Editor Dean Jiro Aoki Assistant Editors Teresita M. Reed Cho Yoon-jung Creative Director Jeong Hyo-jeong Editors Yi Sang-hyun Won Young-in, Lee An-na Art Director Kim Kyung-bum Designers Park Jong-pil, Kim Bo-bae Yang Gi-eop, Kwak Hye-ji

Kwon Kye-hyun Photographers Cho Ji-young, Lim Hark-hyoun Layout & Design Ahn Graphics Ltd. 2 Pyeongchang 44-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-848, Korea Tel: 82-2-763-2303 / Fax: 82-2-743-8065 www.ag.co.kr Translators Charles La Shure, Chung Myung-je, Hwang Sun-ae Min Eun-young, Suh Jung-ah Price per issue in Korea W6,000 Elsewhere US$9 Please refer to page 100 of KOREANA for specific subscription rates.

SUBSCRIPTION/CIRCULATION CORRESPONDENCE The U.S. and Canada Koryo Book Company 1368 Michelle Drive, St. Paul MN 55123-1459 Tel: 1-651-454-1358 Fax: 1-651-454-3519 Other areas including Korea The Korea Foundation 19F, West Tower, Mirae Asset Center1 Building, 67 Suha-dong, Jung-gu Seoul 100-210, Korea Tel: 82-2-2151-6546 Fax: 82-2-2151-6592

KOREAN CULTURE & ARTS Autumn 2014

Printed in autumn 2014 Joongang Moonwha Printing Co. 27 Shinchon 1-ro, Paju-si, Gyeonggi-do 413-170, Korea Tel: 82-31-906-9996 Published quarterly by The Korea Foundation 2558 Nambusunhwan-ro, Seocho-gu Seoul 137-863, Korea http://www.koreana.or.kr

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© The Korea Foundation 2014 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the prior permission of the Korea Foundation.

The opinions expressed by the authors do not necessarily represent those of the editors of Koreana or the Korea Foundation.

Koreana , registered as a quarterly magazine with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Registration No. Ba-1033, August 8, 1987), is also published in Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Indonesian, Japanese, Russian and Spanish.

SPECIAL FEATURE

SPECIAL FEATURE 1

A Glimpse into Korea’s Booming Musical Scene 04 “Why do you go to Seoul so often?”

04

Aya Hasegawa

SPECIAL FEATURE 2

06 ‘Musical-dols’ and ‘Musical Bums’ Lead Feverish Trends

Won Jong-won

SPECIAL FEATURE 3

10

24

FOCUS

46

Hong Kwang-ho Wows London’s West End with his ‘Insane Voice’

Cho Yong-shin

SPECIAL FEATURE 4

14

Passionate Forays onto the Global Stage

Park Byung-sung

SPECIAL FEATURE 5

20

DIMF: Making Daegu Synonymous with Musicals Won Jong-won

IN LOVE WITH KOREA

ENTERTAINMENT

24 Every Fall, Barren Island Becomes

52 Dana Ramon Kapelian Gets Korean

72 Film ‘Han Gong-ju’ Veers

Kim Gwang-hyun

Ben Jackson

Kim Young-jin

INTERVIEW

ON THE ROAD

GOURMET’S DELIGHT

a Jazz Paradise

Women to Open their Hearts

between Despair and Solace

30 Park Chan-kyong: In Search of Odd Traces of Modern History

56 Gochang: Among the Dolmens,

Lives Lived and Loves Lost

74 G ejang : One Bowl of Rice Is Never Enough

Darcy Paquet

Gwak Jae-gu

Jeong Eun-suk

GUARDIAN OF HERITAGE

ALONG THEIR OWN PATH

LIFESTYLE

36 Potter Pursues Subtle Hues of the

64 Engraver Jeong Goam:

“My Work is My Play”

Doh Jae-kee

Chung Jae-suk

MODERN LANDMARKS

BOOKS & MORE

42 Ganghwa Anglican Church:

70

“Baekdu Daegan Korea”

Roh Hyung-suk

Charles La Shure

ART REVIEW

“100 Thimbles in a Box – The Spirit and Beauty of Korean Handicrafts”

White Moon Jar

Graceful Fusion of History and Faith

78

Banners Everywhere

Kim Sang-kyu

JOURNEYS IN KOREAN LITERATURE

82 Reading Will Set You Free

Chang Du-yeong

More Than Just Beautiful Landscapes

Dangerous Reading

Kim Kyung-uk

46 Silk Flowers of the Joseon Court

Chronicle of a Quest for Living Traditions

Bloom Anew

Charles La Shure

Choi Sung-ja

“Bari, Abandoned”

Looking at Today’s Korean Society through Pansori

Song Hyun-min

SPECIAL FEATURE 1 A Glimpse into Korea’s Booming Musical Scene

“Why do you go to Aya Hasegawa

Freelance Theater Reporter

I travel to Seoul around four or five times a year. I go specifically to see Korean musicals.

I usually leave Tokyo on Friday and return on Monday.

During my four-day trip I take in an average of five shows.

With the rise of the Korean won, I’ve had to think about cutting back on the number of my trips.

But each time an interesting new show entices me to board the plane.

I guess it’s a happy dilemma.

M

y love for musicals goes back to my college days. I watch an average of 10 musicals a month in Japan, and travel once a year to either New York’s Broadway or London’s West End, the heart of the musical industry. I am currently working as a freelance reporter, covering theater for a Japanese theater magazine. It’s only been a few years since I developed a deep interest in Korean musicals. I had long heard how good Korean musicals were, but didn’t take much interest initially. I simply thought of them as musicals from another Asian country, and didn’t really see the point in watching a production in a language I didn’t understand.

Boom Driven by Actors My perception changed after seeing a Korean musical for the first time in Tokyo in March 2006. It was “Jekyll and Hyde.” I had decided to watch it out of curiosity, to check out the standard and quality of Korean productions. I didn’t expect to be totally blown away. Actors Jo Seung-woo and Ryu Jung-han, who were double cast in the lead role, were much younger than I had expected. In the Japanese “Jekyll and Hyde,” the lead was played by an actor who was nearing 60. He was a great actor with an illustrious

4 KOREANA Autumn 2014

career, but his vocal chops had started to fade. Seeing the Korean actors on stage, who not only had amazing vocal skills but were so adroit in enacting their characters, made me realize how the same musical can come across as entirely different depending on the actors’ talent.

The first musical I saw in Korea was “Spring Awakening” in 2009, when I was visiting Seoul with a friend. I had seen it on Broadway and in Japan, but I wanted to see how the Korean actors presented it. I absolutely loved it. I was overwhelmed by the energy of the two young actors, Kim Moo-yeol and Kim Yoo-young. That’s when I began my regular musical excursions to Korea.

A friend who has no interest in musicals asked, “Why do you go to Seoul to see musicals so often?” With a puzzled look, she added, “Are Korean musicals that good?” I answered, “It is the greatest form of entertainment that allows you to enjoy both Korean drama and K-pop live. How could it be anything less than great?”

The greatest appeal of Korean musicals for me is the actors’ singing. Most Japanese fans of Korean musicals would agree. Performers with amazing vocals are cast not just in lead roles, but also the ensemble, so that even the chorus has vocal depth. Koreans may take this for granted — after all it’s a musical, what do you

Seoul so often?”

Aya Hasegawa first fell in love with Korean musicals after seeing “Jekyll and Hyde” in Tokyo in 2006, when she was mesmerized by the voice of Jo Seung-woo in the leading role.

expect? Unfortunately, that is not the case in Japan.

Although not always the case, musical productions in Japan tend to cast big-name celebrities to boost ticket sales. In some cases, the leading roles are filled by actors whose singing is so abysmal that even amateurs would sound better. This is inevitable to some extent, since actors with talent but who lack star power don’t fill seats. But it riles me to have to put up with such subpar performances — I didn’t pay good money for that, after all. Korea has witnessed a similar trend in the past few years. But the K-pop idols starring in musicals at least possess a certain level of talent.

Mesmerizing Vocals, Burning Passion I also admire the passion of Korean actors. It could be chalked up to a difference in national traits, but I’ve seen Korean actors cry their hearts out in scenes where Japanese actors wouldn’t have shed a tear. It’s not a matter of who is better; the difference in their interpretation is what’s interesting. In this regard, I think musicals that are well suited to Korean actors are works by the American composer Frank Wildhorn, such as “Jekyll and Hyde,” “Monte Cristo,” and “Bonnie and Clyde.” They offer spectacular visuals, and the explosive, dramatic musical numbers, full of high notes and long

tones, are ideal for the voices of Korean actors and appeal to the Korean temperament.

During my regular trips to Korea, I also fell in love with original local productions. I happened to see “Washing” in Daehangno, a theater district in Seoul, and was quite shocked. I couldn’t believe that a musical of such high standard was being staged in a small theater. It depicted the daily lives of people living in shantytowns in the hillside areas of Seoul. The gentle, plaintive songs warmly enveloped the theater. I was also surprised to learn that the music and scripts for original productions were mostly written by young writers and composers in their thirties.

More recently, I saw “Seopyonje” and was profoundly moved.

Through an eclectic blend of the musical genre and pansori (traditional Korean narrative folk music), it portrays the han of the Korean people. [Han is a sentiment distinctive of Korean culture; it represents unresolved, repressed feelings of resentment or grief.]

As a foreigner, it was difficult to fully grasp this unique Korean sentiment, and due to my limited Korean I could hardly understand the words or lyrics. But despite the cultural and language barriers, I was able to understand the story of human karma it was seeking to deliver. Even now, just thinking about it stirs my heart.

KOREAN CULTURE & ARTS 5

SPECIAL FEATURE 2 A Glimpse into Korea’s Booming Musical Scene

‘Musical-dols’ and ‘Musical Bums’ Lead Feverish Trends

Won Jong-won Professor, Department of Journalism and Media Studies, Soonchunhyang University; Theater Critic

The number of musicals staged in Seoul every year, aside from productions for children, reaches almost 200.

In numbers alone, this deluge of shows makes Seoul a huge market, the third most active musical market in the world after only New York and London. Recently, The New York Times published a feature article on Korea’s musical market. The very fact that musicals, long considered the exclusive realm of Western theater culture, have become so popular in East Asia, seems to surprise many. With such a flourishing musical scene, certain trends have naturally emerged, including the strategic use of star power marketing.

I

t is commonplace these days to cast one or two high-profile celebrities in a musical production. In particular, young pop stars from boy bands and girl groups (so-called “idols”), who are famous abroad as well as at home, are all the rage. When these stars appear in a musical, exclamations from the audience can be heard not only in Korean but Japanese and Chinese as well. These ardent fans have turned the usually sedate atmosphere at musical performance halls into a more raucous scene. Once, during the intermission of a show featuring one of these young stars, Japanese members of the audience happily greeted an elderly couple seated in the orchestra section as they passed by. “The idol’s parents,” whispered the production company’s PR manager, seeing the curious look on my face. You had to admire the zealousness of fans who could even recognize the star’s parents.

Comets of Korean Musicals: ‘Muscial-dols’ There seems to be no limit on how many celebrities can appear in one musical. With the steady rise in the number of highly commercial productions that feature multiple actors in the lead role with not only double casting but often triple and even quadruple casting, many more young stars, singers, and actors are finding their way onto the musical stage. Such celebrities who are unfamiliar with musicals often have little time to spare and are loath to tackle a major role by themselves, while all the hype about a “casting extravaganza” strongly smacks of attention-seeking tactics.

This commercialism is disguised by a clever marketing ploy aimed at fans: “See your own favorite star.”

Of course, singers are preferred. In a musical, the ability to sing is essential and experience with live performances is a valuable asset. The many young pop singers who have performed well in musicals are now known as “musical-dols” (“dol” from “idol”).

6 KOREANA Autumn 2014

Seungri of the boy band Big Bang has played the lead role in the original Korean musical “Sonagi ” (“The Shower”), including its tour in Okinawa, Japan. Another member of the same group, Daesung has been praised for his portrayal of the bad boy Rum Tum Tugger in “Cats.” Jo Kwon of 2PM has played King Herod in “Jesus Christ Superstar” and is now earning acclaim as the impertinent drag queen Adam in “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.” U-Know Yunho of TVXQ has been a hit in “Princess Hours” and “Gwanghwamun Sonata,” both of which went on tour in Japan.

SM Entertainment, the talent management company that has produced numerous K-pop boy bands and girl groups with fans all over the world, including Girls’ Generation, f(x), and Super Junior, is now moving into musical production. It has established an affiliate named SM C&C, which produces musicals featuring SM artists. The company’s first such production is “Singing in the Rain,” starring Kyuhyun of Super Junior, Sunny of Girls’ Generation, and Baekhyun of EXO.

From Pop Star to Musical Actor Even before this recent trend, a handful of singers from popular girl groups had successfully made the transition from pop star to musical star, most notably Ock Joo-hyun of Fin.K.L and Bada of S.E.S. Ock Joo-hyun’s musical credits are particularly impressive.

With her powerful vocals she has adeptly performed the roles of the old Grizabella in “Cats,” the ill-fated empress of the House of Habsburg in “Elisabeth,” a sexy killer in “Chicago,” and the Wicked Witch of the West in “Wicked.” Bada, too, has been a crowd favorite in roles such as the gypsy Esmeralda, who dances barefoot in “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” and the femme fatale heroine of “200Pound Beauty,” the product of head-to-toe cosmetic surgery.

Another success is Kim Jun-su of JYJ. Restrictions on his TV

Kim Jun-su of the singing triumvirate JYJ recently showed off his talent in the lead role in “Dracula.” One of the major “musicaldols,” he is acclaimed for his beautiful voice and devilish appeal on stage.

© OD Musical Company

KOREAN CULTURE & ARTS 7

Some attribute today’s popularity of “musical-dols” to an intersection of Korea’s unique fan culture and the performing arts industry. This is apparent in the fans’ reaction to seeing their idols in a musical: they scream and go wild as if in a pop concert and demonstrate their devotion by showing up night after night to swell audience numbers and box-office receipts.

8 KOREANA Autumn 2014

© Seensee Company

Former Fin.K.L member Ock Joo-hyun performs in “Chicago.” A major pop star enjoying a stellar career in musical theater, she has a string of lead credits including “Wicked,” “Elisabeth,” and “Cats.”

© CJ E&M

1

2 1. The theater turns into a sea of yellow after a performance of “Werther,” a musical adaptation of the original Goethe story of lonely love. Waving yellow handkerchiefs, representing the sunflower that is an important symbol in the musical, theatergoers salute the actors at the end of the show.

2. Fans crowd the autograph session with actors appearing in “Mama Mia!” as they try to get a glimpse of the stars up close after a performance.

appearances, due to a dispute with his former agency, have turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Kim, who has since broadened his scope of activity to the musical theater. Regardless of a show’s overall quality, tickets for the nights when he is scheduled to appear sell out in minutes. Some of his major credits include “Mozart,” “Tears of Heaven,” “Elisabeth,” and “December,” the jukebox musical based on the songs of the legendary folk rock singer Kim Kwang-seok, who died before his time.

‘Musical Bums’ and ‘Revolving Door Fans’ Some attribute today’s popularity of “musical-dols” to an intersection of Korea’s unique fan culture and the performing arts industry. This is apparent in the fans’ reaction to seeing their idols in a musical: they scream and go wild as if in a pop concert and demonstrate their devotion by showing up night after night to swell audience numbers and box-office receipts.

A unique peculiarity is the term “musical pyein ,” which literally means a “musical-wrecked person,” and could be translated as “musical bum.” It refers to fans of a particular actor or a musical who will see the same show dozens or even hundreds of times.

Though pyein ordinarily conveys a negative connotation, describing a person turned into a wreck by an obsession, in this case it refers to those individuals so enamored by an actor or a musical that they lose sight of everything else — ending up a wreck or a bum. Such an all-consuming obsession has given rise to the term “revolving door fan,” a characteristic aspect of today’s Korean musical scene.

Special discount programs are now available for these viewers who attend multiple performances.

However, the efforts to sustain these rather unique phenomena of “musical-dols” and “musical bums” call for far-sighted investment and innovation. It is thus necessary to go beyond a simplistic approach of casting bankable stars in new productions with the bold adaptation of new ideas to enhance benefits to the industry.

Strength and Weakness of Star Power Simply casting a star will not guarantee a high-quality production. Indeed, the audience can at times be disappointed by the star’s lackluster performance. The critical point is not the casting of a celebrity alone but what that person can bring to the show.

The losses may exceed the gains if the strategy goes no further than slipping a star into the musical cast without much thought.

This might help to boost ticket sales in the short term, but in the long run it will be detrimental not only to the production but also the star’s reputation. This is particularly the case when that star casually graces the stage with token appearances once or twice a week.

In contrast to video content, which is recorded and edited for play of the final version on various media, the stage requires repeated live performances. With close rapport between the actors being so crucial, an erratic performance schedule can spell doom for a show’s overall quality. For this reason, when pop stars and other celebrities are cast in a musical, it is desirable to have them put aside their other activities for a while and concentrate fully on the show. On the stage, a true star can be born through repeated performances with on-stage harmony and audience appeal.

Overall, the prospects are quite favorable. Musicals are good fodder for the Korean Wave, or the export of Korean pop culture.

If the formula for optimizing added value in today’s culture industry is “one source, multi-use,” it can be said that the Korean musical market holds vast potential for continued growth. Not only the “musical-dols” but also TV dramas, movies, and pop music are exellent resources for the creation of new added value via the stage.

That Korea is constantly adding to its pool of future stars armed with outstanding talent is another positive factor. While the “musical-dols” are mostly already famous pop stars, in the future it is expected that musical actors with proven stage ability and fan popularity will increasingly branch out into other fields. Musical stars such as Oh Man-seok, Jo Jung-suk, and Um Ki-joon, who have already trodden this path and are now active in various fields, are indicative of the wide-open possibilities. This is only the tip of the iceberg, provided that entertainment companies and management agencies pay close attention to these opportunities. Indeed, Korea’s musical industry may only be getting started.

KOREAN CULTURE & ARTS 9

SPECIAL FEATURE 3 A Glimpse into Korea’s Booming Musical Scene

Hong Kwang-ho Wows London’s West End with his ‘Insane Voice’ Cho Yong-shin

Musical Director and Critic

Here I am at the Prince Edward Theatre in London’s West End. Korean musical actor Hong Kwang-ho is flat out performing in “Miss Saigon” at this theater. He plays Thuy, an officer of the Vietnamese communist government, a role that requires a three-octave vocal range, which he performs with ease. Acclaimed for his “insane voice” back home in Korea, Hong is now fully demonstrating his talent in London. Though he was initially a little worried about singing in English, he has managed to overcome this concern with hard work and natural talent. This earned him high praise from the legendary producer Cameron Mackintosh as “the best Thuy ever.”

T

his year marks the 10th anniversary of the Korean version of the musical “Jekyll and Hyde.” The show was practically unknown in Korea at the time of its debut and had not enjoyed great success on Broadway. But thanks to Jo Seungwoo and Ryu Jung-han, who were double-cast in the lead role, it attracted widespread attention. Jo was already known to overseas audiences for his role in the movie “Marathon.” On the days when he was scheduled to perform, local and overseas fans formed long queues in front of the theater, quite a rare sight in those days. From this production onward, the success or failure of a Korean musical has largely been determined by the casting of the male lead.

Ardent Fans from Home and Abroad As musicals featuring not only top musical actors but also K-pop and TV stars in major roles are staged and even go on tour overseas, dependence on star power has become increasingly stronger. However, there have been concerns about pop stars who do not have the requisite acting experience or singing ability, factors that would decisively affect the overall quality of a production.

Naturally, musical stars who are competent in singing as well as acting, and recognized abroad, are an obvious first choice when it comes to casting.

Korean musical actors are especially known for their technique and passion, as well as professionalism. These qualities may be rooted in the particular circumstances of the Korean musi-

10 KOREANA Autumn 2014

cal scene. A large number of musicals of diverse styles, such as American musical comedies, British operettas, and European historical dramas, are staged at the same time around the year.

As most shows have a relatively short run, the actors must learn quite a few works within a short period of time. This requires them to adapt and respond quickly. (At times, the rehearsal and performance periods for different productions can overlap.) Hence, Korean musical actors have benefitted from a whirlwind of experience with diverse works, which has resulted in rapid progress for the industry.

In this sense, Hong Kwang-ho, who is currently active in the West End of London, is a representative success story. Born and educated in Korea, he has been one of the busiest actors in the Korean musical scene over the past five years. Blessed with what his fans admire as an “insane voice,” Hong’s musical credits include such big-name works as “The Phantom of the Opera,” “Jekyll and Hyde,” “Man of La Mancha,” “Doctor Zhivago,” and “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” He is also a solo artist who has held sold-out concerts in large arenas.

In early August, I visited the Prince Edward Theatre where Hong had been performing in “Miss Saigon” since May in the role of the Viet Cong officer Thuy. “Miss Saigon,” which premiered in the West End in 1989, is now regarded as a classic. Set in the Vietnam War, it has starred numerous Asian actors who have since embarked on their international careers. Hong is the first Korean actor to play a major role on either Broadway or the West End.

Hong Kwang-ho is Korea’s first male musical theater actor to perform in London’s West End. He is currently appearing as Thuy in “Miss Saigon” at the Prince Edward Theatre.

KOREAN CULTURE & ARTS 11

Hong Kwang-ho is an exemplar of the brilliant crop of actors produced by Korean musical theater. Born and educated in Korea, Hong has been one of the busiest male leads in the domestic musical scene over the past five years.

Š Kim Ho-keun

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“There is no denying that the West End is more specialized and has better organized systems in place. But I believe that Korean musical actors’ talent and sensibilities are second to none.”

First Korean Actor in the West End Cho Yong-shin Well, what is it like to be a Korean actor in the West End? How is it different from Korea?

Hong Kwang-ho Every night we perform to an audience filled with people of various races and nationalities and from different generations. More than anything else, I am grateful for this fact. Unlike in Korea, except under special circumstances, the main actors must handle eight performances a week. So the most important thing is to stay in top condition.

CY Everyone knows the story of how Cameron Mackintosh saw you perform in the Korean version of “The Phantom of the Opera” and was so impressed that he cast you for “Miss Saigon.” What do you think of the West End casting system?

HK The casting criteria here are different from what they are in Korea. It’s not so much a difference in standards as a difference in attitudes. Because there are so many competent actors here, it is difficult to get even a minor role if you don’t have what it takes for the part, no matter if you are a big star. Rather than looking for a star who will suit a particular role, they look for actors who most resemble the characters in the show and then choose the most talented among them. Of course, nothing could be better if the person chosen also happens to be a big star. Here, it is the production that makes the star. I can’t say which system is better. The production comes into its own when it’s seen by the audience, and in the end it is the audience that makes the choices.

CY I was very impressed to see you sing and act in British English. But English is not your native language. How did you deal with the language problem?

HK When rehearsals started I was not able to fully communicate in English. Mackintosh Productions kindly allowed me to work all through the rehearsals with the interpreter who had helped me in various productions in Korea. At the same time I had lessons with a diction coach so I could deliver the lines properly. In this way, I had to learn the meaning of the words and the right stress to put on them, as well as how to respond to my partner on stage, all in English.

CY In your interpretation of Thuy, he comes across as much more human.

HK This musical is about the ravages and evils of war. To get this message across, I believed it was important for all the characters to be victims and at the same time have their own particular objectives. The way I see it, to be credible, Thuy, a bad guy who is not really a bad guy, has to be truly in love with Kim. This love for Kim and the desire to win her back makes it clearer why Thuy takes such an aggressive stance in gaining his country’s liberation.

After devoting himself to the cause of liberation for three years, Thuy reappears before Kim as a totally different person, but Kim has no choice but to turn away from him because of the child born from her relationship with the American sergeant Chris. For the future of the woman he loves, Thuy believes he must get rid of the illegitimate, mixed-race child Tam, but Kim’s maternal love drives her to shoot Thuy. In the end, Thuy’s genuine but blind love makes his actions and Kim’s tragic situation all the more vividly dramatic and understandable.

‘The Best Thuy Ever’ CY Cameron Mackintosh is a legendary figure in the musical world. What did you talk about with him while working together?

HK Mr. Mackintosh is a man of great passion and drive. He shows what it is to be the captain of a big ship. He openly praised me as “the best Thuy ever,” for which I thank him very much. Aside from this production, I have received some as yet informal offers and it is likely that I will continue to work with him. If the opportunity arises, I would like to introduce some of the talented Korean actors here. There is no denying that the West End is more specialized and has better organized systems in place. But I believe that Korean musical actors’ talent and sensibilities are second to none.

CY What are your plans after “Miss Saigon”?

HK Originally, I was planning to stay in London till the end of the year, but I have decided to extend my stay till next May when the current production will have been on stage for a full year. In the end, my place is in front of the Korean audience — that hasn’t changed at all. I never lose sight of the fact that my experience here is a step on the way to putting on a better performance in Korea. After next May, my priority will be on working in a production in Korea.

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SPECIAL FEATURE 4 A Glimpse into Korea’s Booming Musical Scene

Passionate Forays onto the Global Stage

Park Byung-sung Editor-in-Chief, The Musical

Korea’s musical market has grown by leaps and bounds since the 2000s, now producing an average of 200 shows each year. By these numbers, Korea would rank among the top producers of musical shows, after the United States (New York’s Broadway) and the U.K. (London’s West End), which boast a longer history and the world’s largest markets. Compared to these musical strongholds, Korea is still a relatively small market but it does not fall behind in creative energy. This explosive enthusiasm has been expressed in various attempts to overcome the constraints of the domestic market.

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he advance of Korean musicals onto the global stage can be examined from two angles: cultural exchange and cultural industry. In terms of cultural exchange, Korean musicals began to expand their presence overseas in the late 1980s, around the time Korea hosted the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games. To display the country’s cultural prowess to the world, most of these overseas shows were mainly targeted for Koreans living abroad. From the aspect of cultural industry, Korean musicals started to branch out abroad in the 2000s, as the industry entered a more mature development phase. To expand beyond the confines of Korea’s small domestic market, Korean production companies turned their eyes to the global stage and sought to gain access in various ways. In the beginning, they attempted to present their shows at theaters on Broadway or in the West End, but more recently their focus has shifted to Japan and China.

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1. “Nanta,” a nonverbal performance combining traditional Korean percussion music and slapstick comedy, ran for 632 performances over one and a half years from 2004 at Minetta Lane Theater.

2. Sub-titled “Martial Arts Performance” with the adoption of Asian martial arts like taekwondo and kung fu, “Jump” was acclaimed for its spectacular acrobatics and martial arts movements.

© PMC Production

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To the U.K. and U.S. Musical Meccas The first original Korean musical presented to American audiences was “The Last Empress.” After its premiere at New York’s Lincoln Center in 1997, the musical was performed again at the New York State Theater as well as the Shubert Theatre in Los Angeles in the following year. “The Last Empress” is a tragic story about a queen of the Joseon Dynasty who was killed by Japanese assassins in the late 19th century, as Japan embarked on its imperial aggression in Asia. Although the musical failed to make a sizable profit due to its short run and high production costs, it still bears significance as Korea’s first original musical staged in New York, the world’s mecca of musicals.

In the 2000s, non-verbal performances, such as “Nanta” and “Jump,” gained popularity in the two Western countries. Inspired by the theatrical show “Stomp,” which originated in the U.K., “Nanta” is a combination of slapstick comedy and Korea’s traditional percussion music called samulnori . This unique musical form was created to overcome the language barrier, one of the biggest handicaps for Korean musicals performed abroad. After great success at home, “Nanta” was staged at the Edinburgh International Festival in 1999. Later in 2004, the show debuted under the title “Cookin’” at Minetta Lane Theater, an off-Broadway venue with 400 seats, in New York. With the exhilarating rhythm of traditional percussion instruments combined with comical dance and gestures, the show enjoyed a run of 632 performances over one and a half years.

In contrast, “Jump,” which closely resembled the format of “Nanta,” was not so successful, ending within a year of its offBroadway premiere in 2007. In spite of its lackluster box-office outcome, however, the show sub-titled “Martial Arts Performance” with the adaptation of Asian martial arts, like taekwondo and kung fu, was acclaimed for its spectacular acrobatics and

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martial arts maneuvers.

Efforts to overcome the language barrier continued with Korean production companies taking the new approach of having scripts written first in English and then translated into Korean. This is in line with their previous experience of staging a large number of licensed musicals based on scripts translated from the original language. This new approach was aimed at appealing to both domestic and international audiences through partnerships with renowned international artists.

A good example may be “Dancing Shadows,” premiered in 2007. Adapted from the Korean play “Forest Fire” written by Cha Bum-suk, the musical is about ideological conflict in a village where all the men have gone off to fight in the war, leaving only the women behind. The musical script was written by the Chilean playwright Ariel Dorfman, the author of “Widows.” With the exception of the Korean producer and the original playwright, the production staff consisted entirely of foreigners, including the artistic director, choreographer, stage manager, and costume designer. “Dancing Shadows,” an allegorical story adapted from a Korean realist play, was recreated through international collaboration. Although the show was acclaimed for its stage art, dance, and music, proceeds from ticket sales fell short of covering production costs.

Undeterred by these unfortunate outcomes, efforts to stage Korean musicals on Broadway have continued. Acom International, the company that produced “The Last Empress,” has made a musical adaptation of “Woyzeck,” a stage play written by Georg Büchner. It is a collaborative work with the Greenwich Theatre in the U.K., intended for staging in Korea in autumn 2014. If the work is favorably received here, it will be considered for West End or Broadway theaters. Another Korean musical “Speed Scandal,” adapted from a popular domestic film, has been targeted for Broadway from the outset. To this end, the production company has hired a writer and a composer from Canada.

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To Japan, Riding on the Korean Wave The Japanese had little interest in Korean musicals until 2010, when Kim Jun-su, a member of the popular boy band JYJ, played the lead role in “Mozart.” After the breakup of TVXQ, his previous pop group, Kim parlayed the break into stage success, to the delight of his fans both at home and abroad. Since TVXQ had enjoyed phenomenal popularity in Japan, many of his Japanese fans came to Korea to see him in the musical. In fact, his fans typically accounted for almost 40 percent of the audience on the nights when he performed.

As ever more Japanese came to Korea to watch musicals, Japanese producers started to make cautious attempts to import Korean productions. In 2011, Shochiku-za, the historic company that mainly promotes kabuki theater, imported two Korean musicals: “Princess Hours” and “200-Pound Beauty.” Each show featured a K-pop singer who was popular in Japan — Kim Sung-je of the boy band Choshinsung and Park Gyu-ri of the girl group Kara, respectively. The seats were not filled on the nights when they were not performing.

Yokichi Osato, president of Amuse Inc., a major Japanese entertainment company, believed in the potential of Korean musicals. He opened the Amuse Musical Theatre, a venue dedicated to Korean musicals, in the heart of Tokyo. All year round in 2013, the theater presented shows featuring Korean musical actors, but not K-pop stars, at reduced prices. This experiment proved unsuccessful, showing that Korean musicals are not yet competitive without hallyu celebrities. From the onset, the entry of Korean musicals was largely made possible by a structural deficiency of the Japanese musical market, over 80 percent of which is controlled by Toho Co., Ltd. and Shiki Theatre Company. It is difficult for smaller companies to acquire licenses for hit Broadway musicals, so some of them hoped to create a niche market for Korean musicals.

Two Korean musicals were presented in Japan in 2011. The number rose to seven in 2012 and 18 in 2013, but fell back to seven in 2014. As it has turned out that casting celebrities alone is not enough for a show to succeed, Korean production companies are trying out new strategies based on their past experiences. Premiered in Japan in early 2014, the Korean musical “Sherlock Holmes” was a box office success, largely due to an effective premarketing strategy and a cast of well-known Japanese actors.

This case demonstrates that original Korean musicals can appeal to Japanese audiences with a talented cast and astute publicity.

Another original musical “On Air,” featuring both K-pop stars and Japanese actors, adopted a new tactic to help the Korean actors blend into the show, performed in Japanese, by creating characters who are not fluent in Japanese.

© ACOM International Company

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© LEHI

© Shownote

1, 2. “The Last Empress” was the first Korean musical performed overseas. The story of the murder of Empress Myeongseong

by Japanese assassins, the musical is significant as Korea’s first original musical to be introduced in New York, the mecca of musicals.

3. The Japanese company Shochiku-za imported “200-Pound Beauty” and presented it in Japan in 2011. As a growing number of Japanese tourists came to Korea to watch musicals, Japanese producers have begun cautious attempts to import Korean productions.

4. “Sherlock Holmes,” premiered in Japan in early 2014, was a box office success thanks to an effective premarketing strategy and a cast of well-known Japanese actors.

To expand beyond the confines of Korea’s small domestic market, Korean production companies turned their eyes to the global stage and sought to gain access in various ways. In the beginning, they attempted to present their shows at theaters on Broadway or in the West End, but more recently their focus has shifted to Japan and China.

© CJ E&M

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1. “Finding Mr. Destiny,” presented with some changes to the original story to conform to Chinese culture, enjoyed great popularity in China.

2. “Line 1,” an original German musical translated and adapted by the theater company Hakchon, was the first Korean musical performed in China. The renowned Chinese novelist Yu Hua, who wrote “Chronicle of a Blood Merchant,” saw the musical in Seoul and recommended that it be staged in China.

3. CJ E&M produced “A Feast for the Princess” with a cast of both Korean and Chinese actors. Catering to Chinese tastes, the show is based on the theme of cooking and places emphasis on spectacle.

To China, a Market with Vast Potential Since musicals have often been regarded as the flower of capitalist arts, China did not accept musicals from abroad until quite recently. The first Korean musical to be introduced in China was “Line 1,” a recreation of the German original with the same title

by Volker Ludwig. It depicts today’s Seoul through the eyes of a Korean-Chinese woman named Seonnyeo from Yanbian. This musical was staged in China in 2001 at the recommendation of the Chinese novelist Yu Hua. The celebrated author of “Chronicle of a Blood Merchant” saw this musical while visiting Korea and praised it as “a work that portrays the darker side of the dazzling metropolis of Seoul,” adding that it was “one of the highest achievements of Korean performing arts.” Many others in Chinese culture circles were also highly impressed by how a musical, which they had considered the paragon of capitalist arts, could capture the truth about everyday life so honestly.

The subsequent Korean shows to arrive in China were mostly non-verbal performances like “Nanta” and “Jump.” Later, full-scale cooperation between the two countries began in the 2010s. The State Council of China announced the “Cultural Industry Promotion Plan” that called for efforts to upgrade the country’s entertainment market to the level of advanced nations. While China has the world’s second-largest film market, the live entertainment industry, including musicals, has lagged far behind. Accordingly, the Chinese government sought to expand the domestic market through collaboration with Delfont Mackintosh Theatres of the U.K., the producer of “Cats,” “The Phantom of the Opera,” and other well-known shows.

Unfortunately, the collaboration proved difficult since the two parties had different objectives. The Chinese project then formed a partnership with Korea’s CJ E&M, which established United Asia Live Entertainment Co., Ltd., a joint venture with Chinese enterprises, to introduce musicals from abroad to Chinese audiences.

Soon thereafter, this joint venture staged the original Korean musical “Finding Kim Jong-wook” in China. Including its title, which was changed to “Finding Mr. Destiny,” various adjustments were made to conform to local circumstances. For example, the heroine’s father in the original is an authoritative and inflexible former military man. But in the Chinese version, he has been transformed into an affectionate father wearing an apron and carrying a ladle in his hand in an attempt to appeal to Chinese audiences who would frown upon a negative portrayal of the military. Such localization efforts helped to induce a more favorable response from Chinese viewers. Another show produced

by CJ E&M is “A Feast for the Princess,” a collaborative project with actors and staff from the two countries.

Catering to Chinese tastes, the show features a cooking theme and places an emphasis on stage spectacle.

The Chinese Ministry of Culture is at the forefront of the efforts to invigorate the live entertainment industry in China through comprehensive support for the production of musicals. To make the most of this state-level support, Chinese producers are eager to learn from Korea’s experiences and production knowhow. To facilitate further collaborations, representatives of over 100 Chinese theater companies will participate in the Korea-China Art Fair, scheduled for September in Korea.

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© CJ E&M

© HAKCHON

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Musicals Emblematic of Each Decade

“Sweet, Come to Me Stealthily” Yegrin Musical Company, founded in 1961 by the government, opened the history of musicals in Korea when it staged the nation’s first creative musical “Sweet, Come to Me Stealthily” in 1966. The musical is based on the “Story of Bae Bijang,” an age-old comical

gisaeng Aerang. The musical cast popular singer Patti Kim in the role of Aerang, and famous comedian Gwak Gyu-seok provided comic relief as the witty servant. There were seven performances on October 26-29, 1966; the prices of scalped tickets for the final show reached five times the original price.

“Padam, Padam, Padam” Hyundai Theater, founded in 1976, introduced the producer system for the first time in Korea, declaring its ambition to develop musicals into a specialized field of performing arts. In 1977, the company presented “Padam, Padam, Padam,” a musical portrayal of the life of the French singer Edith Piaf. Casting Yun Bok-hee, a popular singer based in the U.S., in the lead role, and featuring many well-known entertainers, the show enjoyed widespread popularity. However, critics censured the show, and Kim Eui-kyung, president of Hyundai Theater, issued a rebuttal.

Other critics joined the dispute, sparking controversy over commercialism.

“Guys and Dolls” Premiered in the United States in the 1950s, “Guys and Dolls” was first introduced to Korea as a college musical in 1981. It was an instant hit thanks to its humorous storyline, witty lyrics, and easy melodies. In the 1980s, there was a shortage of versatile actors and actresses, so three theater companies — Minjung, Gwangjang and Daejung — combined their resources to put this musical on the stage in 1983. After its successful first season, the show was performed almost every year until 2000, establishing itself as Koreans’ favorite musical. It made Koreans realize that musicals could be an entertaining genre of performing arts.

“The Last Empress” Korean society in the 1990s witnessed the remarkable growth of musicals amidst the impressive rise of popular culture. In 1995, “The Last Empress,” about the tragic death of a Korean queen ahead of Japan’s colonization of the country, was a blockbuster success. Its 1.2 billion won production cost, almost double the amount for a grand-scale creative musical at the time, was largely invested in elaborate stage design, costumes, and choreography. The audience was especially moved by the song “Rise, My People!” sung by the ghost of the murdered empress in the closing scene. It was performed in New York in 1997 and 1998.

“The Phantom of the Opera” With its Korean premiere in 2001, “The Phantom of the Opera” brought about a tectonic shift in the Korean musical scene. This musical was a phenomenal success, breaking all records in production costs, ticket prices, show dates, and revenue.

Production costs came to 12 billion won — 20 times the average for a regular large-scale show — while the proceeds from ticket sales amounted to some 19 billion won. After this unprecedented success, investors started to take an interest in musicals, and production companies also became more proactive in investing in the import of musicals from abroad.

“The Goddess is Watching” The current decade has seen the significant growth of original Korean musicals. “The Goddess is Watching,” a product of CJ E&M through its CJ Creative Minds program, has added further momentum to this trend. Set in the Korean War, it is the story of soldiers from the two Koreas who are isolated on a deserted island and how they form a brotherhood. The musical has also been popular outside Korea, even though it does not feature a single K-pop star. If not an epochal work, it inherits the legacy of earlier creative works presented in the theaters of Daehangno (University Street) in the 2000s, such as “Finding Kim Jong-wook” and “Washing.”

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folk tale about a petty official dispatched to a post on Jeju Island and the beautiful local

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2010s

KOREAN CULTURE & ARTS 19

SPECIAL FEATURE 5 A Glimpse into Korea’s Booming Musical Scene

Won Jong-won Professor, Department of Journalism and Media Studies, Soonchunhyang University; Theater Critic

Making Daegu Synonymous with Musicals Chinese movie star Jin Yan, legendary World War I female spy Mata Hari, the Count of Monte Cristo, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart — what do they have in common? They were all protagonists of musicals that took the stage to heat up the city of Daegu this summer. For two weeks in early summer every year (June 27 to July 14 this year), this Korean city is abuzz with creative energy; it is the season of the Daegu International Musical Festival (DIMF).

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his is the eighth year since Daegu launched its namesake international musical festival. Of course, numerous performing arts festivals are staged all over the world, two prime examples being the Edinburgh Festival and the Avignon Festival.

New York, the city of musicals, also puts on the New York Musical Theatre Festival every summer. More often than not, the works introduced at these events are not quite finished, but still being created. In contrast to film, in musical theater the processes that give shape to a production over a long period of gestation and refinement are of critical importance. So before a show officially opens, it is common to work over ideas and refine a production through various channels.

Festivals are ideal opportunities to test out a work in development.

A number of worldwide hits have emerged through this process. One example is “Jerry Springer: The Opera,” which stirred controversy with the profan-

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ity of its content. First shown at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, this musical is based on the low-brow U.S. tabloid talk show notorious for tawdry antics and overthe-top characters. The figures appearing in “The Opera” are eccentric and offbeat individuals from all walks of life, but they sing in classical style, as if they were performing an opera.

In the days before radio and television, the stage was the only venue for popular culture. In fact, if we look at opera, which has a long history and tradition in the West, the plots could easily be adapted for modern-day TV soap operas. The “Jerry Springer” musical is a fascinating outcome of radical thinking and experimentation made possible by having a test-run at a performing arts festival. It was picked up at Edinburgh by Nicholas Hytner, director of “Miss Saigon” and then artistic director of the National Theatre of Great Britain, and went on to enjoy a two-year run in the West End before touring the U.K.

This year’s DIMF brought together works from many countries, including Russia, Slovakia, China, and Kazakhstan. The photo shows a scene from “Mozart l’Opera Rock” by the Kazakhstan National Academy of Arts, which won the 2014 DIMF Organizing Committee’s Special Award.

Sowing the Seeds of Korean Original Musicals The DIMF aspires for a similar role. Of course, the festival features diverse productions from various countries. This year it had works from Russia, Slovakia, China and Kazakhstan, among other countries.

But just as noteworthy were the works in the “DIMF Musical Seed” program. As its name suggests, this program is designed to identify promising works that are still in development and provide them with the support needed for growth into full-fledged productions. Thus far, this program has focused on original Korean works.

This year’s “Musical Seed” competition had the following entries: “Wedding Shoes,” the story of the Korean women who were forcibly mobilized as sex slaves for the Japanese army during World War II; “The Flame of Shanghai,” the life story of the popular 1930s Shanghai movie star Jin Yan, who was of Korean descent; “DEGAJEAN,” a work parodying on the

Gyeongsang regional dialect word deugaja (“Let’s go inside [the love hotel]”) made to sound vaguely French; and “Fernando,” a children’s musical about two mischievous boys who travel to outer space with their pet dog in order to tell a mother elephant the news about her son Fernando. “Wedding Shoes” was chosen as the most outstanding work by the judging committee to be awarded the Creative Musical Prize and invited to participate in next year’s festival. It will also be offered assistance for overseas performances.

Already, several of the DIMF’s award-winning musicals have gained a measure of commercial popularity. Notable productions include “Special Letter,” a humorous look at the everyday lives of young enlisted men; “My Scary Girl,” a musical adaptation of the film of the same title which follows events in the life of a man who happens to fall in love with a girl who is a murderer; and “Bungee Jumping of Their Own,” also a musical adaptation of a well-known movie.

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1. “Monte Cristo,” winner of this year’s Grand Prize, was acclaimed as a flawless work bringing together uniquely Russian music, strong composition, original choreography, acting, and stage effects that stimulated the imagination.

2. The Slovakian entry “Mata Hari” won the 2014 DIMF Foreign Musical Award. Presented as the opening work of the festival, this musical explores the life of Mata Hari, a double agent for France and Germany during the First World War. 3. “Urine Town” by the Myongji University team, which won the Grand Prize in the College Musical Festival section of DIMF, was praised for showing a standard of singing, choreography, and acting that is on par in with professional productions.

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Compared to the world’s big-name performing arts festivals, DIMF is still a relative newcomer. Despite its brief history, however, the festival has attracted an impressive array of participants from a number of countries. Festival organizers are thus planning to invite even more works, with rich content and original plots from all over the world, so that audiences can continue to enjoy a program of highly distinctive productions.

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4. A musical team from Keimyung University performs in the Musical Plaza on Dongseong-no.

Musical stages have been placed here and there around the city of Daegu.

5. Visitors to DIMF 2014 enjoy an outdoor performance.

The DIMF comprises competitive and non-competitive categories. The competitive division includes presentations of the officially invited productions from around the world, Musical Seed, and the College Musical Festival. (This year, 20 universities participated; three entries from Korea and one entry from Kazakhstan reached the main competition.) The noncompetitive division includes a wide variety of side events in the Fringe Festival, productions participating independently, meet-and-greet events with stars, and exhibitions. The grand finale is the DIMF Awards ceremony, which is broadcast live on local television.

Reaching Out to Global Audiences The DIMF is expected to have a significant impact on the local economy. For this, the festival organizing committee is exploring ways to link the annual festival with regional activities and resources, for example, through programs that will conveniently connect festival visitors with local tourism facilities, such as lodg-

ings and restaurants. Tourism packages for domestic and international visitors are being developed. One example is a package that provides discounts for highspeed KTX rail fares between Seoul and Daegu, hotel accommodations, and musical tickets. Under a sponsorship deal with a brewery company, special beer cans and bottles carrying the DIMF logo can now be seen in the market. Over time, a wider variety of value-added products is expected to be offered.

To enhance the quality and influence of the festival, various efforts are being made to cooperate with the musical industry of other countries. Through an exchange program with the New York Musical Theatre Festival, creative new productions developed in both countries are being staged in Korea and New York, and cooperation with the Dongguan International Musical Festival in China is also under way. Thanks to these endeavors, award-winning works of the DIMF Musical Seed program have been successfully staged in New York, allowing the actors and production staffs to parlay their award-winning status. “My Scary Girl” is a good example. Also, the large-scale production “Turandot,” which adapted the storyline of the famous opera, was staged at the Dongguan International Musical Festival, where it won the Special Grand Prize. DIMF works have been invited to participate in this year’s Shanghai Musical Festival as well.

Compared to the world’s big-name performing arts festivals, the DIMF is still a relative newcomer. Despite its brief history, however, the festival has attracted an impressive array of participants from a number of countries. These include not only the U.K. and the United States, where musicals are widely popular, but also Australia, Russia, Japan, China, Slovakia, France, and Kazakhstan. Festival organizers are thus planning to invite even more works, with rich content and original plots from all over the world, so audiences can continue to enjoy a program of highly distinctive productions.

There’s a joke that people wonder what Edinburgh is like during the other 11 months of the year when the city does not host its world-famous festivals. As for the DIMF, it is steadily making a name for itself as the premier musical festival in Asia. It doesn’t seem too much to imagine the day when people may say, “I wonder what Daegu is like during the other 11 months of the year without the DIMF.” That day doesn’t seem to be that far off.

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FOCUS

Every Fall, Barren Island Kim Gwang-hyun

Editor-in-Chief, Jazz People

The Jarasum International Jazz Festival offers diverse music played by artists from around the world in a beautiful natural setting. Thanks to the festival this small, remote island which used to be submerged whenever it rained only 10 years ago has become a wellknown jazz paradise and resort area.

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Becomes a Jazz Paradise A two-and-a-half hour drive from Seoul will take you to a small, remote island that transforms every fall into a mecca for jazz fans from around the world. This year’s 11th Jarasum International Jazz Festival is slated for October 3-5. The festival has evolved over the years from an exclusive event for jazz lovers sharing their passion for music amidst nature to a kind of alternative lifestyle in pursuit of well-being and escape from the stress of daily routine.

Š Jarasum International Jazz Festival

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t all started out quite casually. Lee Mun-gyo, an official of the county of Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province attended a lecture about jazz festivals by cultural planner In Jae-jin. After the lecture Lee suggested that Gapyeong might host a festival of its own. In, a wellknown music producer and entertainment planner who had long been dreaming of holding a jazz festival in Korea, couldn’t let this chance slip by. He ended up sowing the seeds of a home-grown jazz festival on the barren land of Jaraseom (also spelled Jarasum, meaning “Terrapin Island”). As the festival’s general director, In has wholly devoted himself to developing it into one of Asia’s leading jazz festivals.

The Ground Hardens after Rain A place that would always be submerged in times of heavy rain, Jaraseom was long a deserted island without a name. In the 1940s, it was called China Island after some Chinese started tilling the unclaimed land.

Its current name Jaraseom, or Jara Island, comes from a hill on the island that resembles a jara, or terrapin. Across from the island, about 800 meters away, is Nami Island, which was at the time becoming a popular tourist attraction after being featured in the hit Korean TV drama “Winter Sonata,” but few people knew about Jara Island.

“When we visited the island for the first time, everyone was flabbergasted. There was no space suitable for performances or seating. There was absolutely nothing but grass and stones, and so far away from Seoul, too,” recalled Lee Mun-gyo when he received an award for his contributions to Gapyeong County, at the time of his retirement in 2008. The initial festival, staged after much hard work to develop the barren land, featured 30 or so groups from 12 countries, including the United States, Japan, Sweden, and Norway.

On Friday September 12, 2004, about 20,000 people gathered, an unexpectedly large turnout. The festive mood was sorely dampened on the second day by heavy rain. The rain did not spell failure for the festival, though. As the ground hardens after rain, the musicians who continued to perform and the audience who stayed to listen were brought closer together. Paradoxically, the potentially disastrous rainstorm proved the true power of music in a most passionate way. The festival organizers have since waged a constant struggle against rain, accumulating valuable

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knowhow over the years.

Jazz festival organizers from different countries visit the island every year because they have come to recognize its festival as one of Asia’s best, along with the Tokyo Jazz Festival in Japan and the Penang Island Jazz Festival in Malaysia.

Korea’s First Successful Jazz Festival These days, so many music festivals take place across the country every year that the market is deemed nearing saturation. They include a dozen or so summer rock festivals as well as the Seoul Jazz Festival, celebrating its eighth anniversary this year, and the Gwangju World Music Festival, which began in 2010 and also focuses on jazz. Jarasum is credited for adding glitter to this already vibrant music festival scene.

Gapyeong County, host of the Jarasum festival, is home to some 62,000 residents (as of February 2013); it is mainly a nature preservation zone with its primary industries being tourism and agriculture. The island has no permanent buildings, and aside from the festival season there are few visitors to speak of.

As such, the island has preserved its beautiful natural environment, featuring scenic views of mountains and rivers. Besides, the heartfelt support and cooperation of local residents as well as volunteers known as the “Jara keepers,” who are jazz enthusiasts themselves, is an invaluable resource. Also, in 2008, for the FICC Gapyeong International Camping and Caravanning Rally, an auto camping area was built on the island together with much-needed public facilities.

Thanks to these efforts, the festival has steadily attracted ever-larger audiences. In 2012, when the ninth edition was staged, the total number of visitors amounted to 234,000 over three days, up 24.5 percent from the previous year’s 188,000. The cumulative audience figure had exceeded the one-million mark in just nine years. When the festival celebrated its 10th edition in 2013, the three-day schedule was extended by another day. Over four days, the festival drew some 270,000 visitors.

Today, some of the more serious jazz fans complain that they can’t enjoy the music because of the crowds. As this indicates, the festival is no longer for jazz aficionados alone but for anyone with an interest in jazz and even those who simply want to be part of the outdoor music extravaganza. The catchphrase,

1. number domestic Over theof years, the and foreign visitors to the Jarasum International Jazz Festival has steadily increased, reaching 270,000 over four days during the 10th festival in 2013.

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Anna Maria Jopek Polish jazz vocalist performs at the 2013 festival.

3. sweet tunes bring Kenny Barron Trio’s the 2013 festival to a close.

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The festival’s primary attraction is the chance to enjoy a variety of impressive acts taking place on nine different stages over three days, but even if you are not the biggest fan of jazz you can simply take a break and relax in the embrace of nature. The wonderful scenery along the Bukhan River and the fresh air will energize you as much as the music.

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Jarasum International Jazz Festival is a much awaited event among jazz fans. It has positioned itself as a preferred destination for those who want to take a break and enjoy music in the beauty of nature.

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Š Manny Iriarte

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“Nature, Family, Rest, and Jazz,” is well in line with the fast growth of the leisure industry and auto camping fad in Korea.

Awesome Veteran Musicians Over the past 10 years, a total of 535 groups and individuals have performed at the festival. These artists presented impressive performances, leaving the audiences with wonderful memories. The final act of the first edition in 2004 featured first-generation Korean jazz musicians: drummer Choi Se-jin, trumpeter Kang Dae-gwan, clarinetist Lee Dong-gi, and saxophonist Kim Soo-yeol, who had long been playing jazz in a challenging environment. Despite the heavy rain that threatened to call off the show, the veteran musicians staged a mind-blowing act that belied their average age of 68.

The performance by Joe Zawinul, who visited Korea for the first time in 2006 for the third festival, provided a historic moment for local fans. Zawinul had led the U.S. jazz music scene in the 1960s, along with Miles Davis, and became the guru of fusion jazz in the 1970s, when he co-founded the band Weather Report. At the Jarasum festival, he performed with the world fusion group Zawinul Syndicate. This was the first and last precious opportunity for Korean fans to see him perform live, due to the then 74-year-old musician’s deteriorating health.

Jarasum International Jazz Festival has featured

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1. This year, Arturo Sandoval whose life story was made into a movie titled “For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story” is one of the featured artists at Jarasum.

2. Tord Gustavsen is a famous jazz pianist from Norway, which is the focus country for the 2014 festival.

3. General director In Jae-jin sowed the seeds of a jazz festival in Korea and turned it into an international event over the past ten years.

a number of renowned musicians from around the world. They include American jazz artists young and old, such as Joshua Redman and Charles Lloyd, European artists like the Esbjorn Svensson Trio, Trio Toykeat, Giovanni Mirabassi, and Maria Joao and Mario Laginha, as well as Israeli bassist Avishai Cohen. Youn Sun Nah, a well-known Korean jazz vocalist in Europe and the wife of In Jae-jin, also performed in 2008 and 2013. The musical spectrum has ranged from bebop, swing, and Latin to fusion and gypsy, bringing down barriers.

As the jazz genre has continued to expand, more programs have been added to the festival. One country is now designated as the guest of honor for each year’s event: Sweden in 2013 and Norway in 2014. The Jarasum International Jazz Concours was launched in 2007, while the Creative Music Camp opened last year to nurture aspiring young musicians.

Music, Nature and Relaxation The festival’s main stages include “Jazz Island” and “Party Stage,” as well as “Festival Lounge” and “Jazz Palette,” which are presented in the daytime.

This year, two “Jazz Cube” stages have been added, featuring contemporary jazz by Korean musicians.

Throughout the festival, jazz music can be heard not just on Jara Island but all over Gapyeong: at “Village Gapyeong” in the old Gapyeong Station plaza, “JJ Spot” downtown, “Welcome Post” at the entrance of the Jara Island camping grounds, and “JJ Garden” at the theme park Ewhawon.

Jazz fans are excited about this year’s lineup, especially the opportunity to hear Arturo Sandoval play the trumpet live. His life story was made into a movie titled “For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story,” starring Andy Garcia of “When a Man Loves a Woman” and Mia Maestro of “Tango.” Other acts not to be missed include the performances by up-and-coming European pianist Tord Gustavsen and legendary bassist Arild Andersen, both from Norway, this year’s guest of honor.

The festival’s primary attraction is the chance to enjoy a variety of impressive acts taking place on nine different stages over three days, but even if you are not the biggest fan of jazz you can simply take a break and relax in the embrace of nature. The wonderful scenery along the Bukhan River and the fresh air will energize you as much as the music.

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INTERVIEW

Park Chan-kyong

In Search of Odd Traces of Modern History I met Park Chan-kyong at his office in the Seoul Museum of Art, where he has recently taken up the position of artistic director for the Mediacity Seoul 2014 exhibition. As usual, he was soft-spoken and reflective, but his ideas and insights came forth in a rush.

Darcy Paquet Film Columnist; Correspondent for Variety and Screen International

Park Jung-hoon Photographer

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edia artist and filmmaker Park Chan-kyong, with a creativity that flows between different categories and genres, occupies a unique place in the Korean cultural sphere. In the past decade and a half his media-based artworks, including “Sets” (2000), “Power Passage” (2004), “Flying” (2005), “Sindoan” (2008), “Radiance” (2010), “Anyang Paradise City” (2011), and “K.W. Complex” (2012), have been exhibited at leading international venues such as the Gwangju Biennale, De Appel in Amsterdam, REDCAT Gallery in Los Angeles, and Kunstverein in Frankfurt.

In recent years he has become more established in the field of cinema, thanks to his acclaimed documentary “Manshin” (2013), about the life of the renowned modern-day shaman Kim Keumhwa, and various collaborations with his older brother Park Chan-wook, the director of “Oldboy” (2003). In 2011, the short film “Night Fishing,” shot with his brother under the moniker “PARKing CHANce,” won a Golden Bear for best short film at the Berlin International Film Festival.

A Cinematic Portrait of Seoul Darcy Paquet I was very impressed by your recent documentary “Bitter, Sweet, Seoul” (available on YouTube). It’s a fascinating portrait of the city. What attracted you to this project?

Park Chan-kyong It’s a film that isn’t shot by a director, but

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instead is assembled from video footage taken by citizens and visitors to Seoul. The format seemed quite new, and I thought we could do something that hadn’t been done before. Of course, there is the film “Life in a Day” (2011) by Scott Free Productions, which portrays one day in the life of people from around the world, but that was not limited to one place. I think the city of Seoul needs to be viewed from many different perspectives if you wish to really see it. In that sense, I thought the content of the work and the means of production complemented each other.

DP How would you describe your own feelings toward Seoul?

PCK Love and hate. When I’m here, so much is going on that it exhausts me, but when I leave, I sorely miss it and want to go back.

Seoul is a city where so much happens. It’s busy, mixed-up, filled with problems and plagued by incidents. It’s a hard city to define.

DP Some people say that Seoul is forgetting its history.

PCK We inserted many war scenes into the film. During the Korean War, Seoul and other major cities were burned to the ground, and so much physical history was lost that remembering is no longer easy. Of course, we have Deoksu Palace, Gyeongbok Palace, and other traditional structures, but these are very limited in scope. After the war, an era of sprawl development took hold in the destroyed areas, and many relics of the past were lost.

This is a city filled with memories, but there are few places where

Media artist, photographer, filmmaker, and film critic, Park Chan-kyong has been working vigorously and creatively across different genres. “Sindoan” (2008), “Night Fishing” (2010), and “Manshin” (2013) are some of his representative works. He has taken up the position of artistic director for the Mediacity Seoul 2014 exhibition, a media art biennale taking place on September 2 to November 23.

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you can go to actually trace those memories. This is probably the most tragic side of Seoul.

Recurring Themes: Shamanism and the Cold War DP You became well-established as an artist before taking up filmmaking. Can you describe your early work?

PCK One of my primary interests is the Cold War and the division of Korea. Actually, rather than depicting those things directly, I was exploring how people remembered them, and analyzing the media that commented upon and raised people’s awareness of the Cold War and national division. For example, the War Memorial of Korea, newspaper articles, the Cold War depicted in noir movies, and other cultural phenomena. My generation received anti-communist education from an early age. So it seemed there was a spy around every corner. But at university, senior schoolmates had us read Marx and Lenin, and my perspective was completely overturned. That experience left a big impression on me, and I began to do video art, photography, and writing on those themes. Then in 2007 to 2008, I began to take an interest in folk and communal religions. “Sindoan” is a sort of cult, a location where followers gathered together in an effort to build a Korean utopia. Utopia is a Western concept, so I became interested in what images of utopia people held in Asia and Korea. This led me to become more deeply involved in shamanism.

DP Your works often bring together the themes of shamanism and the Korean War. PCK That’s because if you have an interest in history, you can’t help but draw that connection. War leads you to shamanism. I think the shock delivered by war is so great that the aftereffects leave you afflicted.

Manshin: Ten Thousand Spirits DP I heard that you were inspired to make the documentary “Manshin” after reading Kim Keum-hwa’s autobiography. What aspect of it in particular impressed you?

PCK What moved me most about her story was that this young, timid girl who was desperately poor and always sick, the grand-

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daughter of a shaman, despised by communal society ... when she became a shaman, everyone bowed their heads to her in respect.

That’s because shamans can read people’s fate, and people come to rely on their prophecies. Her story shows how the lowliest minority can come to receive respect, and stand at the center of communal society. I was moved by that. She’s a person who knows suffering very well, who at the same time developed an imagination that could contravene the accepted rules of the world … and she’s a woman. We normally speak of women, workers, farmers, and the urban poor as minorities within the social class system, but we don’t talk about them as spiritual victims. But no kind of suffering can compare to spiritual suffering. Problems in society always manifest themselves in the spirit. So in that sense, I thought Kim Keum-hwa was a figure who could reveal the core nature of Korean culture and history.

DP I found it very interesting the way you used three different actresses, each with their own unique presence, to portray the same woman. I think it goes beyond merely depicting different stages in Kim Keum-hwa’s life.

PCK From the very beginning I abandoned the idea of making a typical, realistic coming-of-age film or biopic. There was too much story to tell. It would be impossible to fit into two hours. It wasn’t important to present the character’s point of view realistically. That’s because, although we were presenting a personal story, we wanted to depict history. So instead of a smooth connection between the three, I wanted each to project a unique individuality. In a sense, I wanted the film to resemble a shaman taking in another’s spirit.

DP “Manshin” is not a typical documentary, in that it contains re-enactments with actors and other staged scenes. Viewers usually come to documentaries with certain expectations about how reality is presented. How did you handle that in this film?

PCK Many journalists and critics described the work as “crossing and dismantling the border between documentary and fiction.” But even though the documentary and fiction elements are interspersed, they remain separate. I never disguised fiction as documentary, or tried to make the fictional seem real. It’s true

2 1. A scene from Park’s first feature, “Anyang Paradise City” (2011), an omnibus film depicting the history and development of Anyang.

2. Shaman Kim Keum-hwa performs a ritual for a big catch of fish in a scene filmed by Park for the documantary “Manshin.”

3. In the documentary “Manshin,” three stages of Kim Keum-hwa’s life are played by three different actresses, including Kim Sae-ron taking the role of the legendary shaman as a child.

4. A scene from “Manshin,” depicting the moment Kim Keum-hwa receives the spirit.

5. A scene from “Sindoan,” a media art film dealing with shamanistic beliefs connected with Mt. Gyeryong.

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© Tomoko Yoneda

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© Mikhail Karikis

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1. In the Mediacity Seoul 2014 exhibition, with Park Chan-kyong as artistic director, 42 teams of artists from 17 countries are participating under the theme “Asia.” The photo shows “Sea Women” (2012), by Mikhail Karikis, a video that recorded the whistling sound made by Korean women divers exhaling as they surface from the sea.

2. “Hiroshima Peace Day” (2011), 65 x 83 cm, chromogenic print, from the series “Cumulus,”

by Tomoko Yoneda.

3. “Sonic Dances” (2013) and “Sonic Rotating Ovals” (2013), by Haegue Yang, mainly made of bells and installed on the first and third floors of the Seoul Museum of Art.

© Installation view of Ovals and Circles, Galerie Chantal Crousel, 2013

© SeMA Biennale Mediacity Seoul 2014

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4. Text animation trailer by Young-hae Chang Heavy Industries, a media art group.

5. “Mansudae Master Class” (2014), a 3-channel HD video, archive installation by Che One-joon.

6. “From Moon to Moon” (2014), 300 x 200 cm, inkjet print, by Chung Seo-young.

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“I’d like to meet and invite artists who integrate Buddhism, Eastern thought, Taoism, etc. into their work. I’m not interested in the pursuit of cultural identity; I want other methods ... Not depictions of the Asia we know, because that Asia is an internalization of Western perspectives.”

that in the process of communicating the film’s message, I did mix those elements together. But I tried to make the divisions clear, for ethical reasons.

DP I liked the way that you showed how shamanism was affected by changes in Korean society over recent decades. What do you think the future holds for shamanism in Korea?

PCK What I find unfortunate is that the traditional culture that a shaman needs to create an impression — the wise folk proverbs, songs, music, dance, formalities, altars, etc. — is not known to many contemporary shamans. It’s actually common for most shamans to receive the spirit and then just start practicing. The traditional image of the shaman is disappearing. It’s inevitable, nothing can be done. It worries me greatly, to the extent that I wonder if it can be thought of as true shamanism. It’s becoming more possible that people’s dismissal of shamanism as superstition might come true. That it might actually become superstition. But on the other hand, the vitality of shamanism is quite incredible. Kim Keum-hwa has scores of followers. Among them are people who are very well trained and educated. With such people existing in each region, the tradition should be maintained. But the future isn’t bright. Sometimes I wonder if the culture of shamanism is to be sustained, whether it must be done not by shamans, but developed in literature, film and art.

Mediacity Seoul: “Ghosts, Spies, Grandmothers” DP This year you have been invited to serve as artistic director of Mediacity Seoul, which opens in the fall. What are your goals for the event?

PCK There are about 15 art biennales in Asia, but among these many biennales, none is really devoted to showing the regional character of Asia. I feel like the time has come for international biennales to take up regional issues. I don’t mean issues of cultural identity. Rather, I mean the collective memories shared in the region, or history. In Asia, particularly, memories of colonial history and the Cold War are strong. If you watch the documentary “The Act of Killing,” it’s similar to the April 3 incident on Jeju Island [in 1948]. I want to do a serious, collective exhibition. Another thing I’d like to do is to find artists who approach their work with an artistic language different from the one dominant in the West. For example, I’d like to meet and invite artists who integrate Buddhism, Eastern thought, Taoism, etc. into their work. I’m not interested in the pursuit of cultural identity; I want other meth-

ods ... Not depictions of the Asia we know, because that Asia is an internalization of Western perspectives.

DP The tagline for the exhibition is “Ghosts, Spies, Grandmothers.”

PCK What unites the three figures is that they all can’t be seen, as if they aren’t there. We know that spies exist, but we don’t know where they are. The case of “Grandmother” is different, but in some ways the same. She’s not a figure that people really notice. In one sense, society ignores her, though in other ways it offers her respect. These are people hard to define, who cross borders. Ghosts are connected with history. Vengeful spirits speak of the things that history won’t mention — that have been omitted from history. Spies are connected with the Cold War and colonialism. Grandmothers are witnesses to the era of ghosts and spies. In this sense, grandmothers possess a dual nature. They are figures of endurance and perseverance, but if we look at Miryang villagers fighting eviction from their homes to make way for transmission towers or the [long-running campaign for justice by] former “comfort women,” grandmothers can also fight passionately for their cause. The artists will take their own approach, but each will combine at least two categories: grandmothers and ghosts, or spies and ghosts, etc. As a whole, they will speak of Asia’s history, and the things that haven’t been said. When contemporary artists take up traditional themes or depict Asia, it quickly becomes a game of cultural identity, and when that happens it’s hard to escape from Orientalism. Even outstanding intellectuals find it difficult to distinguish between what is and what isn’t Orientalism. So there is that danger, but if we don’t embrace the danger and make an attempt, I don’t think we’ll find a new way forward.

DP As both an artist and a film director, do you get a sense of each figure’s place in Korean society?

PCK It must be said that the artist is a figure that can’t be seen in Korean society ... like ghosts, spies and grandmothers. If you ask someone on the street if they know the names of any Korean artists, the answer will be no one, or at most Nam June Paik.

Their identity is not recorded, like rumors. Film directors can achieve fame. Film has the potential to reach the general public, and exert influence in a cultural or educational sense. But fame is also like a rumor. In actuality, it’s the same as not existing ... That’s the actual situation that film directors and artists find themselves in.

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36 KOREANA Autumn 2014

GUARDIAN OF HERITAGE

Potter Pursues Subtle Hues of the White Moon Jar Potter Kwon Dae-sup updates the “moon jar” with a pleasant touch of modernism. Kwon has been acclaimed for his expression of timeless elegance and refinement based on the traditional color and shape that are distinctive of the round white porcelain jars of the Joseon Dynasty. He has been producing moon jars since 1978, devoting all his artistic energies to this single type of pottery for 36 years now.

Doh Jae-kee Staff Reporter, The Kyunghyang Shinmun

Kim Kyung-soo Photographer

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Kwon Dae-sup was studying Western painting at university when he stepped into an antique shop in Insa-dong, Seoul, and came across a white porcelain moon jar from the Joseon Dynasty. Enchanted by its beauty, he decided to become a potter.

won Dae-sup was studying Western painting at Hongik University when he came across a white porcelain moon jar from the Joseon Dynasty at an antique shop in Insadong, central Seoul. He was instantly enthralled by its graceful beauty, and this chance encounter changed the course of his life: he decided to become a potter instead of a painter. “I fell in love at first sight. That jar, so simple at first glance, left me with so many different impressions,” he recalled.

In the 1970s, however, information on the traditional porcelain moon jar was so scarce that research was difficult. So he studied porcelain shards that he collected from all over the country, including Gwangju in Gyeonggi Province, where the royal kilns had been located during the Joseon Dynasty (1392 –1910). He also went to Japan in search of any traces of ancient Koreans who had transmitted their ceramic expertise to the neighboring nation. Later, he built his own kiln and opened a pottery studio in Gwangju. There, he engaged in the solitary pursuit of recreating the moon jar by conducting countless experiments with clay, glaze, wood, and other ingredients. His research continued for over a decade, and he finally held his first exhibition in 1995. He had waited until he felt confident about his work, both as a traditional artisan and a modern potter, before showing his lifework to the public.

Today, his ceramic works are showcased at dozens of prominent museums, including the national museums of Korea, Russia

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“ To appreciate a moon jar properly, you should look beyond its simple shape.

Although it is a plain porcelain jar with no decorative elements whatsoever, it will seem different every time you look at it, depending on the circumstances. It will look quite different when you feel good and when you feel gloomy, when the weather is sunny, rainy, or cloudy.”

and Mexico. He has been receiving numerous requests to stage exhibitions at galleries at home and abroad.

Solitary Pursuit of Artisanship Kwon lives with his wife in a small house next to his little studio and kiln situated at the foot of a mountain. There are piles of firewood around the kiln, while the studio is filled with wheels, unfinished jars, and sundry items, including wooden furniture. What does the moon jar mean to him? “To appreciate a moon jar properly, you should look beyond its simple shape,” he said. “Although it is a plain porcelain jar with no decorative elements whatsoever, it will seem different every time you look at it, depending on the circumstances. It will look quite different when you feel good and when you feel gloomy, when the weather is sunny, rainy, or cloudy.”

The “moon jar” (dal hangari ) refers to the traditional Korean white porcelain jar that is as round as a full moon. Almost spherical in shape, its diameter at the widest part is nearly the same as its height, which often exceeds 40 centimeters. The surface of the jar has no patterns or decorations, but a gentle sheen reminiscent of a full moon in the night sky.

Porcelain jars in this style were produced during the latter part of the Joseon Dynasty when white porcelain was the most popular form of pottery. But they were made only for about a hundred years from the late 17th century through the 18th century. Historians of ceramic art have tried to find out why these jars suddenly disappeared after a relatively brief period of popularity, but have failed to come up with a likely explanation. The use of the moon jar also remains obscure. Some think it was a vessel to store rice wine, soy sauce, salted and fermented fish, or grain, but others believe that it was used for royal ceremonies.

Expression of Korean Aesthetics The moon jar is a unique product of Korea’s ceramic culture with a long history. Recently, it has caught the eye of art lovers around the world with its quiet elegance, as a traditional Korean artwork with a modern sensibility.

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The beauty of the moon jar may be described as pure, simple, and natural. Typically, white porcelain works from China, Japan and Europe are elaborately decorated with a variety of patterns like flowers, trees, animals, and human figures. This is also true for Korean white porcelain wares in general, with the exception of the moon jar.

Chung Yang-mo, a ceramic art historian and former director of the National Museum of Korea, said, “Works of traditional Korean art are so akin to nature — absent of artificial embellishment, simple and straightforward, plain and bold, full of generosity and humor — that it is comfortable and pleasant to have them around and to look at them day after day. In particular, the moon jar is large, handsome, abundant, and generous. I doubt that such simple, artless, and bountiful beauty can be found in any other porcelain jar.”

The color of the moon jar is exceptional as well. At first glance, it just looks plain white. But Koreans, who have traditionally favored white, enjoy the subtle differences in its graceful hues.

Close up a moon jar reveals a range of tones from snow white to milky white, greyish white and bluish white, and so on. Such a delicate variety of tints can quietly stir the heart.

A perfectly spherical shape is not an ideal sought in the moon jar. Neither is perfect symmetry. Consequently, the jar looks different from different angles. Moreover, it even has a visible seam along the midsection because it is made by joining together two hemispherical sections. The need for this unique construction is due to its considerable bulk, which makes the jar difficult to throw on a wheel in one piece. But the potter reveals the seam instead of smoothing it over. Such an artwork could be seen as lacking in perfection, but the pursuit of naturalness is recognized as one of the key characteristics of traditional Korean art. Rather than decoration or embellishment, it nonchalantly exposes the true essence of a work. In this way, the moon jar takes on a more natural appearance.

Michael R. Cunningham, a scholar of Asian art, explains the moon jar by first mentioning the celadon of the Goryeo Dynasty (918 –1392) — its elaborate craftsmanship, pursuit of elegance

A white porcelain moon jar produced by Kwon Dae-sup in 2012. It is 48cm tall and 51cm wide. The moon jar is not a perfect sphere, so it looks slightly different from different angles.

KOREAN CULTURE & ARTS 39

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and practicality, and similarity to traditional Chinese porcelain in general. In contrast, the moon jar is a mystery, for such a formative technique cannot be found in the arts of either China or Japan. He asserts that anyone who sees a moon jar for the first time would take the seeming lack of perfection as a completely understandable maturity. In this regard, Cunningham said that any Westerner hoping to properly understand the aesthetics of Joseon white porcelain might do well to delve deeply into Korea itself and its cultural history.

Bernard Leach, the distinguished British potter, is known for a famous story about his acquisition of a Joseon moon jar: he bought the piece in 1935 at an antiques store in Korea and walked out of the shop “carrying a piece of happiness.” That particular jar is now exhibited at the British Museum.

Concerning the recent interest in the moon jar, some people focus on its quiet beauty that gives viewers peace of mind and comfort, describing the phenomenon as a reaction to modernday civilization, which has created a highly advanced information-oriented society but led to fragmented lives and the loss of humanity. Certainly, the elegant simplicity of this jar has been an

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abundant source of inspiration for modern artists. Many artists, not only in the field of ceramic art but in other genres like painting and photography, have infused their works with the aesthetics of the moon jar.

A Work of Humans and Nature Kwon Dae-sup says that making a moon jar requires him to put his heart and soul into the work. He says it also demands intense concentration and will power, as well as adequate experiences in minor and major tasks that he has repeated countless times over the decades. Also important is the fortuity of natural agents, like fire and wind.

His work begins with preparation of a clay paste, which is processed from soil gathered in the areas that have long been renowned for high-quality soil — for example, Yanggu and Jinju — and purified by immersing it in water. The clay is pounded or stomped on to increase its viscosity and resilience, then shaped with the hands on a potter’s wheel. Even the slightest distraction during this procedure can ruin the shape of the clay body, forcing the potter to start all over again. The two hemispheres that form

the jar’s upper and lower sections are shaped separately and then joined along their edges. The jar should be made 10 to 20 percent larger than the desired size of the final product because the clay will shrink when fired in the kiln.

The hand-built jars need to sit and dry out so that they can be handled without distorting their form. The next step is to put them into the kiln for the first firing, which lasts 10 to 20 hours at a temperature of 850 –900°C. After this initial firing, the jars are coated with a glaze prepared by the potter; the glaze creates white hues with subtle variations, such as snow white, milky white, and bluish white, depending on its application. The glazed pieces are fired again, during which time proper control of the flame is both tricky and critical.

The kiln must maintain an oxidation atmosphere (with a sufficient level of oxygen to oxidize the metallic elements of the glaze) until the temperature reaches about 900°C. Then the kiln must have a reduction atmosphere (by reducing the oxygen level by stoking it with more wood, so that carbon from the burning wood can remove oxygen from the glaze) with a temperature of 1,200– 1,300°C. The second firing takes about 24 hours. After the fire is extinguished and the kiln cools down, the jars are removed.

This is the moment when the clay, by means of water, fire, wind, and wood, as well as the potter’s skills and labor, emerges as a finished piece of porcelain. “This is a process that cannot be fulfilled without the help of nature,” Kwon said. “My role is simply to assist in the process by devoting all my knowledge and efforts.”

In general, it takes about 15 days to make a regular moon jar.

The number of jars that survive the firing process is quite small.

As Kwon has no qualms about destroying all pieces that do not satisfy his standards, the number of final products is even smaller. “Technically, most of the pieces may be okay. But in terms of artistry, I’m not satisfied with most of them. If I’m not moved in any way by my work, I don’t hesitate to break it,” he said.

When asked how he would define a good jar, Kwon said, “Well, it’s hard to describe with words. A piece that ‘makes a ghost cry’ is a good work. It is a good work if I feel pleased with it upon removing it from the kiln and find myself talking to it: ‘Oh, you’re a good one’ or ‘You’re a handsome one.’ I know from experience that a piece that appeals to me will also appeal to other people.”

Kwon adheres to tradition in terms of materials and methods, but is not restricted when it comes to aesthetic standards. He believes his work should touch the hearts of, and hold meaning for, the people of the 21st century.

“I try to produce a work that needs no addition or subtraction,” the potter maintains. “I wish to create a work that has an imposing presence, but can harmonize with its surroundings regardless of where and when it is displayed, and that gives peace of mind and a sense of comfort to all who look at it.”

1 The jar has such a small foot— smaller than its mouth— that it seems to be floating in the air.

2 It takes an average of 15 days to make a moon jar, and all the procedures are done by hand.

3 A porcelain jar is the product of clay, water and fire, as well as the potter’s heart and soul, which he pours into the time-consuming creative process. But if the finished work does not come up to standard, the potter does not hesitate to destroy it.

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MODERN LANDMARKS

Ganghwa Anglican Church

Graceful Fusion of History and Faith

Roh Hyung-suk Staff Reporter, The Hankyoreh

Cho Ji-young Photographer

This building could not be properly described with such hackneyed expressions as “special” or “unique.” Surely it must be the most distinctive of all the countless church buildings in Korea, old or new. Ganghwa Anglican Church resembles a stately ship serenely moored on top of a hill, commanding a sweeping view of its history-laden surroundings on Ganghwa Island.

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his cathedral that has stood here for 114 years is hardly majestic or somber. And it cannot be readily associated with ardent prayers or intense confessions of faith. Rather, it conveys the atmosphere of a social gathering place where villagers get together and enjoy friendly interactions. This impression must come from the building’s exterior that looks like a traditional Korean house. Once inside, however, one is bewildered for a moment to find not the typical woodwork of a Korean house but the basilica interior of a Western cathedral. With aisles on both sides flanking a long colonnaded nave, its basic style is that of a European church dating back to the medieval or early modern periods.

As architectural historians have long noted, any attempt to describe Ganghwa Anglican Church by focusing solely on its architectural style or construction technique does not do it justice, overlooking the significance of its intent and historical references.

A two-story structure with a footprint of 216.9 square meters, the church building has four horizontal bays, or kan (the standard measure of traditional Korean architecture, referring to the span between two adjacent columns), and 10 longitudinal bays. It represents an unprecedented fusion of traditional Korean and European church architecture. The basilica schema that characterizes the building’s interior refers to an architectural style with side aisles and a central nave dating back to the Roman era, when public buildings served as venues for administrative tribunals. Here, the dignified style of the basilica interior

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is combined with the modest features of a traditional Korean house, such as rafters, crossbeams, roof tiles, horizontal roof ridge, and elegant hip-and-gable roof, attenuating the grandeur of the basilica within and giving the building the atmosphere of an enlarged version of the guest house of a local upper-class residence.

Basilica with Korean-style Exterior In the afternoon of the last Sunday of June, after the morning mass the cathedral was mostly empty except for a few choir members who remained for practice. Half a dozen choir members and their conductor gathered in a corner of the chancel, singing hymns and occasionally exchanging jokes. The cathedral was bathed in sunlight filtering through the clerestory, while the group’s lighthearted banter and somewhat amateurish singing resonated through the interior. It was a moment swathed in affection, peace, and comfort.

Near the entrance and behind the rows of wooden chairs in the nave, there was a stone stoup engraved with a classical Chinese phrase meaning “a well of rebirth.” A blessed spot to pray for the happiness, peace, and well-being of its parishioners (and the residents of Ganghwa as well), the stoup looked in some way like a stone lantern in a Buddhist temple. For that matter, the building itself, which is reminiscent of a ship on a hill, also seemed to be linked to the Buddhist belief in the “dragon ship of wisdom,” which is said to carry enlightened people from the world of suffering to the pure land of bliss.

Ganghwa Anglican Church is the first cathedral to be built in the form of a traditional Korean house. Its architectural elements are quite similar to those of Korean Buddhist temples, including the main hall topped with a tiled hipand-gable roof, the way its entrance leads to major halls, and the style of the bell pavilion built into one of the three bays of the inner gate.

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Just like Noah’s Ark in the Old Testament, an ark of faith that pushes its way through the hardships of life in this world is one of the basic motifs of church architecture. At the turn of the 19th century, when the first European priests and missionaries came to this remote corner of the Korean island of Ganghwa and built this church on the top of a hill, they must have thought they were launching a ship of faith and evangelization. And this vision must have given rise to the unique fusion of a traditional Korean house and a European church, which is not to be found anywhere else in the country.

Ship of Faith and Evangelization First planned in 1899, the construction of Ganghwa Anglican Church was overseen by Mark Napier Trollope, a priest who conducted missionary work in the Ganghwa Island area. It was consecrated in 1900 by Charles John Corfe, the first bishop of the Anglican Church of Korea. A master carpenter, who had worked

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on several palaces, supervised the construction of the cathedral, while cutting, sanding, and dovetailing the timber brought from Mt. Baekdu, the highest and northernmost mountain on the Korean Peninsula. As the first cathedral in the traditional Korean style, it was built on Ganghwa to celebrate the first Korean Anglicans who were baptized on the island in 1896.

It is worthy of note how the church’s construction style and spatial composition were borrowed from Buddhist temples, including the way the entrance leads to major halls. For example, the main entrance to the church compound is a lofty three-bay gate (soseul sammun ), which bears resemblance to the One Pillar Gate or the Gate of the Four Heavenly Guardians of Buddhist temples. Just inside the main entrance is another three-bay gate, and the bay on its western side serves as a bell pavilion, which houses not a Western church bell but a large Buddhist bell.

Just like in a Buddhist temple, a thick wooden beam suspended on ropes is used to strike the bell; the strik-

As architectural historians have long noted, any attempt to describe Ganghwa Anglican Church by focusing solely on its architectural style or construction technique does not do it justice, overlooking the significance of its intent and historical references.

ing panel is carved with an engraved cross instead of a lotus motif.

The main hall, with a hip-and-gable tile roof, has a signboard hung under its front eaves that reads “The Church of the Lord” written in Chinese characters.

With its eaves decorated with the traditional multicolored paintwork (dancheong), the overall exterior is not that different from a Buddhist temple hall. Exposed under the eaves are two layers of rafters; the upper rafters have their ends decorated with a cross motif and the lower rafters have the Great Ultimate (taegeuk ) symbol on their ends. The wooden columns on the building’s façade are hung with long boards, onto which verses on the Trinity, evangelization, and eternal life are written in classical Chinese. The gargoyles on the hips of the roof are 12 dragon heads representing the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. These uncommon details demonstrate how the first missionaries of the Anglican Church took great pains to overcome Koreans’ resistance toward the unfamiliar Christian denomination headed by the English monarch.

Harmony to End History of Conflicts The first Christian tradition introduced to Korea was Catholicism, whose missionaries stopped over on Ganghwa Island on their way to the mainland. It is known that a considerable number of Korean Catholics lived on or frequented the island. In the 18th century, Prince Euneon was exiled to this island in the aftermath of palace infighting, and later died a tragic death by drinking poison under royal orders, along with his wife, after she had been discovered to be a Catholic.

His grandson was Cheoljong, the 25th king of Joseon (r. 1849-1864), who was famously nicknamed the “Ganghwa Lad” because he lived on the island before he was summoned to the palace to take the throne.

The island also experienced invasions by French (1866) and American (1871) troops, such that its residents came to harbor an intense hostility toward West-

1 With a long central nave flanked by colonnaded aisles on both sides, the main hall has the interior of a European cathedral harking back to medieval through earlymodern periods. The high ceilings help to create a solemn atmosphere, but the wooden chairs in the pews are small and plain. At the rear of the nave is a stone stoup engraved with words in classical Chinese.

2 The dignified style of the basilica interior is combined with the modest appearance of a traditional Korean house, creating a cozy and friendly atmosphere.

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erners and their culture. On a hill to the north of the cathedral lies an ancient palace site built when the island served as the emergency capital of the Goryeo Dynasty during the Mongol invasions in the 13th century. This is further evidence of the island’s history of resistance against foreign powers.

The Ganghwa Anglican Church is thus built upon land with strata of discordant historical events. In the process, the cathedral has come to represent the unity and harmony needed to end the island’s history of conflicts. As if to highlight this role, a linden tree is growing next to a pagoda tree in the courtyard by its main hall. The linden is held sacred in Buddhism as the tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment, while the pagoda tree symbolizes scholarly self-discipline for the followers of Confucianism. Also imbued with a history of amity, the iron railings for the stone stairs of the side entrance, which had been looted by Japanese troops during World War II, were restored by the Anglican Church of Japan some 60 years later.

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ART REVIEW

Silk Flowers of the Joseon Court Bloom Anew Choi Sung-ja

Member of the Cultural Heritage Committee Cultural Heritage Administration

This past spring, Hwang Su-ro, a master artisan of royal silk flowers, suddenly found herself under intense media attention. After a series of interviews and photos of her elegant silk flowers in large vases appeared in the papers, interest surged in the little known art of silk flower making of the Joseon Dynasty (1392 –1910). This near-forgotten art has finally come

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oyal silk flowers, or gungjung chaehwa , were displayed at banquets and ceremonies of the royal court of Joseon. The silk used to make the colorful artificial flowers is starched and dyed with extracts from fresh flowers, fruit, and grass. The silk petals, stamens, and pistils are each treated with pine pollen and wax, and then carefully handcrafted for a real-life appearance. As only natural ingredients are used, these artificial flowers often attract bees and butterflies when exhibited outdoors.

There were several kinds of royal silk flowers. The flowers that were presented by the king to those who had passed the state civil service examinations were called eosahwa; those worn in the hair for ceremonial occasions were known as jamhwa; the flowers placed on the banquet tables were sanghwa; and those used as props for music and dance performances were uijanghwa . With the exception of eosahwa, often seen in historical TV dramas when the king presents the candidate with the highest exam score with an arrangement of elegant silk flowers on tall twigs for his hat, these beautiful silk flowers are hardly known nowadays. This general lack of awareness is due to the paucity of relevant information. While these flowers are recorded in uigwe , the official records of court events and ceremonies, they are mostly in the form of rather simple drawings.

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Master of Royal Silk Flowers The unique tradition of silk flower making of the Joseon royal court was essentially lost after Japan’s annexation of Korea in the early 20th century. Deprived of its previous status, the royal family held few formal ceremonies, and every aspect of palace culture, including the performing arts, lost its foundation. The silk flowers that had decorated banquet tables on festive occasions disappeared, while arrangements of fresh flowers, a practice introduced by the Japanese, became the trend.

As fortune would have it, Hwang Su-ro saw silk flowers in the home of her maternal grandparents.

Her grandfather, Yi Su-chang (1885 –1942), had served for the Office of the Imperial Household during the Korean Empire (1897–1910) and thus acquired firsthand knowledge of royal court culture. Hwang, who grew up in her grandparents’ home, took note of how their table-setting for ancestral rites was different from others. Their ritual table always featured the artificial silk flowers made by her grandmother, mother, and aunts.

After finishing college, Hwang left for Japan, where her husband was studying. While living in Tokyo she took lessons in flower arrangement and the tea ceremony. Her instructor told the students that flower decorations were a tradition unique to Japan, a statement

© Suro Cutural Foundation

to the notice of the public, with many appreciating for the first time the exquisite beauty of Korea’s ancient palace culture.

Out of respect for all living things, kings and scholars of the Joseon Dynasty did not pick flowers to use as decoration. Instead they used chaehwa , or colored flowers made from starched silk and dyed with flowers, grass and fruit extracts.

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that Hwang found hard to accept. Upon her return to Korea, she made it her life goal to revive the silk flowers that her mother and grandmother used to make and validate the history of flower decoration in Korea.

To that end, she collected historical documents and learned flower making skills from shamans, monks, and anyone else who had any knowledge of artificial flowers. Although the art of silk flower making had more or less disappeared during the period of Japanese colonial rule, traces remained in the papercraft flowers of Buddhist temples and shamanic rites. Hwang published her research findings under the titles “Cultural History of Korean Flower Art 1,

2” (Samsung Books, 1990) and “First Steps in Suro’s Flower Art” (Yeungnam Inse, 1980). She founded the Suro Flower Art Institution and the Institute of Korean Royal Silk Flowers to train successors, while also continuing her research and flower making.

Revival with an Eye-opening Exhibition Hwang came to fame when the Cultural Heritage Administration named her a title holder of Important Intangible Cultural Property No. 124 in January 2013, which was followed by an exhibition to commemorate her designation. The exhibition “Beautiful Royal Silk Flowers,” held April 8 to May 25, 2014 at the National

This is part of the jidangpan , beautifully ornamented with large lotus flowers on either side of the low platform and seven vases filled with peonies. It is a decorative prop around which dancers performed during court banquets and ceremonies.

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Palace Museum of Korea, was an impressive event, with gorgeous silk flowers of numerous kinds and sizes gracing the museum’s special exhibition hall.

One of the displays featured a recreation of the main table at the banquet to celebrate the 30th anniversary of King Sunjo’s coronation. Upon entry, visitors were greeted by two large vases, one filled with red peach blossoms and the other white peach blossoms.

These large vases, called hwajun, filled with flowering branches, were typically placed on either side of the king’s seat during palace celebrations. Traditionally, the vases were blue and white porcelain with a dragon design painted on the outside. They would be filled with rice, which held in place a peach tree of at least three meters in height. The branches were decorated with silk flowers and over 40 birds, butterflies, and insects made of raw honey and arranged beautifully between the blossoms. Each vase usually had over 2,000 blossoms. Hwang explains that the royal silk flowers were more than just aesthetic embellishments; they were symbols of the king’s authority and eminence.

Hwang also replicated the jidangpan , a decorated platform around which court dancers performed at

such celebrations, and behind that placed the royal banquet tables exactly as they appeared 185 years ago.

Two banquets were held in honor of the 30th year of Sunjo’s reign; one hosted by the king and crown prince that government officials attended, and another for the women of the royal family hosted by the queen dowager and the queen. The tables for each banquet were reproduced based on the Sunjo gichungnyeon jinchan uigwe (“Royal Protocol of the Banquets of Sunjo in the Gichuk Year”). They were placed within recreations of two palace halls, designed and constructed by Kim Bong-ryol, an expert in traditional Korean architecture and president of the Korean National University of Arts. In all, 5,289 silk flowers were used for the men’s banquet and 6,557 for the ladies’ banquet. For the latter, which took place in the evening, the flowers of fruits with many seeds, such as pomegranates, grapes, and citrons, adorned the tables to symbolize the prosperity of the nation and future generations.

Examined close up, the blossoms displayed astoundingly delicate craftsmanship. Indeed, the exquisite creations bordered on the sublime. Of all the royal banquets of the Joseon Dynasty, Hwang chose this

The making of silk flowers requires a great deal of patience as well as tedious manual work. For a single flower, the artist must cut every petal out of silk and join them all together. It is important to repeatedly smooth out the silk with a wooden roller to give the flower a natural sheen and life-like look.

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particular event because it led to the production of the richest extant pictorial records of royal silk flowers. “I wanted to recreate the decorative arts of the Joseon royal household based on the best available documentation,” she explained.

A compelling feature of the exhibition was the display of works by Bruno Légeron, a master of the French art of silk flower making. They were showcased alongside Hwang’s works, allowing visitors to make intriguing comparisons. Next to the entrance was a replica of Hwang’s workshop on one side, and that of Légeron in Paris, on the other. Established in 1880, Atelier Boutique Légeron’s creations have adorned the headpieces and dresses of women of the upper class while its corsages have been used by design houses Chanel, Christian Dior, and Ungaro, among others.

Légeron’s workroom, as shown at the exhibition, had walls covered with beautifully crafted flowers, and a table with the manuals passed down by four generations of flower makers and the various tools used for the work. The size and shape of the tools were different from those of Hwang Su-ro, but they seemed intended for similar purposes.

Hwang had sought out flower makers in other countries in search of a viable way to sustain the tradition of her craft. She asked her son, Choi Sung-woo, president of the Ilmac Cultural Foundation, to visit Paris three years ago to meet with Bruno Légeron.

The two maintained contact and agreed to work together on a joint exhibition.

Forever Blooming Flowers The kings and literati class of the Joseon Dynasty did not pick fresh flowers to take home out of their respect for all living things. So the handcrafted blossoms made by master artisans were used for court celebrations. This was a tradition that had been hand-

Chaehwa expressed the ideal of beauty by having different flowers grow from the same stem or adding birds, bees and butterflies to suit the occasion. Numerous steps are needed to make even a tiny flower, so the work calls for great patience and care on the part of the craftsman.

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Silk flowers contained in two blue-and-white porcelain vases, placed on either side of the royal throne during court ceremonies. These jars held peach trees decorated with 2,000 red and blue silk flowers.

ed down from the preceding Goryeo Dynasty. In the Goryeo period, elaborate silk flowers were used for state banquets and Buddhist ceremonies. Unfortunately, little else is known today about the flower making of that era.

The Joseon Dynasty, on the other hand, left detailed written accounts and paintings of royal banquets in the form of official state documents called uigwe. The most recent record of silk flowers being used at a Joseon royal banquet was discovered by Hwang Su-ro in Gojong imin jinyeon uigwe (“Royal Protocol of the Banquet of Gojong in the Imin Year”), which dates to 1902.

The making of silk flowers requires a great deal of patience as well as tedious manual work. For a single flower, the artist must cut every petal out of silk and join them all together. It is important to repeatedly smooth out the silk with a wooden roller to give the

flower a natural sheen and life-like look. In all, it takes half a month to finish just one flower.

The methods and materials employed also varied depending on the occasion for which the flowers were intended. For example, different kinds of flowers were used for each season and they were dyed accordingly in the intermediate tints of the five cardinal colors of yellow, blue, white, red and black. In Hwang’s view, the most critical aspect of silk flower making is the starching. “If the starch is not applied properly, the flower will quickly suffer from fungal growth and pests. The starch has to be aged for over three years to effectively protect the flowers and to give off that beautiful luster,” she explained, adding, “It took me about 20 years just to learn this on my own.”

These silk flowers, to which Hwang has dedicated over 50 years of her life, are only now blossoming anew.

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IN LOVE WITH KOREA

Dana Ramon Kapelian Gets Korean Women to Open their Hearts Ben Jackson Freelance Writer / Cho Ji-young Photographer

What’s the best way to get under the skin of an unfamiliar society? Artist Dana Ramon Kapelian dived into her new life in Korea by photographing and interviewing a broad spectrum of its women — the result is stunning. Part of a growing breed of expatriates who hit the ground running upon arrival in the country and quickly generate highquality, insightful books, blogs, and other content, Kapelian published “My Korean Women” in spring this year.

The book comprises a series of interviews and photo portraits of 60 women, presented in the order of their age, from the oldest (born in 1927) to the youngest (1997), with text in English and Korean.

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1. Soh Jeong-soon, born in 1927, had an arranged marriage. When asked if she felt any resentment, she said, “I never knew what love is. I never experienced rights other women had.”

2. Olivia Ih-Prost, born in 1985, is Soh Jeong-soon’s granddaughter. When asked about divorce, she said, “Divorce? It is the worst thing that can happen to a couple, [but] if there’s no love, it may be necessary.”

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orn in Haifa, Israel, in 1963, Dana Ramon Kapelian left her native country at the age of 19 for Europe, where she spent time in London and Amsterdam. This was followed by six years in the United States, during which she traveled widely and studied at San Francisco Art Institute. She later settled in France for 20 years, continuing her work as a painter and installation artist. By 2010, however, her feet were itchy again. She and her husband reckoned it was time for them and their two children to broaden their horizons.

“We decided we wanted to move and travel with our children. We talked a lot about it and decided that they were growing up and that this was a precious moment in their lives. We wanted to show them other things, and we decided instead of keeping money for their inheritance, we’d rather spend it on living with them. So we sold our house and said if we can find a job somewhere, that’s great; otherwise, we’re going to be traveling around the world for a year.”

When a position advertised by the Institut Français Séoul for an audiovisual attaché turned out to fit her husband’s CV like a glove, the family moved to Korea for a five-year stint. While expatriate life can be trying for some families placed in unfamiliar cultures,

Kapelian appears to thrive on it.

“I like discovering new places, new cultures,” she says. “I like being a foreigner in a place because you have a certain freedom and you can just drink and drink differences in culture. It’s nourishing. Some people feel they belong to a certain place. I feel I belong to the planet; the world is my home.”

A Cultural Odyssey Shortly after traveling halfway across the world to Korea, Kapelian embarked on a new journey, this time one that led her deeper into the country’s culture. The quest was prompted partly by a lack of existing information on Korea and partly by a need to engage artistically with her new environment.

“When I moved here four years ago I went to a travel agency and there was nothing, not one brochure on Korea,” Kapelian explains.

“They had stuff on China, Japan, East Asia, everywhere but Korea.

I looked through literature and history and tried to gather information. That was one of the reasons I did the book: I wanted to learn about the people. I often worked with women’s issues in my art work and then I decided that I wanted to do something here but get

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1. Im Young-me, born in 1972, is a Korean classical musician who plays the traditional percussion instrument janggu at a fast beat.

2. Jean Maloney, born in 1932, is a nun who earned her nursing degree in New York and was then assigned to Korea when the country urgently needed medical assistance in the aftermath of the Korean War. 3. Martine Prost, born in 1951, is a linguist born in Algeria. Fascinated by the vigorous and expressive Koreans, she settled in Korea.

out of the walls. Not just do something on the wall for decoration but work with people. I needed interaction and I wanted to learn to meet the people, to know the country better. I found that talking to women is a fascinating thing, especially in Korea, because they went through so much hardship.”

Kapelian also cites “A Lone Room,” by Shin Kyung-sook (author of international smash hit “Please Look After Mom”), as an inspiration. The story of urban migration, passion for education, and workers’ struggles in the 1970s opened her eyes to the dynamics of recent Korean history. “It helped me realize how tough the conditions were here, and in some ways still are,” she says.

Whose Korean Women?

Kapelian began assembling a portfolio of subjects for her book from various sources. Some she discovered in newspaper and magazine articles; others through personal acquaintances or by asking her subjects for further recommendations. One aspect of the book that takes many readers by surprise, she says, is that several of its subjects do not appear, at first glance, to be Korean.

“The first thing people said to me was, ‘You have French people,

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you have American nuns, you have a Canadian Korean … you have all these people, [but] they’re foreigners.’ And I said, for me, they’re Koreans. How can you tell a nun who came in 1953 — she arrived just after the war, and she gave all her life to Korea, doing good deeds here ever since — that she’s not Korean? It’s insane. Can you tell a woman who is French, married to a Korean, has children with him and has lived here for 30 years that she’s not Korean? I don’t think the title of the book is the best, but it describes best what I meant, which is that these are my Korean women.”

One of Kapelian’s most powerful first impressions of Korea came from its women. “They’re tigers. They’re fighters. They have to fight at home, they have to fight outside. They have to be superwomen, like many women in the world, but here, until the Japanese occupation, Korea was a feudal society, a medieval society.

The transformations we had over several hundred years in the West were condensed into just a little over a hundred years. To see these women fight is just amazing.”

“When you arrive you have this silly conception of Asian women … Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, whatever. When you don’t know the women, you have [an image of] women who serve other people.

“They’re tigers. They’re fighters. They have to fight at home, they have to fight outside. They have to be superwomen, like many women in the world, but here, until the Japanese occupation, Korea was a feudal society, a medieval society. The transformations we had over several hundred years in the West were condensed into just a little over a hundred years. To see these women fight is just amazing.”

They serve their men, they serve their families. So kind of a meek, malleable person. But after four years of getting to know them, [you see] they’re tough. Many know what they want and they go for it.”

The Ajumma Question Each interview in the book follows the same format: a condensed account of the subject’s life story is followed by a probing of her views on various key words, many of them related to women’s rights: love, marriage, divorce, abortion. Finally, each woman is asked to deliver a personal message.

One of the key words that Kapelian repeatedly throws at her subjects is ajumma, a term that literally denotes a married woman but also carries myriad cultural connotations integral to Korean conceptions of womanhood. Sometimes described as constituting a “third sex,” ajumma are at times considered fierce, relentless, and unglamorous; at others, warm and maternal.

“The book started from the idea of ajumma, then it developed into the larger concept of women in general. At the beginning, I was intrigued by this strange word, ajumma, that has so many definitions: it can be negative and positive; it holds so much. And I felt that it was limiting and that I wanted to talk about women in general.

But I kept mentioning ajumma, if not as much as love, marriage, or divorce, in a lot of interviews because I wanted to show this aspect and to show the different approaches and reactions people have.”

A Different Kind of Dialogue Producing “My Korean Women” was not without its challenges.

Pulling together the words and portraits of 60 different subjects into a coherent whole proved a challenge. Translation also presented pitfalls due to the convoluted process of interviewing in Korean through an interpreter (except when the subject spoke English or French, in both of which Kapelian is fluent), committing the contents to paper and then having these translated back to English.

Kapelian’s greatest pleasure throughout the process came thanks to the generosity of her subjects, aided by the author’s status as an outsider. “The amazing part was how the women were ready to open their hearts. I’m sure this book would have been very different if I was Korean. But as a foreigner, we had a different kind of dialogue. Maybe I was a little bit rude in asking questions that Koreans wouldn’t dare ask. But the women were so generous and beautiful.”

Transformation and Tradition Interviewing women of such diverse ages produced striking contrasts that serve to illustrate just how rapidly their country changes and reinvents itself.

“The transformation is amazing. With women as well, there’s still a lot to fight for but the changes are unbelievable. The oldest woman in the book is 97 and the youngest 14. The oldest woman tells how she had an arranged marriage, she never knew what love was, her husband never even prepared a cup of tea or soup for her, if she was sick. When I asked the 14-year-old about gender discrimination, she looked at me with big eyes and said, ‘Gender discrimination? If a teacher in school did it, they would lose their job.’ For her it was completely another world, and it was fascinating to have these two women living together.”

For Kapelian, as for many foreigners, witnessing such change prompted questions about tradition, reform, and continuity.

“I think tradition here is very strong, for bad and for good. It can stifle and kill you, or it can be the strong base that holds you.

It depends on how people deal with it personally. But for me it’s a major question for Korean society: are they going to ‘throw away the baby with the bathwater’? I think that in the West we have thrown it away. I think that in Korean society traditions are still very strong since the changes they underwent are so recent. One of the many questions they’re facing is how to preserve traditions, but at the same time how to be liberated from the stifling part that tells you what to think and what to do, killing creativity, and keep the enriching part that reminds you where you’re from.”

A Personal Message When asked what lies in store next for her family on its global migration, she expressed a desire to experience life in other countries, mentioning Vietnam, Mongolia, Cambodia, Japan and Brazil (these countries’ women had better prepare themselves for a grilling). Finally, Kapelian, like her Korean women, delivers a personal message of her own: “Listen all the time. Be tolerant and listen to the people around you to see who they are, what they need. We are so often concentrated on ourselves that we forget to stay open to others, as well as to life. We’re humans, so we’re the same. Of course we have differences and that’s what makes it interesting, but these differences shouldn’t hinder our interaction but enrich it.”

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ON THE ROAD

Gochang

Gwak Jae-gu Poet Lee Han-koo Photographer

Among the Dolmens, Lives Lived and Loves Lost

I climb up Gochang Fortress and look out over the town. There’s a snug look to the way the roofs of the low-lying houses meet. Nothing is quite like that heart-warming moment when a traveler climbs to the top of the fortress and looks down over the city. The houses, each and every one, are vestiges of lives of longing and buried dreams as well as the tears and regrets of a lifetime awaiting the ray of hope that never seems to come. If there is one work of natural art that best manifests human compassion and interconnectedness, it would have to be the village, the gathering of houses in which people live.

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Pyeongsa-ri, famous as the setting of the epic novel “Land” (Toji) by Korea’s literary titan Park Kyung-ni, is a land favored by nature.

This area is well-known as a literary village and for many scenic spots of great natural beauty.

The House of Choe Champan, a re-creation of the eponymous house in the novel; and grains and fermented bean cakes drying outside the kitchen.

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n the long ago dynastic days of Korea, when travelers came across an unfamiliar village, they would often climb to the top of the fortress and look out over the roofs to judge whether it was a place they could entrust their bodies for the night. If the rooflines met in harmony, and gourd flowers, rose moss plants, and blossoming peach trees could be seen growing in the little gardens between the houses, the traveler would smile and say, “Ah, this village is a good one.” If it was dusk, and steam from cooking rose up the chimneys here and there, he would look over the scene with a longing for the home to which he would someday return.

The presence of a fortress in ever so peaceful Gochang is a paradox attesting to its not so quiet history. Built in the 15th century to defend against Japanese invaders, this fortress and nearby Ibam Mountain Fortress in Jeongeup served as advance posts defending the fertile villages of the Honam region. On the traditional holiday Jungyangjeol, which falls on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, it was customary for the residents of Gochang to walk the entire length of the fortress walls. Carrying a small rock on their heads, they circled the fortress, believing that one round would get rid of all ailments in the legs, two rounds would ward off all diseases, and three rounds would open the way to becoming an immortal and entering Paradise.

Dolmens, Symbols of a Gentler Afterlife The dolmens are clear evidence that from ancient times Gochang has been a good place to live. The dolmens, large stone grave markers from prehistoric times, are believed to have been erected from around the first millennium B.C. Scattered throughout the Jungnim-ri and Sanggap-ri area, this dolmen group, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in December 2000, is the largest in Asia. This proliferation of ancient tomb monuments is a historical reminder of the large numbers of elites who had lived in this area in the distant past. In the Asian worldview, the place where the dead are laid to rest is considered as important as one’s dwelling place in this world. The dolmens thus signify that Gochang was once considered an ideal site for making the journey into the other world.

On an autumn day, the traveler is met by red dragonflies hovering lazily over fields of bashful blooms of wild chrysanthemum.

Just by walking slowly between the megalithic monuments built by ancient people, one can feel the energy of their lives emanating from the large stones. Where were they born, what dreams did they have, what secrets did they hold, and where did they go? As I journeyed from the Gochang Dolmen Museum, gazing at the dolmens scattered all over the hills, past Seonun Temple, over Jilmajae, and on to the west coast, night fell suddenly and then everything was bathed in moonlight.

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The wind blows twenty-four times, And spring brings all things to life.

The peach blossoms blush prettily, Oh so white are the plum blossoms.

Let’s go see them, let’s go see them, Let’s go see those beautiful blossoms.

— From Shin Jae-hyo’s “Song of the Peach and Plum Blossoms” (Dorihwa-ga) Gochang is home to a number of love stories as resonant as the antiquated tone of the dolmens. One is the love story behind the “Song of the Peach and Plum Blossoms” quoted above. In the late

1, 2. The walls of Gochang Fortress were built with undressed natural stones, resulting in a structure that blends organically with the landscape.

3. In the old thatched house of Shin Jae-hyo, a life-size diorama of Shin teaching his students is displayed in the master’s room.

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19th century, during the reign of Gojong of the Joseon Dynasty, there lived in Gochang a magnificent singer by the name of Shin Jae-hyo (1812-1884). He had inherited great wealth, but his passion was pansori, a native music style popular among the common people of the time. Pansori is a unique form of narrative song performed by two people: a singer, or sorikkun, and a drummer, or gosu, who beats out the rhythm on a drum and makes intermittent exclamations. It was an art also admired by the yangban, the ruling elite, such that pansori artists would often be invited to perform at official events and banquets for high-ranking aristocrats.

Song of a Lost Love Shin Jae-hyo opened his home not only to his relatives but also gathered around him gisaeng , singers, and other entertainers. As many as 50 of these guests lived in his house and the neighborhood around the time when Shin began to record on paper the five major pansori numbers that were sung at the time: “Song of the Red Cliff” (Jeokbyeok-ga), “Song of Chunhyang” (Chunhyang-ga), “Song of the Underwater Palace” (Sugung-ga), “Song of Heungbu” (Heungbu-ga), and “Song of Simcheong” (Simcheong-ga). These song cycles, which had only been passed on orally, were finally captured on paper. Without Shin’s efforts, there is no telling what would have happened to pansori, a prized intangible cultural heritage of Korea. The pansori songs encapsulate the lives of the Joseon people — their favorite love stories, stories of life with its animosities and sorrows, the clothes they wore, the food they ate, the liquor they drank, and the flowers and music they loved. They could well be called an amalgamation of the lives and arts of the Korean people.

One day, Shin met the love of his life, Jin Chae-seon (1842-?).

Jin, the daughter of a hereditary shaman in a coastal village of Gochang, was a rare beauty with an exceptional singing voice. Shin lavished his patronage on her and she became a disciple of the most noted singer of the day, Kim Se-jong. Back then, pansori was virtually the exclusive domain of male singers, but this changed

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1. Dosoram, one of the four hermitages of Seonun Temple, is a prayer retreat built into a cavern on top of a rocky cliff.

2. The name board on the Gate of the Four Heavenly Kings is distinctive for the white calligraphy set against a blue background.

The sign was inscribed by the late Joseon calligrapher Yi Gwangsa.

3. The rock-carved seated Buddha below Dosoram at Seonun Temple is the largest image of its kind in Korea. It was carved directly on the cliff face of Mt. Seonun.

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with Jin’s appearance on the scene. She had a particular talent for singing the Bang-a Taryeong (“Mortar Song”). When she sang, it is said that the color drained from the faces of even the most renowned male pansori artists.

But tragedy struck when Shin Jae-hyo was aged 59. Disguising Jin as a male, he had sent her to the royal palace, Gyeongbokgung, to perform at the celebration for completion of the palace’s reconstruction when she caught the eye of Regent Heungseon, the father of King Gojong, who was effectively the most powerful figure in the land. The regent was a huge fan of pansori and his keen appreciation gave rise to the term “master ear.” In his day, no one had a finer ear for the art. The all-powerful regent kept Jin at the palace as a court singer, not allowing her to return to her mentor.

At the time, Jin was 24 years old.

“The wind blows twenty-four times” — the first line of the “Song of Peach and Plum Blossoms” is an allusion to Jin Chae-seon’s age. Cruelly separated from his beloved protégé, Shin wrote this song out of his unbearable longing and heartache. “As they come and go great men speak / Of a boy fair of face and a voice divine / The finest they ever heard …” Shin’s thought was to send Jin to the palace to show off her talent to the greatest authority on pansori.

But he ended up losing his beloved protégé. He went to his deathbed overcome with grief and longing for Jin. When Jin heard of his illness, she implored the regent to let her go. The regent granted her request and she went to her mentor’s bedside and was with him when he died. After Shin’s death, she went off on her own and

was never seen or heard from again.

The name of Seonun Temple means “meditation among the clouds.” According to its written history, the temple was founded in A.D. 577, during the reign of King Wideok of Baekje. It was constructed by Zen Master Geondam near the site of another temple that had been commissioned 500 years earlier by King Jinheung of Silla, Baekje’s rival. This temple also harbors a wonderful love story. Along the path up to the Dosoram hermitage is a small cave named Jinheung Cave. King Jinheung, the 24th ruler of Silla, was a devout Buddhist and it is said that he gave up the throne and spent his final days living a monastic life in this cave, accompanied by his much-beloved wife, Dosol, and his daughter, Jungae.

The thirst for power was surely as strong then as it is today. But

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Jilmajae mountain pass was used by villagers of Gochang to travel to and from other areas.

The name comes from the resemblance of the hill to a saddle-like rack called jilma that was placed on the back of a horse or ox as a carrier for goods.

It is famous as the setting for the poems of Seo Jung-ju, a native of Gochang.

Gochang Fortress This stone fortress, built during the early Joseon Dynasty to defend against Japanese invaders, encircles Mt. Bangjang. Almost belying its history and function as a defensive structure, the walls today are relatively intact and the form of the town fortress is largely preserved in its original state. The natural surroundings, including forests of pine and bamboo, and administrative structures within the fortress walls have been so well restored that this place is one of Gochang’s best-known historical sites today. Also known as Moyang Fortress, it is Historic Site No. 145.

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Seonun Temple Thanks to its lush forests, valleys, and temples, a 43.7km2 area of Mt. Seonun has been designated a provincial park. Seonun Temple, located on the eastern side of the mountain, dates back to the 6th century of the Three Kingdoms Period. The valleys and the autumn foliage decorating the mountain slopes are truly spectacular. The valleys are also known to be a habitat of red spider lilies, called sangsahwa in Korean, meaning “flower of unattainable love.” In early spring, the hiking trail lined with camellias brings visitors under its spell.

Old House of Shin Jae-hyo This is the birthplace of Shin Jae-hyo, the eminent late 19th century pansori researcher and patron of artists. The simple thatchedroof house is enclosed by walls with a square yard along the southern side and a well to the southwest. In this house, Shin studied the five major pansori works, wrote down the lyrics, and formulated the basic theory, while providing patronage to many singers. The house is still used today for outdoor performances of pansori, farmers’ music, and other traditional performing arts.

from the image of a king spending his final days living peacefully with his wife and daughter in a remote temple, whose construction he had commissioned, Jinheung’s human side is revealed, like the lotus that blooms from muddy water. Whenever I come by this cave, I think of the Silla king who dug out this little grotto in the mountains and lived in seclusion on enemy territory. It is a story that today’s politicians, seemingly obsessed with self-interest and personal desire, would do well to learn from.

A Hill Steeped in the Loneliness of the Poet If not for one lamentable circumstance, Jilmajae, located in Seonun-ri, Buan-myeon, Gochang would likely be called a hallowed ground of modern Korean poetry. The poet Seo Jung-ju (1915-2000), also known by his pen name Midang, was born in the village of Jilmajae. In his famous poetry anthology “Hwasajip” (“Flower-Snake”), Seo expressed, in exquisite language, the poet’s tragic reality in having to endure the fate of the Korean people under Japanese occupation.

During that period and after liberation he published a number of poetry collections, including “Dongcheon,” “Sillacho,” and “Jilmajae sinhwa” (Myths of Jilmajae), a brilliant work of modern Korean poetry that brings to life the lives and spirit of ordinary people.

For his masterful works alone, Seo Jung-ju could well be called Korea’s preeminent poet, but he is rejected by many Koreans today for his political inclinations. During the occupation period, he adopted the Japanese name Datsushiro Shizuo and produced works justifying Japanese imperialism. His controversial politics extended to his praise of the former strongman and president, Chun Doo-hwan, and his military dictatorship in the 1980s. Seo’s political views have undoubtedly resulted in considerable ambivalence toward his works and their place in the nation’s

Jilmajae The name of this mountain pass comes from its resemblance to a saddle-like rack, called jilma , that was placed on the back of a horse or ox to carry goods. Jilmajae is the setting for the works in “Myths of Jilmajae,” the sixth collection of poems by Seo Jung-ju, a prominent modern Korean poet of the 20th century, containing prose poems about the rituals and traditions of his hometown as he experienced them in his youth. Nearby is the Midang Literary House, which bears his penname, drawing literary buffs to the hill.

literary legacy. But in his hometown at least, the Midang Literary House honors the poet today.

The poet Seo Jung-tae, pen name Uha, is Seo Jungju’s younger brother. When I first met him in 1989 he was living in a rundown thatched cottage in Jilmajae.

There was a kind of beauty in the way this old man who had been the managing editor of a newspaper was living in such a small and humble place. Making me a cup of coffee with his own hands, he said, “You may censure Midang, but to me he is my older brother and his poetry is lovely.” He went on, “This house is where he and I were born and where the traces of our parents remain. I must keep watch over these traces while I remain alive.”

Twenty-five years have passed since then, and whenever he gets up nowadays he has to grasp onto a rope hanging from the rafters. He pulled himself up in this manner, and as he did back then, made me a cup of coffee. Last year, he turned 90 and published a poetry collection titled “Leave It Alone.”

The faraway heavens While traveling further yet, The night grows deep So terribly quiet and still That it is hard to bear.

Gently, lightly, waving, swaying The orchids dance alone.

— From “The Dance of the Orchids”

by Seo Jung-tae It seemed to me that this poem reflected Seo Jungtae’s life. I shared a meal with him, hoping that it would not be our last encounter in this life. On the road leading from Jilmajae to the Hajeon coast, I relished the sight of the cosmos blooming and waving in the wind and the white dance of the eulalia’s silky tassels.

Gochang Dolmens Gochang has the greatest concentration of dolmens in the world. In 2000, along with the dolmen sites in Ganghwa Island and Hwasun, the Gochang site was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Following the designation, a dolmen park and museum were opened, serving as important tourist resources for Gochang County. The dolmens, a major burial form of the Bronze Age, number some 50,000 across the world. Of them, some 30,000, or 60 percent, are found in Korea, including about 2,000 in Gochang.

Ungok Wetlands As a prime habitat for wild plant and animal species under threat of extinction, the Ungok Wetlands serves as a lifeline for primeval forests. Covering 8.54km2, the wetlands boasts pristine scenery with a unique beauty.

This primitive wetlands is the result of oncecultivated land being left idle for a long time, allowing for natural restoration of the ecology.

In 2011, Ungok Wetlands was listed as a protected site under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, drawing the attention of ecologists around the world.

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ALONG THEIR OWN PATH

Engraver Jeong Goam

“My Work is My Play” He is an engraver. But he is no ordinary engraver in that he carves out images in the sought-after language of this era. He has revived and transformed the art of seal engraving, long the epitome of Asian craftsmanship, through his own unique art form known as “Saeghim Art,” which combines calligraphy, industrial design, and mass culture.

“Salmon Dreaming of the Sea,” (2006). The artist attempted to combine images and letters in this single artwork, simultaneously turning pictures into letters and letters into pictures.

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J

eong Byung-rye, 66, prefers to be called Jeong Goam, his pen name. With this name he dreamed of being born again, of his own free will, thereby shedding the fetters of his original name given by his parents.

This pen name is not the only thing that he has made for himself. Jeong has created an art form that he named “Saeghim Art” (derived from the Korean word saegida , meaning “to engrave”), a modernized version of the time-honored traditional art of seal engraving. He has rediscovered the purpose of

Chung Jae-suk Culture Editor, The JoongAng Ilbo

Park Jung-hoon Photographer

his life and knowledge in this world of art, dubbed the “beauty of the square” because it normally involves a 3-square-centimeter space.

“This is my way of playing. My work is my play. You have to empty your mind. No creative artist should carry a heavy load in his mind. At the same time he should ask, ‘Who am I?’ In college classrooms, I find many students who copy other people’s work and claim it as their own. I tell them, ‘Create your own art.’

The act of engraving may be nothing but a technique.

It’s in the process that you find yourself. On that path, we all become creators,” he said.

Engrave on Your Mind Goam constantly engraves one thing or another. He engraves on stone as well as wood. He engraves on the ground as well as the walls. He has scattered his works around Café Deulmeori, situated at the entrance to his studio and showroom in Samcheong-dong, Seoul. Is he marking his territory just as the caveman did with his wall paintings? “I engrave, therefore I am,” he says.

“Engraving is like ruminating, recording, or reciting.

It’s a kind of communication and dialogue. We talk to the people of the world using new visual letters resulting from a fusion of language and image. So, I say that I engrave not on stone, but in the heart. I wanted to create a new language for better communication,” Goam explains.

For a long time, engraving has been described as an act of inscribing something in the heart. Goam has been reinterpreting this old axiom through his own experiences. Engraving is the art of carving the hard surface of stone using strong metal tools. Accordingly, it requires tremendous physical and mental strength, which, in turn, enables the engraver to realize that he is writing in his own heart.

“Engraving is all about bringing together the spiritual and material, yin and yang,” Goam said. “It’s

oam has expanded the G scope of engraving from Chinese characters to include Hangeul letters and graphic images.

He has modernized the art of seal engraving, regarded by many as an old-fashioned and anachronistic form of craft, and given it a new distinct beauty.

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“This is my way of playing. My work is my play.

You have to empty your mind. No creative artist should carry a heavy load in his mind. At the same time he should ask, ‘Who am I?’”

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1. Seal engraving is the art of carving fine phrases, images, or patterns on a piece of wood, stone, gold, or jade in creative formative language.

2. “Sejong and Hangeul” (2009), 360 x 800 x 110 mm. This artwork was created to celebrate Hangeul Day in 2009.

It is an engraving of the face of King Sejong as well as images from Hunmin jeongeum (“Proper Sounds for the Instruction of the People”), the document describing the new script, and another document explaining the background to the script, all on a large slab of agalmatolite stone.

the act of reducing ideas and abstractions into reallife objects or forms. Only when you have completely digested them within yourself can you create good artworks that the public will understand and appreciate.

If you don’t do the job in earnest, you’ll never persuade anyone. That’s why it’s so important to study. To reach a certain level of Saeghim Art, you have to make an effort to study the so-called humanities as well as the latest trends in modern art.”

Goam has expanded the scope of seal engraving from its previous focus on Chinese characters to include Hangeul letters and graphic images. He has paved the way for the creation of countless variations and applications of his art by combining engraving with calligraphy, industrial design, and even animation. He has modernized the traditional, old-fashioned craft, for

which most people had little appreciation, and given it a distinctive beauty by applying the methods associated with mass media. Those who do not understand him could think of him as merely a designer who has abandoned tradition to venture along his own path.

Bridge between the Past and the Future “In the past I engraved mostly Chinese characters and was quite famous as an engraver of Chinese script, though many people mistook my work for ordinary seals. Then suddenly one day, I asked myself, ‘If I’m an engraver of Chinese characters, what’s my real identity?’ It dawned on me that I should look to our own culture, that I should find my own originality. That’s when I decided to reinterpret Hangeul. After all, Hangeul is the greatest product of our wisdom and

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intellect, isn’t it?” Goam said.

Through his engraving, Goam came to realize the potential of Hangeul becoming a global alphabet. After all, art is an endless process of drawing the past into the present and jumping into the future. He found that the path for the art of engraving lies in globalizing the Korean formative language in the 21st century and

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building a bridge between the past and the future.

“Think of shaman rites or ancestral memorial rites.

On these occasions we hang up banners, cloth, and pieces of paper bearing various forms and patterns.

That’s because of our desire to communicate with heaven or the spirits. Does it help you understand my work better to say that the whirlwind or comb patterns

“Wings of Dreams” (2011), 4,700 x 2,700 mm. Colors and patterns are combined with the Hangeul phrase “On a happy day when the wings of dreams are spread, the light of shimmering purple reflects off the river and the sea.”

“I don’t know the limits, because I’m not well-educated. I would never have started this kind of work if I had an advanced degree from a prestigious university.

Fortunately, I don’t know the limits because I had little schooling. Everybody is busy using up their energy while envying and being jealous of others. But I don’t know how to do that,” he quipped.

Goam asks his students not to compare him with university graduates or famous people. This is because he believes that a person who succeeds in finding his own world will have nothing to envy. He despises those who wield power, using art as a tool. Being self-taught and having created his own art form is proof that he is right, he said proudly.

in my artworks are expressions of the desire to talk honestly with today’s lonely people?” Goam said.

Born in Naju, South Jeolla Province, Goam began to work for a living after completing middle school. Born into poverty, he knows what it means to be ragged and hungry. Therefore, he is naturally neither arrogant nor greedy for money.

Hangeul’s New Energy for Hallyu Goam’s work is arousing interest far and wide.

Experts from China, which has a much longer history of engraving art, are visiting his studio as well as art critics, who have studied Western art history. “After carefully looking at my works, they ask me about my source,” Jeong said. “They suspect that I’ve copied some prototype. I tell them, ‘This is my own creation.’

But they don’t believe me. This proves the excellence of Hangeul as a script. I’m dreaming of taking the Korean Wave [the popularity of Korean pop culture overseas] to a higher level through Saeghim Art.” Certainly it is Goam’s dream to have Saeghim Art sweep over the whole of China, birthplace of the art of seal engraving. He said he saw potential for this about 10 years ago when he held an exhibition in China. He keeps working with a mind to take on any and all challenges.

“I found my roots in ancient rock engravings. I saw my heart in old folk paintings. I call folk paintings ‘paintings of happiness’ in that they are supposed to make you happy and bring you good fortune. These are the goals of Saeghim Art. They are images of engraved letters that are fun to look at and have stories to tell!

That’s what I want to show you,” he said.

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BOOKS & MORE

Charles La Shure Professor, Department of Korean Language and Literature, Seoul National University Song Hyun-min Music Critic

More Than Just Beautiful Landscapes “Baekdu Daegan Korea”

By Roger Shepherd, 147 pages, $45.00/38,000 won, Seoul: Roger Shepherd (2013)

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ormer New Zealand policeman Roger Shepherd (who was also a wildlife guide and safari ranger in Africa for eight years) leads readers on a path that few have ever walked in full, at least in modern times. “Baekdu Daegan Korea — Mountains of North and South Korea” is a photographic journey that runs the length of the Korean Peninsula: 1,680 kilometers from Mt. Paektu (Baekdu) in North Korea to Mt. Jiri in South Korea, along the mountain range known as Baekdu Daegan (“White Head Great Ridge”). This chain of mountains is the backbone and watershed for the entire peninsula.

As he details in the preface, the author first discovered the mountain range during a visit to South Korea in 2006; he returned twice over the next few years to hike it again. But he was not willing to be limited by the artificial border imposed between North and South Korea. His idea to continue his trek in North Korea was wellreceived by its government, and in 2011 he began his journey of the northern mountains, finishing in 2012.

Shepherd’s love for and deep attachment to the mountains of

Looking at Today’s Korean Society through Pansori “Bari, Abandoned”

By Han Seung-seok (vocal), Jung Jae-il (instruments) and Bae Sam-sik (lyrics), CJ E&M, 75 minutes 27 seconds, 18,500 won

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Korea is evident from the very beginning of the book, in a brief discussion of the culture of mountain spirits and geomancy (feng shui ), which are inextricably tied to these giants of the land. The book then gives way to beautiful color photographs of the mountains along the great ridge. There are sweeping panoramic landscapes, wildflower-strewn high plateaus, craggy peaks, skies both brooding and blue, lush forests, and fantastic sunrises and sunsets. All seasons are represented as well; particularly stunning are the winter photographs, where the bones of the mountains are revealed beneath the bare trees, blanketed in pure white snow.

This book is about more than just beautiful landscapes, though, stunning as they may be. At the beginning of the book, Shepherd writes of the people who live on the land joined by the Baekdu Daegan: “Together they are a family that populates this peninsula … They are one.” Page 82 marks the transition from North Korea to South Korea. This page is left blank. On the one hand, it could be seen as a silent testament to the division of a mountain range and a peninsula that are one in people and spirit. But perhaps that blank, white space is also an expression of hope. Perhaps it has been set aside for a future when the two halves will become whole again. However you see it, few readers will likely come away unaffected by this journey.

P

ansori , the music that has brought Koreans to laughter and tears for centuries, is now evolving anew through contact with various other music genres, such as classical, jazz, pop, and rock.

Created by pansori singer Han Seungseok, who infuses youthful vitality into the native vocal art, and Jung Jae-il, a musician of multiple talents, “Bari, Abandoned” is a CD that reveals the future direction for pansori, or more broadly, Korean music. Pansori is a unique music genre in which one singer performs to the accompaniment of a drum. Here, the instrumentalist, Jung Jae-il, provides

Chronicle of a Quest for Living Traditions “100 Thimbles in a Box – The Spirit and Beauty of Korean Handicrafts” By Debbi Kent & Joan Suwalsky, 168 pages, $39.00/27,000 won, Seoul: Seoul Selection (2014)

“100

Thimbles in a Box” is a labor of love in every sense of the term. Its authors were first introduced to Korea through their adopted Korean children; they naturally developed an interest in their children’s native land and, after a visit to Korea, fell in love with its handicrafts as well. This book is their way of sharing the world of Korean handicrafts with readers who might otherwise have never known of them.

Vibrant and colorful photographs grace every page, accompanied by informative and well-researched text. The book begins with an introduction to the handicrafts, traditions, and history of Korea; it is necessarily brief, but sufficient to give the reader a proper frame of reference for what will follow. The second chapter is perhaps even more helpful: a mini-encyclopedia of symbols found in Korean art and handicrafts. These are largely plants and animals, but include natural phenomenon and a few conceptual symbols as well.

the accompaniment with a piano, guitar, and bass, instead of a drum. This intriguing collaboration is sure to appeal even to those who are not usually interested in pansori, or don’t know much about it.

Even more interesting is the fact that the story about a woman’s life, with all its twists and turns, is portrayed by two male musicians. The “Bari” in the title is the name of a princess from Korean folklore. Long, long ago, King Ogu of the Bulla Kingdom cast Bari, his youngest of seven daughters, into the sea because she was not the longed-for son. Bari is raised by others, but when she turns sixteen she

The bulk of the book introduces the reader to a variety of handicrafts roughly divided into seven categories: ceramics, fiber arts, paper, inlay, metal, wood, and paintings. Some of the categories, like ceramics, are self-explanatory, while others, such as fiber arts and wood, cover a wide range of arts. Those familiar with Korean arts will recognize some perennial favorites, such as celadon, but there are several gems that many readers might not have encountered before; ox horn carving, a uniquely Korean art, and funerary figures are examples of art forms that have not received as much attention as their more famous cousins.

A number of themes quickly become apparent while reading the book. The connection to nature, for example, is emphasized in the second chapter, and the vast majority of symbols is indeed rooted in nature. The authors explain that the function of these symbols is to foster harmony between humanity and nature, presenting specific examples in each of the arts covered. The authors also lament the decline or disappearance of certain art forms as they are replaced by modern equivalents. The embroidered thimbles that give the book its name, for example, remain mostly as a curiosity in this era of sturdy modern thimbles. But new is not always better.

Perhaps the most brilliant thread that runs through this tapestry is the concepts of preservation and revitalization. There are mentions throughout the text of how certain art forms have seen a revival in recent years, and the last chapter, “Handicrafts Today,” looks forward to the future of handicrafts in Korea. At one point in the last chapter, the authors draw on the etymology of the English word “tradition,” which means “something that is handed over, delivered, or entrusted.” The Korean word “jeontong” has a similar meaning, incorporating the connotation of “something handed down,” that is, from one generation to the next. Traditional Korean handicrafts continue to seek to bridge generations and flourish in the modern world; “100 Thimbles” is a chronicle of — and itself another step in — this quest.

learns that King Ogu is ill. The cure is said to be the life-giving water found only in a country far away to the west. The six older daughters refuse to attempt such a treacherous journey, but Bari, despite having been abandoned by her father, is willing to embark on a life-saving mission. After many ordeals, she returns with the mysterious water only to find that the king is already dead. Bari, however, breathes life into his flesh and bones, and for this filial deed she becomes a goddess of the afterlife.

The motifs of this folktale have inspired works in various literary genres such as

novels, poems, and children’s stories, as well as musicals and dance. “Bari, Abandoned” transcends the original folktale with allusions to the global diaspora and the hardships of emigrant workers. As such, through pansori, the two young musicians deal with not only the legendary tale of a heroic princess but also the social issues of today. The playwright Bae Sam-sik’s lyrics are underscored with sharp satire and warm humanity. All in all, “Bari, Abandoned” is a remarkable work that combines moving lyrics and performances by talented young musicians with an innovative spirit.

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ENTERTAINMENT

Film ‘Han Gong-ju’ Veers between Despair and Solace “Han Gong-ju,” director Lee Su-jin’s debut feature, is one of several Korean films that recently have attracted attention abroad. The film made headlines by garnering awards at the 43rd International Film Festival Rotterdam, the 13th Marrakech International Film Festival, and the 16th Deauville Asian Film Festival. Critics at home and abroad acclaim the film for its delicate depiction of the collective depression that seems to pervade Korean society today.

Kim Young-jin Film Critic

H

an Gong-ju (played by Chun Woo-hee) is a girl caught in agony after the suicide of a friend who was a fellow victim of sexual assault. She moves to a different school, and temporarily stays with the mother of the teacher who helped with her transfer. With little interest in adjusting to the new school, Gong-ju shows almost no emotion in any situation. It is a long way into the movie before viewers slowly begin to find out why she behaves the way she does.

Director Lee Su-jin cautiously but unrelentingly reveals the whole story, little by little, so as not to present a raw display of Gong-ju’s anguish. Due to a unique approach that creates a sense of claustrophobia, viewers do not presume to understand the girl’s agony on their own terms.

The Quiet Observation of the Camera The film avoids the typical kind of storytelling based on the dichotomy of assailant versus victim, good versus evil. It traces the reactions of Han Gong-ju after the assault rather than depicting the actual incident. Like a friend who silently hovers around a victim, not knowing exactly what to do, the camera quietly observes Han Gong-ju at close range.

Bit by bit, through flashbacks, the film shows what she had experienced. Sporadic and brief, but arriving in the middle of the film, the flashbacks reveal gruesome scenes that are difficult to watch. Gong-ju had shown

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sympathy toward a bullied male student, and for this reason a group of male students sexually assaulted Gong-ju and her friend. It is shocking to see that the people around her show such little concern about her suffering. None of the teachers at her former school, the police who interrogate her, or the parents of the assailants have any concern about her personal trauma. The teachers are more worried about the incident being publicized, while the police browbeat her, suspicious that she might have enticed her assailants. The parents of the assailants treat her as an evil person out to destroy their children. Even her divorced parents show little sympathy for her.

Slowly and cautiously, the director reveals how Gong-ju’s impassive facial expression masks her inner fear. The film portrays the frightening world encountered by a teenager who can neither protect herself nor expect protection from adult society. Seen through the eyes of this fearful, cowering girl, her seemingly peaceful everyday world is gradually revealed to be a terribly cruel, heartless world where there is no consideration for others. Her sense of powerlessness shows no signs of abating. From the beginning, the camera focuses on Gong-ju’s reactions as she tries to face the world in her own way. She pretends to be indifferent to the world around her and does not care about making friends at her new school. But when she does respond to friendly overtures, memories of the

Director Lee Su-jin’s debut feature film, “Han Gong-ju,” depicts through the camera’s calm and composed gaze how a sexually assaulted girl endures and overcomes the pain.

terrifying incident return in flashback scenes, as if to shatter her hopes of enjoying new friendships.

Facing a Frightening World Alone There comes an unbearable point in the film when viewers, seeing the people around Gong-ju take little interest in her plight and happily go about their business, wonder how long she has to keep suffering alone. The viewers want to reach out to her, and despair as they cannot. Ms. Jo, the middle-aged woman with whom Gong-ju stays temporarily, provides a contrast. Jo lives alone and runs a supermarket. She is a self-serving individual who lives life to the full, satisfying her personal desires in her own way.

She has an affair with the head policeman of the neighborhood, and although she is beaten by his wife when the affair is discovered, she is not ashamed of being true to her desires. When Gong-ju helps treat her injuries, Jo says, “Love is more exciting when it’s dangerous,” as if to justify her transgression.

The contrast between Gong-ju’s ordeal with sexual assault and Jo’s shameless love affair shows how the film seeks to blur the boundaries of morals and ethics.

This seems to imply that morals and ethics are relative, rather than absolute, concepts, while the important point is whether one has the ability to defend oneself.

This past spring, Korean society fell into collective depression after the ferry Sewol sank with sev-

eral hundred high-school students on board, apparently due to a lack of safety precautions. Through live broadcasts, the public watched in horror as young students could not be saved due to inept rescue efforts.

The cause of the horrific accident has not been clearly identified, and with those in charge only pointing fingers at each other, voices lambasting the moral corruption of our society have deluged the media and SNS channels. In this situation, the quiet gaze of the camera in “Han Gong-ju” shows more thoughtful introspection and consolation than any declarations of penitence.

The scenes filled with hesitation, rage, sympathy, and embarrassment evoke emotional pathos. The director, in despair about the state of Korean society today, has chosen this means to offer comfort to those victimized.

KOREAN CULTURE & ARTS 73

GOURMET’S DELIGHT

Gejang

Jeong Eun-suk Food Columnist

Cho Ji-young Photographer

One Bowl of Rice Is Never Enough A “rice thief”? This Korean expression is for a side dish that makes one polish off a bowl of rice all too quickly. Korean traditional dining consists of cooked rice, or some other grain, accompanied by several side dishes. Rice is the staple, while the side dishes encourage the consumption of rice. A side dish that entices one to eat a lot of rice is a welcome accomplice on the dining table.

C

rabs from rivers and the sea have regularly appeared on Korean dining tables from long ago. Various kinds of crabs with different appearances and flavors are served: ggotge (blue crab), dolge or minggotge (Asian paddle crab), chamge (Chinese mitten crab), and teolge (hairy crab), as well as bange , nongge, and chilge. Crabs are prepared in various ways, particularly in a stew or soup, but the side dish called gejang is the best way to enjoy crab, little by little, over days and even weeks. Earlier, this salty crab dish was also called gejeot . Bamboo strips recovered at the bottom of the Yellow Sea from a merchant vessel, which is believed to have sunk while on a voyage to Song China during the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392), contained references to this crab dish and its fermentation crock. From this written record, it can be assumed that gejang must have whetted Korean appetites for at least six hundred years.

Soy Sauce Brings Out the Best in Crab Among the various texts on food from the Joseon era (13921910), there are numerous references to crabs fermented in soy sauce. Diverse methods and ingredients, such as liquor dregs, clear rice wine, saltwater, vinegar, and soy sauce were used, but the oldest method calls for fermenting whole crabs in a soy sauce that has been boiled with several ingredients and then cooled.

In fact, the point of gejang’s unique taste is not the freshness of sweet and firm crab meat. Fermented with soy sauce for about two weeks, the crab meat becomes soft, and its taste gets even more savory. Crab meat soaked in soy sauce becomes sweeter and

74 KOREANA Autumn 2014

more delectable; gejang is crab meat at its consummate best. The crab-infused soy sauce can be used in various ways, as another tasty side dish or as a seasoning for other dishes.

In the past, gejang was made with the Chinese mitten crab easily found in rivers, streams, and even rice paddies. Moreover, crabs found in abundance at coastal estuaries was a particular favorite, while the crab from the lower Imjin River caught in late October, called “Paju chamge,” was said to have a superb flavor, laden with eggs and “crab mustard.” This crab does not have as much flesh as the blue crab does but its dark yellow innards (“crab mustard”) are prized for a distinctive fragrance. Due to the hard shell, the fermenting process can take about three months for proper aging, but it is an incomparable side dish, which people will eat over an extended period for its saltiness and pleasant aftertaste.

“The aromatic yellow gejang within the shell, / the tasty white flesh in the legs, / such flavors would be unknown / to those who eat delicacies in palatial mansions.”

In this poem by Yi Eung-hi (1579-1651), a scholar of the midJoseon era who led a contented life amidst poverty, the “yellow gejang,” also called “geumjang” (golden crab in soy sauce), was probably gejang made with Chinese mitten crab. To him, the taste of this special dish is enjoyed more by people used to having basic meals, as compared to those whose palates are jaded by indulgence in luxurious delicacies. In Jeokseong-myeon of Paju City and Baekhwa-myeon of Yeoncheon County, where the Imjin River flows into the Yellow Sea, there are still restaurants where one can taste

Gejang is a dish of whole crab fermented in boiled soy sauce.

With the soft, delicious crab meat infused with the tasty flavor of soy sauce, it is one of the side dishes most beloved by Koreans.

KOREAN CULTURE & ARTS 75

In the eyes of Westerners who visited Korea about a century ago, gejang was just a “salty crab dish on a small plate.”

Over time this view has surely changed; today, this crab dish has come to be recognized as a gourmet delicacy, its epicurean status beyond dispute.

this type of gejang, which is now prized as a gourmet’s delight.

From Deep, Strong Taste to Splendid Raw Freshness Nowadays, gejang is made mainly with blue crab, a saltwater variety. Presumably, the shift from freshwater crab to saltwater crab occurred sometime around the 1960s and 1970s. As the harvests of freshwater crab declined, the catch of ocean crabs was boosted by technological developments, while the distribution process improved as well with the introduction of cold storage facilities. Blue crab soaked in soy sauce, with a shorter fermentation period, left the flesh firmer and created a subtle taste of freshness, which appealed to lovers of crab dishes. Indeed, ever more people came to prefer this less salty, sweeter, and meatier gejang over the traditional version.

With the blooming of flowers in April and May, the female blue crabs, full of eggs and fleshy meat, make their way to the shallow seas along the coast, yielding bumper harvests. Around this time, many housewives get busy. The houses where gejang is made are immersed in the savory aroma of soy sauce simmering with garlic, onion, and ginger. Well-cleaned and prepared female crabs are stacked in layers, carapace facing down, in a crock, into which the boiled and cooled soy sauce is poured. After some time, the soy sauce is removed and boiled and cooled again, then poured into the crock, a process repeated three or four times. The aging time is about two weeks. When it is fully fermented, people sit around a dining table to enjoy a “rice thief” feast. One can pick up a leg, precut for easy eating, remove the shell, and suck out the flesh, then eat rice combined with the inner parts of the top shell. Leftover gejang is served with meals for several days, and even after the

76 KOREANA Autumn 2014

crabs are all eaten, the crab-flavored sweet soy sauce can be used as a condiment.

Gejang Specialty Restaurants It’s not been long since people began enjoying crab in soy sauce at restaurants. About 30 years ago, restaurants specializing in gejang began to emerge. Chinese mitten crab gejang from the Imjin River in Gyeonggi Province and from the Seomjin River in South Gyeongsang Province, and gejang made with paddle crab from Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, all with their own unique flavors, are favorites among gourmets. Well-known gejang restaurants dot the west coast in places noted for catching crabs, such as Gunsan, Seosan, Buan, and Mokpo. Gunsan’s blue crab gejang is highly acclaimed as a representative local specialty.

In downtown Seoul, Sinsa-dong’s “gejang alley” is chockablock with restaurants competing for distinction among eaters of the crab delicacy. A restaurant in this area once served gejang as the centerpiece of a dinner for professional baseball players about 30 years ago, which must have been a memorable meal. As the dish enjoyed wider popularity, more such restaurants opened along the alleyway. Dining out at these gejang restaurants became a special treat; locals and foreign diners alike are known to wolf down the servings of gejang with mounds of rice. It is especially popular among Japanese visitors, who share with Koreans a keen taste for seafood and cuisine seasoned with soy sauce.

In the eyes of Westerners who visited Korea about a century ago, gejang was just a “salty crab dish on a small plate.” Over time this view has surely changed; today, this crab dish is well recognized as a gourmet delicacy, its epicurean status beyond dispute.

1 1. Ggotge (blue crab), with its rich, sweet meat, is the most preferred variety for making gejang.

2. As the flavorful taste of crab eggs is so special, female crabs are most often used for gejang.

3. The crab’s inner parts and eggs, along with rice and soy sauce, are mixed together and served in the shell as a savory dish.

2

3

KOREAN CULTURE & ARTS 77

LIFESTYLE

Banners Everywhere

Kim Sang-kyu Professor, Department of Design, Seoul National University of Science and Technology Cho Ji-young Photographer

Peddling Dreams, Sharing Concerns Apartments for Sale. Concert Performance. Sale! Going Out of Business. Business Opening.

English Lessons and Tutoring. Loans Available … Ours is a world where countless banners continually shout out their messages at passersby. They’re everywhere, a sight no one living in a metropolitan city like Seoul can escape. Since we can’t help seeing these banners all around us, let’s find out what they are saying.

E

very morning, most of us see scenes not much different from the day before. Adults walk along hurriedly, while students often run to school in a mad dash. But what if one day, someone with a red or blue sash draped over one shoulder blocks your path and greets you effusively? You can be sure to find behind that person a large hanging banner, with a matching red or blue motif, touting some political candidate or party. Whenever a new banner appears along well-trafficked paths, something is happening in business or politics.

Goodwill Messages for Self-Advertisement During election season, the city center becomes a tangled jumble of campaign banners spouting outlandish slogans taking up every conceivable corner of your line of vision, from the ground level up to the tallest high-rises. People complain about the giant banners that flap from every building, defiling the city’s face; some will even curse this “banner pollution.” After the election is over, things hardly change except that the message has changed: “Thank You!” Election winners and their parties address voters through ever-present banners, which is also a subtle reminder for the next election.

The same pattern of self-serving promotion prevails in the supposedly high-minded realm of academe: when university entrance exam season is over, high schools and cram schools hang ban-

78 KOREANA Autumn 2014

ners on their buildings to declare: “Congratulations!” They proudly announce the names of their successful students, congratulating them for their hard work and gaining admission to elite universities. But it is clear that these high schools and cram schools have a self-interested motive in hanging these banners, which are meant to imply: “Our high school is top-class” or “Our cram school is excellent, so register now.”

Critics say these banners incite overheated competition in the university entrance exams; high schools unduly focus on admission to top-tier universities, claiming as their own achievement their graduates’ entrance exam scores, thereby raising concerns about the equality of educational opportunity. High schools have actually been prohibited for several years now from hanging such banners. Some parents, however, complain that they need information provided by these banners in assessing schools.

The simple messages of goodwill in common greetings like “Thank You!” or “Congratulations!” are meant for indirect advertising. People are not ignorant of hidden intentions but do not seem to mind.

Sharing Concerns, Offering Words of Comfort If a banner suddenly appears on the roadside next to a crosswalk, one may instantly guess someone is looking for witnesses to a hit-and-run accident. How unfair for the driver to escape as

In many parts of downtown Seoul, tangles of banners compete for visual space in confusing disarray, but criticism is finally rising against the “banner pollution.�

KOREAN CULTURE & ARTS 79

1

the injured victim struggles between life and death! The banner must have been hung in a desperate hope of finding the culprit with the help of eyewitnesses. Such a banner has a precedent that was once used as a motif in an art installation. At the 2002 Gwangju Biennale, Yoon Dong-chun put up banners at several spots around the city, which implored: “Looking for the Witnesses.” The work evoked memories of the banners put up in May 1980 to look for missing people in the wake of the military’s violent suppression of the pro-democracy uprising in Gwangju. Yoon’s banners were put up in a heartfelt remembrance, lest those victims be forgotten.

The Gwanghwamun intersection in downtown Seoul is heavily traveled by vehicles and pedestrians. Around this busiest of city center crossroads, every building sports a giant electronic screen incessantly flashing one message or another, as if in competition.

Here, some sedate writing on a quiet corner catches one’s eye.

Since 1991, banners with simple messages have been hung, following a suggestion by the founder of Kyobo Life Insurance. Origi-

80 KOREANA Autumn 2014

nally, the banner contained mostly words of inspiration, but during the Asian financial crisis of 1997–1998, its message offered words of comfort to the many people who ended up jobless and dispirited in the depressing economic and social circumstances. In addition to the famed Kyobo banner, others featuring messages about public issues can also be found nowadays. Recently, many banners shrouded city buildings to memorialize the Sewol ferry tragedy. On some buildings, banners expressing condolences for the victims were thrown over the signs of businesses within.

Reflecting the Spirit of the Times A typical Korean university campus is a forest of banners all year round. When the break is over and a new semester begins, colonnades of banners fluttering in the wind spread a sense of vigor and promise for the students and a spring in their steps, especially along the roads leading to the main buildings. There are also information bulletin boards, but banners are used for more effective communication. Student clubs recruiting mem-

1.

“Looking for the Witnesses” (2002) by Yoon Dong-chun, of variable dimensions, print on fabric, an installation work submitted for the 2002 Gwangju Biennale.

The banners were set up at several locations in the city.

2

2, 3, 4.

The brand Reblank reuses discarded banners to make products of unique designs. Its bags, pencil cases and other products are receiving positive consumer response.

3

4

bers, information about English proficiency tests like TOEFL and TOEIC, student council announcements of events or political views … There are as many banners as there are messages, aimed at everyone within sight. Walking among banners hung high and low along every roadside and walkway, it’s as if one has opened an Internet site where advertising banners continually pop in and out of sight.

On university campuses, not so long ago, pictures and handwritten posters were the main media used for rousing concern and rallying crowds to the cause of the day. The hanging picture played a landmark role during the waves of student-led democracy movements in the 1980s. At campus spots where gatherings took place, cloth streamers hand-painted with inflammatory messages and images could be seen hanging as a ubiquitous backdrop. A cacophony of views on issues of the day shouted out from hand-written posters plastered on the walls of crowded passageways. Students paid attention to what these posters said back in those days. Young people in these fast-paced times are

used to short messages, so today banners are considered more effective in delivering messages than hanging pictures or handwritten posters.

So many banners appear every day in Korea, which means that there are as many places producing them. In business districts, finding shops where banners are made and printed is not difficult.

Banners can also be ordered through the Internet these days, often at lower prices and with the finished product being delivered more quickly in Korea than in any other country. As more banners are produced, more and more of those that have outlived their purposes need to be disposed of.

In the latest local elections in June, countless banners were hung everywhere. But where are they now? Illegal or outdated banners along the streets are taken down and disposed of by local governments. Some parts of the banners can be recycled for various uses. For example, one public project uses old banners to make tote bags. Civic groups oversee this recycling effort that helps save resources and the environment.

KOREAN CULTURE & ARTS 81

JOURNEYS IN KOREAN LITERATURE

CRITIQUE

Reading Will Set You Free

When Kim Kyung-uk (1971- ) began his writing career, he was a twenty-something “who had not read a single book.” Then a turning point: struck by the sheer novelty of the raw materials available, he turned into a writer intent on reading “all the books in the world.”

This kind of writerly obsession is manifested in his short story “Dangerous Reading,” through the main character’s job as a reading therapist that takes readers on a colorful journey through the world of books.

Chang Du-yeong Literary Critic

I

n Kim Kyung-uk’s story “Millennial Queen,” we encounter a man who labors night and day to write a novel. In order to earn recognition as a novelist he quit his job, left the city, and retreated to the studio he has set up in a remote mountain valley, where he suffers “writer’s pain.” At times, anticipating the praises soon to be heaped upon him by the literary establishment, his pain turns into delight. But then his wife says that she might have already seen somewhere before the plot or contents of the novel he has written so laboriously. And sure enough, to his utter frustration, there it is, he finds, in the book his wife has spoken of. Repeatedly he runs into this wall of frustration; the writer’s pain he suffers proves to be a futile agony. The man sums up what he learned from his situation: I n order to construct an original world, there are two ways.

Either you never read a single book or you read them all.

If we see this work as metafiction, the “writer’s pain” experienced by the man is fiction based on the agony and joy regularly felt by the author Kim Kyung-uk. Of course, in “Dangerous Reading” he cautions readers against the foolish habit of identifying characters in fiction with their author, so this is nothing more than a wild conjecture. Still, if we recall the author’s notion that people can be defined as “books that have to be read,” it does not seem too far-fetched to read the man striving so hard to write a story as a portrait of the author. The literary journey of the writer Kim

82 KOREANA Autumn 2014

Kyung-uk over more than 20 years may well have been a constant series of moments of pain and elation. He himself has written that the process of constructing his own world requires “thousands of mornings and evenings.”

When Kim Kyung-uk began his writing career in his early twenties, he was, in his own words, “a writer who had not read a single book.” The inspiration provided by the sheer novelty of the raw materials was all there to draw upon because he had not read a single book. The new-born novelist put into writing the life experiences, cultural preferences, and sensitivities of the young generation who were his contemporaries. He absorbed fully as his own literary property the main watchwords of the 1990s — movies, jazz, café, depression, and boredom. For writers of that time, in order to create an original world it was sufficient to reveal one’s own self. That is what characterizes most of the work he published until the early 2000s.

From the middle of that decade onward, Kim Kyung-uk became a writer who had “read everything.” This change is evident in his decision to write historical fiction. In the novel “Millennial Kingdom” (2007) he takes 17th-century Joseon as his setting and depicts the customs of the period as he traces the experiences and inner feelings of the shipwrecked Dutch sailor Weltevree. In order to recreate the past and stimulate the imagination, a writer has to consult a host of sources. Only after he has accepted a world that someone else has constructed and digested it as his own can he

© Baik Da-huim

begin to stretch his imagination.

In the short story “Dangerous Reading” that gave its title to the 2008 collection in which it is included, the desires of a writer who set out to write after “reading everything” are depicted even more clearly. As befits a work in which the main character has the unusual occupation of “reading therapist,” there are multiple references to works by several writers. Not only major works by such writers as Friedrich Nietzsche, Albert Camus, Vladimir Nabokov, J. D. Salinger, Milan Kundera, and Osamu Dazai but even Dashiell Hammett’s detective story “The Maltese Falcon” are mentioned one after another in a breathtaking feast of books.

If “Dangerous Reading” provokes admiration, it is not only on account of the main character’s colorful intellectual voyage. The hauteur of the main character, who initially looks down on the woman he addresses as “You” while treating her and showing off his literary knowledge, begins to crack as the narrative progresses and by the end is well on its way to collapse. The therapist with his armor of intellectual superiority is thrown off his high horse on contact with the opposite sex, the effects of the highbrow reading that is supposed to heal wounds run to seed when confronted with the simple pleasures of watching a television drama series and decorating an Internet home page. The splendid lists of book titles and literary theories shrivel as the tale goes on and in the process of pursuing the meaning of reading with cynical insight the story’s reversal occurs.

The metafictional appearance that the author manifests is not restricted to “Dangerous Reading” and “Millennial Queen” but is shared by other stories in the same collection. In works such as “Gunner MacDonald in Operation,” “I Lend Loneliness,” and “The Rules of the Game,” he reassembles ordinary objects, phenomena, and places, and offers a deeper insight into today’s society. By employing ordinary materials from mundane contemporary surroundings, such as baseball, love letters, and quiz shows, he displays sarcasm and wit.

In his foreword, Kim Kyung-uk links his desire to write with his desire to read every book there is. “From some time back everything looks like a book … Reading is dangerous … Because it makes you look hard at yourself.” The writer’s claim that writing is reading, that reading the book called another person is the same as reading oneself, is clearly contradictory. But he proves by his own works that it is not contradictory. Everything related in “Dangerous Reading” is about another person created by the author and at the same time, fictionalized and turned into a text; it is a story about the author himself.

The author who wants to read everything proposes to the reader a reading game, which involves reading the texts we call others and the world. “Now it’s your turn to read. Read me.” This proposal is indeed appealing. As Roland Gérard Barthes says, the rules of the game can be decided by me, the reader, and since by following those rules I can enjoy reading texts to the full, they are absolutely in my favor.

Nonetheless, the author tells us that reading is dangerous, in that it makes us examine ourselves mercilessly. But since by reading you gain freedom, even if you lose something, you will not lose much.

That freedom begins with the joy of discovering oneself, while observing and understanding others and the world.

KOREAN CULTURE & ARTS 83

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